- 17 Aug 09, 21:40#143838It's official. I'm the unluckiest person in Motorsport!
So we left for Genk on Tuesday (using a hired van, after ours broke down on Monday). We left with 2 satnavs (1 wasn't charged up, and 1 only works when it's plugged into the cig lighter - The cig lighter didn't work on the hire van). So we got to Dover, with no clue on how to get to the Belgian track of Genk.
we left at 8 on Tuesday night, and boarded the 8am Ferry at Dover. Ferry was good, gave us time to sleep and get ready for the final part of the trip. When we got to Dunkirk, we followed a competitor the whole way, although we did get lost in Brussels! Anyway, we arrived on the Wednesday, ahead of testing on Thursday and Friday.
Thursday was very warm in the morning, and I was instantly on the pace, only 0.4 off the fastest in on my first session at the track was good, especially considering how challenging it was. There was only 1 line around every corner, and it was so dusty off line you could easily lose 1 second a lap by pushing too hard. It rained later on and we were very slow, about 1.5 off he pace, but our tyres weren't very good so we didn't really know what to expect it if rained on race day.
Friday was even warmer, and with every session being timed, it was good to get a clear indication of where we were on the grid. First session we went 10th fastest in our session (out of 24) and our session was so much faster I ended up 11th overall ( out of 35). I got faster every session, and ended the day 7th fastest, and much faster than all of my team mates.
Raceday came on Saturday, and it was warmer again. We got a really bad set of slicks in the tyre draw though, and in Quali I lost all my pace, and could only put it 22nd fastest, which meant I had to start 2nd in the Pre B final. I made a meal of the start and was down in 4th, and things went from bad to worse when I made a crazy lunge on lap 2, and went down to last. This meant I had to started 10th for the B final, and with the top 4 promoted to the A final, I knew what I had to do. I was into 4th by lap 2, into 2nd by lap 5 and with 2 laps to go I put the move for 1st, and won the B final. Ironically, it was the first win I've had for just over a year and it was the first time I didn't celebrate, it didn't mean anything. Started P25 for the main final, massive pileup in the start that I was inolved in, so I was quite happy to take 19th place at the finish. The truth was we just didn't have the pace that we produced on the test days.
Sunday was a lot cooler, and in the 10 minute warmup we sandbagged and we were a massive 1.3 seconds of the fastest, but we weren't too concerned. Quali came, and I was in the top 10 early on, but slipped back to 23rd by the finish, just making it into the 24 strong grid for the Grande Final. I was prepared, I knew we could make it up into the mid teens, for the best result of the season for me. We were ready to go in Parc Ferme, the fuel was in, the tyres were on.. But the engine didn't start. We tried everything, but nothing worked. It was a jammed float in the carb, and although we gave up and went back to the awning, we took the carb off and put it straight back on.... and the engine started. It was a cruel blow, the engine sounded better than it had gone all weekend, and it was already performing very well.
And to top it all off, 40 miles from the ferry the carvan got a puncture. It just happens to me, always!
Just shows you, I'm one of these unlucky people. I used to be a great believer in "you make your own luck", but after the weekend and the season I've had I don't think I could do much more. I've really given it my all, and nothing is coming my way! Look at the season: Round 1: Communication error in quali ruins my race. Round 2: Engine problems in quali, make up 13 places in the final and the battery goes. Round 3: No time set in quali due to spark plug. Make up 6 places in final until axle moves. Round 4: 1st time I make the A final, but engine problems mean I DNF. Round 5: Disqualified. Round 6: Bad set of tyres put me down the order, win the B final, and make up 7 places. Round 7: Did not start due to engine problems.
You need to look at these stats and say, "what can we do to improve on this" and the answer is nothing really, freak incidents have played a major role in my championship! I have to look at this in a sort of good way though, last year I tasted the sweetest victories and now in 2009 I'm tasting the bitter long drive homes after mechanical problems or a disqualification. It doesn't taste nice..
) racing down south, which could be interesting 
