Race Update - Zandvoort

Jason wrote:

Another Friday and another bittersweet showing. Zandvoort is the first track I ever raced in this online series. It's not a bad track, but many abrupt crests situated just before braking points and high speed turns upset the car's balance and you can really get in trouble if you don't manage them correctly. Qualifying did not go well with me on the grid 10th out of 11. As you may remember from my last racing post, my plan now is to try to stay out of the way for the first couple of laps while the pack thins out and people make mistakes, taking themselves and others out. Then, start pushing to pick up places.In the first race my plan worked beautifully. Two people went off in the first turn of the first lap moving me to 8th. Then, later on, 3 guys in front of me tangled and I had to thread in between them, but I moved to 5th and was able to maintain that until the finish.

Threading the needle.

Race # 2 did not go so well. I lined up 5th and had a good start and went into the first turn close to the front on the inside. Not a bad place to be. At least until someone cuts the nose off your car and you get rear ended trying to avoid it!!!! Technically, I had the line and shouldn't have backed off. But, in an effort to not punt the other driver, I was hit from behind, coudn't catch the spin and ended up facing the wrong way. I got moving again in last place and finished in 10th. Dang! Oh, well, that's touring car racing for you! I'm pretty sure my championship hopes are done for, but I could still make a decent showing. The next race is on the streets of Pau in France. This is a short course and is very unforgiving as you are either on the track or up against a barrier. I figure the key here is to get out front early because passing is almost impossible. We'll see how it goes. Thanks for reading!