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We got back late last night after a long day yesterday but ultimately successful and highly enjoyable. As everyone could see from the TV coverage the weather all day was horrid - a mixture of pretty heavy rain and drizzle which only stopped for the trip home which I guess was kind...
Anyway, in appalling practice conditions Jason and I just concentrated on keeping the Aurelia on track with any thoughts of a good time firmly out of our mind. We only had 15 mins to get both drivers through so our lowly grid position was no surprise.
In terms of the race, I don't know if people noticed but they didn't grid anyone up at the back which meant Jason was out of position - he knew where he should be but couldn't get there. That meant he had to work quite a bit harder to move up the pack at the start. He had a pretty reasonable start and spent a few laps siting things out and settling down before he picked off a few people. The weather was particularly difficult, very greasy and half way into the race the rain came down heavier. By the time I got in the car Jason had done really well and got us into a competitive position.
It's always difficult to get into a car in those types of conditions - the weather being variable and your co-driver doing well - no pressure then! However within a couple of laps I could feel the Aurelia dancing beneath me. it truly is magnificant in those conditions, four wheel drifting and allowing some close battling door handle to door handle with no fear that control would ever be lost. I truly loved my 20 mins - an absolute joy. And to our surprise a pretty decent result with a 15th overall and 2nd in class. i have to say a huge thank you for the driving standards - everyone was kind and considerate when lapping and fair but firm when racing.
And so to my little Fiat Abarth. Practice for the GT Greats (which my class was in) was some time after the Touring greats practice and by this time there was even more water in the circuit mixed with some oil. I was astounded to get out and find that the Abarth adored the conditions - it was simple on rails around the corners with no loss of traction. I whooped and yelled with delight as my little one gobbled up some of the GTs cars. A 20th grid position and class pole was a huge reward to both Jason and myself - Jason had mended the car before when the wipers and the starter button stopped working.
More of the race in a moment...
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