The grid got away cleanly, and in the 'bundle' for turn 2 I was near the front of the pack. At this point, it was clear that 4th place being on the outside of the track was not the best position, as it forces you the long way around turn 2, and I inevitably lost several places. At the end of the first lap I was down in 7th place!I managed to make up a place, and then become locked in a battle with Richard Breland for some 8 laps. Great fun, clean driving, and I was really enjoying the race. Some places I was cleary faster than Richard, putting him under pressure and making a move, followed by parts where he some how had the edge and could get past.
Turn 1 was excellent, and the first time I've really noticed the massive performance increase of getting a good tow from the car in front. I was apexing turn 1 at the speed I'd usually be at before braking for turn 2.
In view of the our close proximity, and that Richard was a little slower than I wanted at the chicane, I elected to use 2nd gear (rather than 3rd) to see if that gave any advantage on the exit. This turned out to be a bad move, as when I went for 3rd... the gear lever said no! I tried to select 2nd, but it also bulked. Clutch up, and down, sorted the gear selection, but I had now dropped a long way back from Richard.
Fortunatley we had pulled away from the following group being lead by Matt Robinson, so the big question was could I get enough speed up to avoid Matt just driving around me at turn 1. Somehow I kept the lead, but I was now locked into a battle with Matt, swapping places at least once, before I eventually finished just ahead of Matt in 6th place, and behind Charles; who had been overtaken by Richard on the lap where I missed 3rd.It was frustrating to have not kept with Richard, but two great battles in once race can't be bad.
