Pool 3 for me as well, and I was really looking forward to it! I had created myself a stable setup which I knew would only mean 1 pitstop for fuel. Tyres would last and did! My plan was to drive carefully, not make any mistakes and only overtake people who spun or crashed.
Fortunately, I started in my favorite place, last! From here you can only do better, I hate starting from anywhere else 'cos I feel like I should finish in the same place or higher and I hate it when I lose places.
Anyway, we started the lag lap. I really wish this was the real race 'cos I was up into 5th place before half way around the lap! Then we restarted
I hung right back and waited for everyone else to crash, err I mean sort themselves out!
NASSA Ant crashed strangely at the start and didn't make it to the end of the first lap before spectating - bad luck mate!
A few others spun and part way around the lap (in front of the other Aston pit) I hit a spinning car and dropped all the way back to 16th. Fortunately my car was not damaged so I just carried on carefully. By the end of this lap I was 13th.
After that I was able to keep the people behind me, behind me and they never looked like catching. This all changed after my pitstop at the end of lap 17, when I came out in 7th or 8th I think, with istabraq behind by about 3 seconds. He caught me right up and was at one point within 0.43 of a second, but I was faster on the twiddly slower parts of the track and managed to stay in front all the time. Then he got tied up with lowgoods as he came up behind him and overtook him on about lap 26 or so. Then lowgoods caught me and passed me easily on the main straight. This was fine, I was still 8th overall. istabraq was then 4 seconds behind me after his fight with lowgoods. Only a few laps left though and I was able to keep him there. Then on lap 29 (I think) lowgoods crashed and I got past into 7th, which is where I finished.
From 16th to 7th in 30 laps - this was my plan, and I stuck to it. I am pleased with the race I just wish I could have done it with a less "stable" set and put some pb's in, but I knew I could not be consistant and fast with this car, so this was the only way.
I'm done now,
Tim