We arrived at the track, unpacked our stuff and were able to check out the track in our training groups. As my XRAY NT1 was running well right from the start, we only had to tweak our standard set-up slightly and could then concentrate on adjusting the engine and choosing the right tyres. It didnâ™t take long before the first qualifier was due to start. After only a few laps, I realised it was going to be a close race between Gerhard Kandelhart (XRAY) and me.
On top of this, I made a mistake two or three minutes later and thought the race was already over. So I said to myself itâ™s all or nothing and gave 110%. As a result, I gained a one-second lead over Kandelhart, which put me in first place.
The results after the qualifers were as follows:
1. Singer Manuel XRAY NT1
2. Kandelhart Gerhard XRAY NT1
3. Furtner Richard XRAY NT1
4. Meisinger Michael XRAY NT1
5. Bartacek Christian XRAY NT1
6. Osvald Alojzij
7. Baumgartner Gernot 8. Berger Hermann XRAY NT1
9. Eichbauer Stefan
10. Stiebler Andreas
In the semi-finals, I took advantage of my starting position and drove an easy race to secure a position in the final. Furtner, Bartacek, Moser, Eichbauer and FĂĽrst from my semi-final group also qualified. In the other semi-final race, Kandelhart, Osvald, Berger and Stiebler made it through.
As a result, the line-up for the final looked like this:
1. Singer Manuel XRAY NT1
2. Furtner Richard XRAY NT1
3. Bartacek Christian XRAY NT1
4. Kandelhart Gerhard XRAY NT1
5. Moser Björn XRAY NT1
6. Eichbauer Stefan
7. Osvald Alojzij 8. Berger Hermann XRAY NT1
9. Stiebler Andreas 10. FĂĽrst Robert XRAY NT1
The final took place an hour later. Just a few minutes into the race, I realised that the big tyres I had on might spell doom for me, but by then it was too late and I rolled in the chicane. This pushed me down into seventh place and gave Richard Furtner the chance to take the lead. It wasnâ™t long, though, before I started making up the lost time as the grip on my tyres had started to improve by this point. Gerhard Kandelhart was also able to move up several places and finished in second position.
Final results:
1. Singer Manuel XRAY NT1
2. Kandelhart Gerhard XRAY NT1
3. Furtner Richard XRAY NT1
4. Osvald Alojzij 5. Bartacek Christian XRAY NT1
6. Berger Hermann XRAY NT1
7. Stiebler Andreas 8. FĂĽrst Robert XRAY NT1
9. Moser Björn XRAY NT1
10. Eichbauer Stefan
