With 2 races over the weekend, all i needed to do was stay ahead of Dave. I even got a 3 day pass from home to go testing on the Friday. That went great. Got my times down into the 1:35s so quite respectable and boosted my confidence.
So, to cut a very long story very short, I messed up big time on Saturday. Dave won and I ended up 3rd, meaning he was 2 points ahead of me. That meant i had to win on Sunday to guarantee the championship.
So most of the rest of that day was pretty tense to say the least. I was definitely not enjoying the pressure!
Of course all the nerves melt away once you're on the track and Sunday's race was a blinder. The video is here.
I got into the lead at the start but Austen was hounding me constantly and did get past me after a couple of laps. Luck was on my side though and on that very lap there was a red flag. That meant at the restart I was placed back in front as they take the places for the restart from the positions you were in as you last crossed the line. So this time I was more determined than ever to stay ahead. It was all a bit of a blur but I somehow managed to stay ahead. I was being held up by Tim H (class R) who was quicker initially but had backed off from his own class battle and was now backing me into Austen who was looming very large in my mirrors.
I think I crossed the line a matter of 10ths of a second ahead of Austen.
I must admit to filling up a bit on the way back to the paddock. Boy was that a good feeling. I needed to win, and I did. Awesome.
So, after a season of 12 races I've ended up with a podium in 11 of them (one DNF) including 3 wins, 6 seconds, 2 thirds, 4 fastest laps (one lap record for 24 hours!). I'm so proud to have achieved this, and of course I have Tim Gray to thank for building such an awesome car, keeping it reliable, and for nurturing my medioce driving ability into a championship winning performance. Cheers mate!
So what, I hear yousay, happened to my champioship rival, Dave. Well sadly, although I didn't realise it during the race, Dave crashed out after an incident with my team mate Richard Wise having been running 4th. I am of course aware of the controversy surrounding this and I realise that it looks and sounds very much like a conspiracy to take Dave out of the race on purpose but I also know for certain that that was absolutely not the case. Richard would never do that and neither I nor Tim would not want him to. I do understand though that Dave was angry about it and I can only say that I am really sad that it happened and truly wish that it hadn't. I must thank Dave for his sportsmanship this year, and all his MNR team mates for their help over the season.
So, what now?
Well we'll see, but with a bit of luck (and a bit of 'man maths' with the finances, I'll be back for more next season!
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