How one second becomes three....
The problem about speaking ones thoughts onto a computer are that they seem such nonsense when the reality of the race day arrives
I was worrying about a second after Silverstone yet found myself 2.9 seconds away from the pole and 11 people in front of me when qualifying at Thruxton finished. I was not flat out at either of the bits of track that demanded flat outness and it showed in the times. So to the explanations.
a) There were lots of cars on the track and many of them seemed in front of me. In fact I remember having to overtake 4 of the slowest 5 guys in the 9 laps we had.
b) The session was stopped when Andy Powell was leapfrogged by Michael Burdon – taking both cars out. When I started again I was at the back of the whole session and it also left very little time.
c) I was simply very nervous. My overtaking bravery is more than a little suspect. Getting close to other cars when I have no clue what they are going to do is, for me, still daunting. This seems to be a hangover from the smashes I have had in the past. In terms of going quickly around corners this also causes my little old heart to flutter. It is difficult to describe but I will have a go.
Around the back of the circuit is a corner called Church. This is definitely flat out but the exit is invisible so after turning in a sudden doubt creeps into your mind that you are going too fast, or you have not got the apex right and it is all going to go wrong. Bearing in mind one is travelling in excess of 100 mph at this point. What happened with me was that I would momentarily lift and then see the track opening up in front of me and realise I had cocked it up yet again. A lift here compromises the fast bit up to the chicane where everyone overtakes. At the point of lift however there is this rather exquisite sense of fear and panic, the heart rate spikes a little higher and ones breathing becomes shallower and more rapid. Fun?
I knew my times were not fast enough (1.28) but I was very depressed to be off the pace by so much. Although my courage was increasing I could not see me improving that much. Mind you I have just checked the times I did in 2003 at Thruxton and I was one second faster in the early part of the year and later that same year I did a 1.25.5 which would have had me in 2nd on the grid yesterday (accepting conditions would have made a difference).
So what does this mean? Bottle gone, backmarkers slowing me down, bad luck, crap car? All I know was that I was not enjoying heading backwards on grids and the point was becoming lost. Why spend so much money to fail?
I was worrying about a second after Silverstone yet found myself 2.9 seconds away from the pole and 11 people in front of me when qualifying at Thruxton finished. I was not flat out at either of the bits of track that demanded flat outness and it showed in the times. So to the explanations.
a) There were lots of cars on the track and many of them seemed in front of me. In fact I remember having to overtake 4 of the slowest 5 guys in the 9 laps we had.
b) The session was stopped when Andy Powell was leapfrogged by Michael Burdon – taking both cars out. When I started again I was at the back of the whole session and it also left very little time.
c) I was simply very nervous. My overtaking bravery is more than a little suspect. Getting close to other cars when I have no clue what they are going to do is, for me, still daunting. This seems to be a hangover from the smashes I have had in the past. In terms of going quickly around corners this also causes my little old heart to flutter. It is difficult to describe but I will have a go.
Around the back of the circuit is a corner called Church. This is definitely flat out but the exit is invisible so after turning in a sudden doubt creeps into your mind that you are going too fast, or you have not got the apex right and it is all going to go wrong. Bearing in mind one is travelling in excess of 100 mph at this point. What happened with me was that I would momentarily lift and then see the track opening up in front of me and realise I had cocked it up yet again. A lift here compromises the fast bit up to the chicane where everyone overtakes. At the point of lift however there is this rather exquisite sense of fear and panic, the heart rate spikes a little higher and ones breathing becomes shallower and more rapid. Fun?
I knew my times were not fast enough (1.28) but I was very depressed to be off the pace by so much. Although my courage was increasing I could not see me improving that much. Mind you I have just checked the times I did in 2003 at Thruxton and I was one second faster in the early part of the year and later that same year I did a 1.25.5 which would have had me in 2nd on the grid yesterday (accepting conditions would have made a difference).
So what does this mean? Bottle gone, backmarkers slowing me down, bad luck, crap car? All I know was that I was not enjoying heading backwards on grids and the point was becoming lost. Why spend so much money to fail?
posted by Anthony at 8:33 AM
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