Thought I'd do a quick update on the way things have been going after being abit slack.
SROL Enduro series
Two hours of Daytona
After running brialliantly during practice, setting the pace in the week before the race, hopes were high we would have a good run on race day. Qualifying went to plan, with me sticking the car on pole position. I then gave control to Justin during the warm up session, as he would be starting the race. At this point he tells me the race setup isn't loaded on his car. This would wreck any chance we had of doing well. As the race started, our fears were confirmed, the race setup had indeed not loaded itself and we were left doing 170mph when other LMP's (and GT cars) were doing 190+. Justin fought on, doing a great job in the circumstances. He brought the car in after around 45 minutes and I took over. I scrolled through the pit menu and soon found the downforce settings were ridiculously high. Unfortunately the settings couldn't be changed until the next pit stop, so I brought it in the next lap, changed the settings and we were finally up to speed on the straights! The car still wasn't the same in the corners, but atleast we could now run with everyone else on pace.
As the race wore on, we moved up the field, passing the GT cars that took advantage of the situation we were in and gaining positions through the couple of LMP retirements. In the end we fought back to finish a frustrating fourth, four laps down and a more thorough read of the driver swap procedure ensued!!
The no. 42 TPM Audi R8 failed to finish after a number of problems, the car finally gave up the ghost with around 25 minutes remaining.
Two hours of Spa-Francorchamps
Justin had informed me that he couldn't take part in this race due to "other" commitments, leaving me to run the two hours on my own. Throughout the build up, TPM held a 1-2 during the majority of the test sessions, setting a pace no other team could match. Everything went to plan during qualifying once again, with the team locking out the front row by a couple of seconds!
We both got away from the start in 1st and 2nd, however, my team-mate was under heavy pressure from the 3rd place Courage C60 and unfortunately went off at Les Combes (turn 4) and hit the wall hard. The damage suffered would eventually lead to the cars retirement after only 25 minutes. Meanwhile I was easing away from the field, setting a pace that was atleast a couple of seconds per lap faster than 2nd place. I didn't set the fastest lap of the race until the hour mark (halfway), which showed how well the car was handling and coping with wear. I backed off abit in the second hour, but still pulled away from the field. I would eventually go on to take victory by nearly two minutes, partly making up for the problems of Daytona!
After the first two races
LMP R1, R2, Pts
Eddie Bassett 100, 95, 195
Stephen Bailey 85, 100, 185
Smokone 90, 80, 170
JOGAN 95, DNS, 95
Dale Burnz DNS, 90, 90
Justin Allison 85, DNS, 85
Vern Klukas DNS, 85, 85
Carlo72 80, DNS, 80
Paul Pope 0, 0, 0
Bagger 30 DNS, 0, 0
DJB1974 0, 0, 0
Scott_Cazz 0, 0, 0
SROL Megane Eurocup Series
After only entering for rounds 5 and 6 (also missed 11 & 12 through being ill), I've managed to collect 208 points, with 3 wins, 3 2nd places, 2 3rd places and 3 pole positions and currently lie 4th in the standings. Only one event to go in this series, at Taruma in Brazil. The end of the series is almost immediately followed by the SROL Megane Endurance Series which I will also be entering!
Now onto my favourite part of the update.....
SROL British Touring Car Championship 2008
The return of touring car racing! TPM will be entering the series, once again with the SEAT Leon. More details to follow when I get them. You'll get to see the car later.
