Nothing done to the car since Doni, no time for testing, I just turned up and was ready to go.
Well, qualifying was very busy and I wasn't convinced that I had managed a decent clear lap. As it happened, I did get 2 good laps 'cause I qualified 2nd in class in both races with a best lap of 49.74
My gob was well and truly smacked. This is my first time at Mallory in this car and I'm 2 seconds quicker than I was in the Westy. Wow!
Now sadly, in my moment of glory, and a bit of a rushed start for race 1, I forgot to switch the video on, so no action there I'm afraid, although Bob's video shows me for most of the race. It was actually a rather dull race. Having got ahead of Colin C on the first lap into Gerrards, he got me on the next lap and pulled away. After that it was a rather lonely drive. Bob kept me honest when he appeared large in my mirrors towards the end which woke me up a bit and I managed to stay ahead (although he's class R so no class battle there).
I missed all the action with DW, Austen and Steve Bell who between them managed to pull off the most dramatic accident ever with Dave ending up Austen's head. So that probably explains why they didn't catch me.
So the result on the track was 2nd in class. That alone would have been my best result ever, but bigger news was to come. Al Boulton, who won the class on the track, was pulled at post race scrutineering for failing the ride height test. He was disqualified. That made me 1st in class.
Well, what a conflict of emotion that was. I felt really sorry for Al, and it wouldn't be the way I would want to get my first class win, especially since it meant Al had no chance of winning the overall championship. But I got over that in about 2 seconds. I'll take it thanks!! (Al will still win the class F championship after all!).
(BTW, I was 8th on the track which is also my best result ever).
So, with Al having sorted his ride height, DW out, Colin S out, but Austen back in the runnning, it was onto race 2.
The video worked this time:
Again, not a particularly exciting race in the end, although a red flag and restart kept me working hard to maintain my start position. I had a moment towards the end when Tim lapped me and I got a bit off line (where it was damp) and the new chap in David Whale's old car got past me. Knowing that Austen was close behind, and he would inevitably catch me if I got stuck behind this car, I took a brave dive round the inside through Gerrards and got past him. That pretty much secured my second place. (9th overall this time).
So a first and a second in class in the same day. Two of my best results ever.
Oh, and this result put me 4th in class in the championship. Just 1 point short of Austen. Oh so close to a championship trophy. But hey, there's always next year.
I'll do a season review shortly, but suffice to say for now that, despite some low moment, overall this has been an amazing season for me. I think my driving has definitely moved up a notch and I've achieved some notable benchmarks like my first class trophies and my first class win, not to mention some lap times which should have Austen worried!
I can put a lot of this down to the brilliant guidance of Tim Gray who I thank very much, as well as congratulating him on a perfect full house season of 14 out of 14 wins and the overall RGB championship.
Off to the Birkett this weekend. Not a championship thing, just a bit of fun. Watch out for the report next week.
Cheers all.
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