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Qual

In practice managed to get into the low 1m02.4's which in the lead up had put me into second by a 3 tenths. In Qual I punched out a 1m02.6?? pretty early and just settled with it at about the 8min mark. Was looking like holding on to second and then Kiwi third race in a row pushed out a PB and grabbed second. JD was on fire and put it on pole with a unbeatable 1m01.7?? Well done mate fantastic time and WD Kiwi

Race 1

Got a good start but was being careful into turn 1 - 2 and lost a couple of spots. Followed Wally26 around for a lap and then in back section heading to the hairpin I didn't leave Petrolhead enough on the exit on the previous corner so and pushed him wide. A couple of corners later I re addressed letting him through to make up for this. I was pushing pretty hard made a couple of mistakes trying to pressure Wally and ended up running wide and Kiwi (aka James Bond 007 had the smoke screen on for the whole race) came through. I followed Kiwi not pressuring leaving him to have a go at wally and hoped to gain the position at the same time as wally was in great John Bowe form and didn't look like either of us was going to get through. Kiwi made the move and I moved into pressure Wally. With a couple to go and three of us heading into one Wally tagged the back of Kiwi and they both spun I took to the grass to get which I got a cutting track warning for and held on to second from there.

Race 2
Reverse Grid start got a blinder but had no where to go followed JD hoping to follow him through to the front. Dano was driving great and JD appeared to be struggling main with the extra pace he had on everyone and kept making little mistakes so I pounced into turn 3. Set after Dano and a lap latter was looking good into turn 4. Just as we were getting ready to brake I saw Kiwi off in front of us and I backed out to give Dano room to avoid. Dano and I went left JD right so how we all got through but in the process Dano lost two spot and my self one. With no one holding JD up I couldn't keep up but knew when he got to Wally that would slow him down I would close back in. Then Coming on out of turn 3 Here is Wally and JD spun and through I went and held on for a Race Win

Race 3

JD got me into turn 3 and we made a break on the rest of the field. I had a good 5 sec lead on wally until I made a mistake and lost it all. Managed to push hard and make a little break again but lost it coming out of the last corner and Kiwi and Wally went through. I had heaps more speed than the Kiwi and Wally but couldn't use it leading into the stops. They both pitted and I went as hard as I could for 2 laps then in as well. On Exiting the pits I had a 3 sec lead from which I lost about half of on cold tyres, Wally was catching me and had to punch out qual laps times of 1m02's to get to position I was safe and crossed the line with about a 6 sec lead. When I finished The gap to JD was I think around 40 sec's which meant over the the distance he had lapped yearly a second and half quicker a lap than me and I had finished a pretty strong second.

So I walk away wrapped with my results and was only 1 point between myself and JD for the round win JD 210 Benny 209 a have a strong second in the championship at this stage but realise although at times Im getting closer to JD's outright speed than I was his consistency over the race distance is something I'm only going to get better at him more long run practices

Benny

Qualy: Got pole but was still .300 off my pb.

Race 1: Had a good race and took the win.

Race 2: Well not only was it reverse grid but i had a 35kg penalty. I was fully aware it was going to be a touch race given how hard these cars are on the tyre's with 2 x tyre wear & an extra 35kg. So i thought just don't try too hard early just see how the car feels and look after the tyres and wait to see if anything happens to the guys infront. This is why i appeared to be struggling a bit ( Benny ) i was trying to get the car to work with the extra weight and adjusting brake bias, it was not that easy to drive. My opportunity came when Kiwi had a moment and being behind him, Benny & Dano i guess i didn't see it early but may have had more time to react, therefore i was lucky i went right & Ben & Dano went left i think and i was able to capitalize. Got onto Wally's tail without too much drama as i had worked out how to drive the car with the extra weight. Was looking to see where would be the best place to pass Wally and just as i was about to put the move on he got very sideways went left then right and i couldn't avoid running into him and the rest is history, was almost the perfect race from last to 1st with a weight penalty.

Race 3: Well as i had worked out how to drive this thing with the extra weight i was confident going into the longer race. Wasn't sure if other's would put fuel and tyre's on so i pushed hard to get enough of a gap to cover everyone if they just drove through pit lane, as i was taking tyre's and fuel. Took a very comfortable win.

Great night all and some great battles with many of you, Kiwi, Benny, Wally & Dano. I was very consistent Benny and that is something i have always tried to do and get my car setup for, not outright speed.

Had another last gasp last lap in qualifying......

Starts are not my strong point... (santa didn't bring me a G27 so im still a pedal short! )

Had a huge moment in race 2 and I apologise if I impeded anyone's progress...........................

Had a battle with Wally26 for a while in the last race .............

Overall, reasonably happy with the evening........................

I watched the replay this morning of the the turn 4 what a pissa we all got through I think I tagged your quarter panel but unbelievable how it played out to all pretty much miss you.

I have g25 but don't use the clutch at all pretty much grab a gear when goes green with a touch off full throttle.

Jd I know your work hard on your consistency and setups for races which was my point, I have pretty much been working on that and never try dial in a qual setup anymore and with that I have got quicker but I still struggle to hold it together for the full distance allthough I am for longer periods each race. I know Im getting better and enjoying actually putting myself in position to run with you a bit each race which in the past wasnt able to. With the help you have been giving as all with setups i can spend my time learning the car constancy instead of two days of trying to dial a car in which has been a massive help

Ben

Benny wrote:I watched the replay this morning of the the turn 4 what a pissa we all got through I think I tagged your quarter panel but unbelievable how it played out to all pretty much miss you.

I have g25 but don't use the clutch at all pretty much grab a gear when goes green with a touch off full throttle.

Jd I know your work hard on your consistency and setups for races which was my point, I have pretty much been working on that and never try dial in a qual setup anymore and with that I have got quicker but I still struggle to hold it together for the full distance allthough I am for longer periods each race. I know Im getting better and enjoying actually putting myself in position to run with you a bit each race which in the past wasnt able to. With the help you have been giving as all with setups i can spend my time learning the car constancy instead of two days of trying to dial a car in which has been a massive help

Ben

Not a problem mate, i am glad to help and hope that my help has gained some of you some improvement, whether it be care setup driving tips etc and speed. I sometimes wonder if people think i am a no all when i watch them and then try to give them tips on lines or gear changes or corner speed etc?? I am simply trying to help everyone and i am enjoying the pressure as you all improve. I am sure someone will knock me off during the 2011 V8 Series, or i will eventually make a big mistake. The only other bit of advise i can offer for the longer stints is learn to feel ASAP when your car is changing the way it handles during a race & eventually understand how you need to change your cornering, throttle control & Braking etc to suit and still get almost the same times from it. This is probably the hardest part of learning to drive these thing's. If anyone ever want's some help in any way just PM me i am more than willing to help in any way i can.

JD, I appreciate your advice and the set ups you either give or tweak and give back.................

My biggest downfall is not giving a set up a fair go before giving up on it....

At Timaru I actually used a set up that I have had for years. I got it from one of the extremely fast guys at KDSR...
I could never drive with it before, but my driving style has probably evolved and the set up felt quite comfortable...

Maybe i should ship it off to JD to see what he makes of it......................................