Just as predicted the heavens opened, so warm up was done in torrential conditions. With so much standing water a decision was made to just use it as a shakedown. Having had a few repairs done in between rounds, I just wanted to make everything was ok. Most importantly I kept it on the black (just) and gained valuable "wet" info.
Having made a few changes I went out in practice with the aim of getting some quicker laps in, as at that point it was touch and go as to whether the rain would continue. The changes felt great but the whole session was frustrating. I just couldn't find a clear piece of tarmac, and the traffic just didn't go my way. Again good wet info learnt, so not a complete loss.
The weather took a turn for the better, and all of the forecasts showed dry for the rest of the day. An especially long break over lunch also helped, so when the time came for quali it was a totally dry setting.
After building some heat in the tyres I started putting some quicker laps in. The car felt great, and the harder I pushed the better it felt. Starting on a hot lap I could see the predictive time come down and down, but in the final sector I came up against traffic which lost some time. I came over the line in 1:35.4, which was a new CLUB FWD record, and at that point stood me in p1. Knowing there was more time in the car I pitted for a tyre pressure check, and a little cool down. Unfortunately on my outlap there was a red flag incident which cut the sessions short.
With traffic having been an issue at times as soon as we were released on the track for the final I got past as many cars as possible. While getting the tyres up to temp I again managed to find a decent amount of space and started putting hot laps in. The times again started coming down, and as I started a"hot" lap the predictive was telling me I was on a flyer. Again in the distance traffic lay ahead, but as I reached them they showed great awareness and left the track clear for me to get past. I past the line in 1:34.9, again a new CLUB FWD record, and first in class. There was approx 5 mins left, so I came into lower the tyre pressures, and went straight back out to try and get one last flyer. Unfortunately as I came to the end of my outlap yellow flags and a stranded car meant that I would really be able to better my current time.
Final Result
4th overall
First in class
New CLUB FWD record
It was a brilliant day overall, and great to see Jeff join us in Rexy. If it had stayed wet I have no doubt he'd have been top of the shop, and on any other dry day there would have been a blink of an eye between us.
Where do I start to thank people? I'm a little overwhelmed by the pace in the car tbh, and in my own mind I need to replicate the form to believe it wasn't just a one off.
Looking from 2 years ago and "grindergate" and the final today it's an almost unbelievable difference, and although I'm not sure I would necessarily want to do it all again its certainly helped to heal some of the mental scars.
To beat 4-500 bhp boosted cars is such an achievement, compared to last year both me and the car have come on so much.
From last years round I was over 5seconds quicker