Rockingham Round 3

Rockingham Race 1

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

After Qualifying second in the national class I went into the first race 7 places on the grid behind Gabriel Dias, an immediate disadvantage.

It was a warm day at Rockingham so getting tyre temperature was not as hard to do, it was making sure that the tyres did not get too hot and loose performance before the race had even begun! I lined up on the grid and after many visual practice starts in my mind i knew what the best way to get of the line would be, I got a great clean get away in record time only to be squeezed nearly onto the grass down the straight leading to the first corner. Amongst the mayhem going on into the first corner the main thing on my mind was to keep out of trouble and to finish the race. After the first lap on the main straight i saw Gabriel Dias (my closest competitor) behind me to my surprise i managed to get passed him off the start and in the madness I didn’t see where his car was so had a surprise that worked in my favor. Down into the first corner there were waved yellow flags to indicate that there is a accident (from the previous first lap carnage) Gabriel decided to make a move into the first corner where the waved yellow flags are which is not allowed, after following Gabriel around until the star finish line i saw a drive though penalty for Gabriel which certainly helped me in my way to the finish.

After leading the race and keeping out of trouble i came across the line to take my third win this year. Great result helped by the unfortunate drive though penalty to Gabriel.

Rockingham Race 2

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

Like the first race I started in second place only 3 cars behind Gabriel Dias this time, i would have more of a chance to fight for the lead.

I had a decent start again but got hindered by two stalling cars in front of me on the grid which made it a bit harder to get a high top speed before the first corner due to braking and weaving around the stalled cars. After having a clean first corner i continued to chase down first place man Gabriel until a brave move by my team mate Victor Garcia came off for the worse, the limited space got the better of Victor and Gabriel and collided causing great damage to Gabriel’s car and I had to take evasive action by taking to the grass to avoid other spinning cars.

After this first lap mayhem again the safety car came out so the wreckage could be taking in and salvaged. I knew at this point if i kept my car out o trouble then i would have a very high chance of wining the race from Gabriel’s early retirement. I also found out that another of the national class car had been in a collision which helped my cause even more.

After the safety car had come in I had a close battle with some of the international cars, while trying to overtake one of the remaining T-Sport cars i had a slight tap from Nick Tandy who also wanted a bit of the action.  After having a battle with some of the international cars a gap emerged, from this point i had to drive the remaining laps to a comfortable pace to win the race. Before i knew it the chequered flag had come out to finish my pretty lonely race and to make my race weekend complete with two wins and one fastest lap.

From a not so great qualifying came a fantastic weekend to extend my current lead in the championship to 42 points!