Qualifying
Yet again, I was not quite comfortable in the car, nowhere near what I should be for sure. I had been a lot more consistent in practice than I had been in Melbourne, so I had relatively high confidence going into the weekend. However, on the run up to quali, it had been raining, and being a desert track, it was not the conditions I had prepared for. Luckily the rain had stopped before qualifying started, and it was dry enough to use slicks, but I was still very uneasy and tentative. This caused me to have another dismal session, and I ended up in 24th with a time of 1:40.818. I knew I could go a lot quicker though, so I had a lot to prove in the races.
Race 1
My teammate Andrew was not available to race, so I was the sole Rookie Monsters car on the grid. That, combined with the fact that I had the pace to be higher up the order, began to pile the pressure on me. I knew I had to nail this start. I'm not quite sure why but I ended up starting in 21st rather than 24th, but I'm certainly not complaining. My launch was OK, about the same pace as the people around me, but with the slipstream I was able to pull myself through into 19th off the line. Around turn 1 I stuck close to the cars in front and made another position into 18th.
I was hovering around the same positions for a few laps before a collision with Sam Holt put me in the wall exiting turn 10. I was badly damaged, but I didn't want to pit because it would cost me too much time. So, I knew I had to wrestle the car round the laps until the end. I had been knocked down to P25 and was just behind Massimiliano Riboli, an old sparring partner from VOWS. Meanwhile, I was also having to hold off Luca Flask behind. After a few laps, Massi had pulled away, and Paul August Laane and Gerrit de Vries had joined mine and Luca's battle, turning the fight into a 4-way race. Laane spun a few laps later, almost collecting Luca on the way round, and so both dropped back, leaving me and Gerrit battling for 25th. Before long, Luca had caught up, along with Rob Roosa, and again a 4-way battle commenced.
It was a few laps later when I noticed that a slow-moving Massi was beginning to fall into my clutches. I saw him getting closer and closer and knew that I could challenge for an overtake in three laps or so. The trouble was, with only 4 laps left and Gerrit bearing down from behind, my chances were fading quickly. I was on his tail for practically the whole of the last 2 laps, but a small mistake at turn 13 on the final lap meant that the best I could do was to keep Gerrit behind. I managed to do so, finishing 23rd out of 28.
Race 2
The number chosen for reverse grid this round was 15, meaning that Liam Rance got pole position. This time around,starting from 23rd, my launch was much better and I was up to 20th by turn 1. But I misjudged my braking, and had to swerve wide to avoid hitting anyone, pushing me back down to 24th. An accident ahead meant that I gained back a few positions to 19th, but a spinner ahead a few corners later caught me out and I was all the way down in 30th.
Various incidents ahead eventually promoted me to P24, where I was again engaged in a battle with Luca Flask, with the addition of Paul August Laane and Daan Hut 3 corners later. A slight bit of contact with Laane lead to me spinning round and stopping right on the racing line after a mostly blind crest, a really dangerous spot. An unsighted Alejandro Enamorado came over the hill and hit me head on, knocking my front wing clean off, so I had to pit.
A string of cars pitting promoted me to p24, but ultimately there was nothing more I could do. I finished 24th with 0 points over the whole weekend. I know I have the pace to be a consistent points scorer, and I'm hoping the next round will let me prove it. We go to Istanbul, Turkey on Wednesday 1st April, don't miss it.
Thanks,
Peter J.