Well, that went quite a bit better than expected
. Came in expecting a terrible day, as Monza is always chaotic, and I had previously only driven 3 laps at St. Croix A.
Manufacturers cup:
Qualy:
Set some reasonable laps, ended with a fairly fast one, giving me P6 (just 0.003s in front of P7)
Race:
Start was just total chaos, as usual at Monza. Lost a few places, won another few, ended lap 1 back in P6. Made a few passes to end up in P4 by the end of lap 5, when most people pitted. I stayed out for 2 more laps (tires were fine and had enough fuel). Lap 7 I slightly misjudged Lesmo 1, and lost about 5 seconds.
After my pitstop, I came out in P8 (my Lesmo mishap cost me 4 places
). With just 2 laps to go, there was not much I could still do, and finished P8, but got promoted to P7 through penalties.
Nations cup:
Qualy:
Was stuck between two other drivers, but the rest of the field was right behind us. With only limited time, none of us backed down, so we had a racing qualification. Somehow the three of us ended up in P2-P4, with me on P4.
Race:
Start was good, and I was close to the 2 drivers in front of me. In turn 3 the guy in P2 spun out on his own. A few turns later I accidently hit the other, who braked a bit earlier than I do at that corner, causing him to slide off track and lose two places (sorry mate!). Now in P2, I quickly started pulling away from the rest of the field, while the guy in P1 pulled away from me. To my shock he pitted in lap 3, meaning he would do a 2 stop, whereas I could easily do a 1 stop.
Had a lonely race until lap 7, when the leader pitted for the 2nd time. Unfortunately, he came out 7 seconds in front of me (his lap times were a lot faster than mine, and he only needed a small splash of fuel). I don't think he changed tires, though, because I was suddenly gaining on him. It wasn't enough, and I finished 3 seconds behind him in P2. I was 17 seconds ahead of P3, though
.