My car choices worked fairly well with the ebb and flow of grid positions and the 1 to 1.5 hours of practice and setup copy-pasting paid off.
- Spa
I was going to be in the back anyway, so a slow car was the natural choice. Figured the Honda would be somewhat competitive, but compared to the BRMs I just didn't extract the most of it. Went wide at La Carriere twice, I think, and almost collected David into La Source when I missed a downshift, locked up the rears and spun. Managed to hold off Iestyn, who caught the grass braking for Blanchimont on the final lap.
P6 at the finish.
- Rouen
Mid-field starting position. Knew passing would be difficult for me, but so would it be for anyone behind me. Got a tap into the hairpin on lap 1 - there's always one who overdoes it. Got stuck behind Basti's Eagle for a while. Even when I had it timed right, I just wasn't going to be close enough before the penultimate turn. Carsi mixed it up. Basti slipped and we both went by. The following laps were beyond description. I highly recommend watching the replay. We gave each other just about enough room and swapped positions several times until the end. I had to admit defeat eventually, which was no earlier than the last third of the final lap.
P2 at the finish, 3rd in the standings.
- Kyalami
Not much to say. The car, the track and my driving technique don't get along, it would seem. I spent most of the race on my own and was lucky I wasn't passed by Robert, who cut through the field after contact in T1 on the first lap.
P4 at the finish, 3rd in the standings (tied with Radek).
- Monza
Lost the slipstream to Robert in Lesmo 2 because I wasn't clear of Iestyn when I turned in. Never got it back. Robert overshot Lesmo 1 a few times, but I just couldn't capitalise on it. Not sure if I was limited by the shifter, the setup or driving ability. Bit of all three perhaps.
P2 at the finish, 2nd in the standings.
- Silverstone
Completing lap 1 in 2nd position and only a Cooper ahead? Heaven. Kept enough pace to extend the lead safely. Practice had shown Robert was going to be a match, in a Brabham no less. I gave up a tenth or two to stay away from the curbs, but he still hunted me down at an alarming rate. 4 tenths difference per lap, holy moly.
P1 at the finish, 1st in the standings.
- Mexico
Now this is Brab territory. Of course I was going to lose a small amount of ground before T1, but my plan was to overtake in the esses section where the Brabham would out-manoeuvre pretty much anything. I nearly got involved in the T1 crash, managed to avoid Fabian. Was on Harry's heels out of T2. Harry got boxed in behind Pedro out of T4. Gained two more spots in the hairpin as Kelvin and Carsi tangled. Was close to completing lap 1 in 3rd, but had to wait for the straight to pass Basti's BRM. Pelle disco'd from the lead before halfway. I guess I would have had a hard time to pass him. Gave Robert a run for his money. Good times.
P2 at the finish, 2nd in the standings, tiebreaker in Robert's favour.
- Watkins Glen
A slower car wouldn't have cut it for me. So many other drivers had brought their strongest cars and getting into a position for a safe pass was going to be difficult. The first half of the race was just pure madness. Passing, re-passing all the time. Like the Rouen replay, it's another one for the gallery. Pedro did very well to stay out of the way after losing the engine. Two drivers were a tad to aggressive at times, not holding their line or taking late dives. But I shouldn't complain, sooner or later I was going to be three wide with David and Basti into T1. I'd like to claim that was still well judged and under control, but the margin for error was smaller than I'd usually like. The problem was that if I had waited for everything to calm down, I might've been overtaken again or even taken out. Anyway, it was a good setup for criss-crossing past David in T2. Looks fantastic from Robert's view. Basti was the last car for me to pass. Pelle was well out of reach by the time I had clean air and I had the points I needed.
P2 at the finish.
Hats off to Robert. Fast and safe, how I like it.
Well driven everyone, especially the first night was very clean.
Thank you, David.
) be willing to upload it sometime? Thx.
... but it was still a cool double-event-pack.
