Our qualifying session was the first track action of the day at 0900, that meant that we had the cars fired up in the pitlane in the dark before the sun had actually come up, a little bizarre!
Qualifying proved one thing at least.. The timings we'd taken on the pitwall yesterday weren't wrong, I am indeed off the pace... I improved my own best down to a 2:14.8, partly helped no doubt by the cooler early morning air, it felt a lot better, and I reckon there was more to be had as I didn't have a single lap without a minor delay, mostly caused by other traffic, but at least one decent lap was ruined by being unable to get 2nd gear at a critical moment. The very low sun was an issue at times too, particularly on the very fast left hander heading out the back. Kim and John Delane have improved too; now I'm clutching at straws again, but they've improved by less than me, so maybe there's hope! My time has me 19th on the grid, John is 13th on 2:09.2 and Kim alongside him on 2:09.9 which is impressive. I really feel that I've 'pushed' hard so to remain that far off them is dispiriting. Andrew Tart is alongside me in the Bond, which being front-wheel drive rarely gets off the line well.
After tribulations yesterday Iain's car is sorted again, but having had no track time here he's only qualified just ahead of me ... Which will be interesting, as there are concerns about him getting off the line. We agree that he'll line up to the right of his grid box, and I'll go to the left of mine, giving me a better chance of avoidance if he doesn't get away.
Race time is midday-ish. Bit of chaos in the paddock and assembly area, but it gets sorted and we line up. Lights go out, not a bad start, Iain does get away, so does Andrew Tart, but the first lap is messy and very tight, at some point I get ahead of Iain, can't remember how and the video footage is corrupted! Things settle down a bit after the first lap, it's clear that I can do nothing to pressure either Andrew Tart or John Delane, so top of my agenda now is just to finish both races and take the 4 points available, which will go a long way in securing third place overall in the Championship. I do have a bit of a fun dice with Larry Kinch, but having had a couple of slidy moments as the tyres start to go off I decide that it doesn't matter if he goes by me. I finish in 19th, where I started, 3rd (last, if you must!) in class. Iain has faltering oil pressure and pulls off late to preserve his freshly built engine. David Methley cruises to victory at the front, a full 17secs back is Roberto Tonetti, who we haven't seen all year. John Fyda comes home third having prevailed in a race-long multi-car dice with 3-4 others. Most interesting is that Kim beats John Delane by 5secs, that's a great result for Kim, who is going very well here. Andrew Tart duly wins the front-engine class, so his crew are delighted with Kim beating John Delane! If that's repeated on aggregate after tomorrow's race then Andrew Tart will be in the box seats for the overall Championship.
I'm still very disappointed to be so far off the pace, and I don't fully understand why to be honest ... Some people are saying that this circuit suits an aggressive driving style, well that's certainly not me for sure, I think i'm a fairly smooth style! I'm hanging it out as much as i'm comfortable with, hitting relatively consistent sector times and receiving compliments on my driving from some people who I respect, so maybe this circuit really just doesn't me and my car... No point in getting too glum, I'm here at circuit that I enjoy driving despite my results, racing with people I like, in hot sun and in a place I like ... Shouldn't be complaining too much now should I?!
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