The first race of the year was to be a bit mixed, well as far as tyre choice and weather conditions were concerned. I was started form seventh on the grid after a difficult qualifying session in dry conditions yesterday. I had practiced the start procedure over and over again in testing, but when you are sat on the grid staring up at the red lights waiting for them to go out it all seems rather different.
The gearbox on the cars allow for a launch control system to be incorporated in the software, as there is no manual clutch that the driver can operate. By selecting first gear with your foot on the brake it keeps the clutch disengaged until you release the brake. Then it selects first gear and way you go. It does keep a limit on the revs of the engine though.
I started on the right hand side of he grid, nearest the pit lane, this was also the wettest side of the grid. I had taken the gamble to run on slick tyres, hoping that the weather wasn't going to get any worse and the track was only going to get dryer.
I made a fairly good start considering the conditions, but the other cars on wets did make a better get away. Its easy at this time of the race to lose it all in the first corner, cold tyres and brakes on a wet track can be a recipe for disaster.
It only took a couple of laps to start to come together, and before too long I had overtaken the cars on wets and set off after the leaders on slick tyres.
For someone who had not race a car for eleven years until this point, it all seemed to come flooding back. Trying to maintain the performance of the tyres whilst doing my best to catch up with the cars in front.
I got up to fourth place and also had the fastest lap of the race for a while, before it was eclipsed in the dying laps.
So that's how it ended up. My first race under my belt. A fourth position and some well deserved championship points to boot.
So far a great comeback.
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