Today I raced the car on loose dirt at the MAC Vlijmen Winter Championship.
Due to some delays getting to the venue my first laps were the warm-up laps of the first qualifying heat. It wasn't far from ideal considering the new front suspension had never seen testing over a bumpy surface before - and let's face it, with last year's success with podium finishes, it had to live up to high expectations.
It quickly became clear though I didn't need to worry: The new front suspension felt right at home, in fact the whole car felt a lot better, confirming once again that it is a worthy successor to the last prototype. It's amazing how much difference one year can make. Last year, the car was quick but I sometimes felt like a passenger of my own vehicle: it was very hard to keep stable off-power. This year's car feels smoother an calmer, an particularly off-power this makes a big difference!
This reflected in the results. The field was very competitive and close together, but a 6th place in the first qualifying was a solid start. In the second qualifying I was running first in my group until I suffered a left rear suspension failure. It was all or nothing in qualifying three, and a 3rd place then got me the 5th spot for the A-finals.
In the first final there was a 4-people group fighting for 2nd place. There was some extremely close battling, where I came out the better in the end. In the second was another steady start, after which I dueled for 2nd place with someone else. Our pace picked up to the point where it nearly became 3-person battle for first place, though with a mistake from me, the leader got away, though I again reeled in the second place. The last final some some bad luck and lesser driving on my part, ending up 5th.
Overall it was a very good day: The car felt really good, the pace was impressive and I scored a 2nd place overall!
PS: NO, it wasn't a 2-horse race... the driver who finished third left for home before the trophies were handed out!
