Hockenheim - Race One

I'm sure I mentioned earlier that these aren't always reliable little cars ... Well, we sorted the oil leak, now as good as you'll ever get out of a Mini engine. So this time it would be something else wouldn't it? At the start of the formation lap the starter motor decides that it's done its duty and will work no longer - 3 years it's always started on the button ... Why now!? Stress levels double, a kind marshal manages a push-start, but now I've dropped to the back of the pack, fortunately not behind the safety car, so I am permitted to regain my starting position, I work my way through the back of the pack, 'putting some nice moves' on a few competitors ... Shame it's the green flag lap!

Good start, then through the blind apex of the first corner I catch a glimpse of a car spinning, so backed off, along with a couple of other cars on my side of the track, but he's out of harm's way, back on the gas, only to be swallowed up at the next corner by those on the left, who'd never backed off! Lost 3 places... Gradually wound them back in, although it took 2-3 laps culminating in a very late dive up the inside in the stadium section, to get past the last one of them. Started to move away slowly, but it is getting slippery ... I wondered if it was my oil leak again, later proven not to be me! There are also spots of rain on my visor. Couple of big slides, and one near spin, so with 3rd in class seemingly secure, I backed off just a touch. Towards the end of the race I get caught at the hairpin by the leaders, give them an easy time of lapping me, compromising myself to the tune of a few seconds, only to find two of my earlier adversaries following them through ... Blast! With none of them being class competitors, and the ever-more-slippery track, I didn't make a huge effort to get back past. 3rd in class behind the much faster John Delane and Charles Cook is good enough. Good fun!

At the front the overall race was apparently very close, Urs Eberhardt winning in the Lotus 27 he's had for something like 30 years, from everyone's favourite scot John Fyda, then Italian pole-sitter Tommaso Gelmini.