|
(click to enlarge) |
|
| Race report by Carlos Duraes |
|
| The B European Championship 2010 was held in Valladolid at an awesome track with great facilities. I was there at the Warm-Up and it was great, so my feeling for this race was that I could be competitive and I was confident, since in the previous weekend I had won the Portuguese Nationals. |
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
|
| I arrived in Valladolid on Thursday at the end of the afternoon and the weather seemed a little too dark and cloudy, but we thought it would become better for the next day, the first day for the competition. On Friday it was raining a lot⦠A LOT, which delayed the first practice sessions; the track was completely wet and muddy, but the organization did awesome work and protected it with carpet. |
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
|
For the first practice session I chose not to run, mainly because it was too muddy and was still raining, so there wouldnâ™t be any advantage to go out since it was almost impossible to drive. Only a few drivers went out.
For the second practice session, the track was a little better and I decided to run. I wanted to have the most track time possible in muddy and raining conditions, because it seemed that the race was going to be like that all weekend long at that point. The car was good, but our Warm-Up setup wasnâ™t perfect for those conditions, because the conditions were completely different from the Warm-Up (sunny and clean track). |
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
|
For me, running in the second session was to adapt to the track conditions, know different trajectories, understand how fast I could be in those conditions, and try to understand the carâ™s behavior to improve for the next practice session.
In the third practice session, I made some tuning changes to my car setup and talked with my father to work out the best strategy. It was a perfect practice session, since I won it and I would be the practice session TQ.
For Saturday, I knew it was going to be very difficult to be TQ again since many drivers were very competitive and the track conditions were going to improve. Everyone was getting faster and the track was a little different from the previous day since the weather was better.
I made lots of mistakes in the qualifications - mainly my own fault - but the car was great. I was pushing more in some areas and trying to go faster in the better track conditions, trying to find the best line and fastest pace. But I was still cautious to qualify straight into the semi-final. In the end I was 8th so I was in the semis, which was the most important thing at the moment. I knew that was going to be tough, since the Top 10 were really fast, competitive guys. |
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
|
In the final day of the B Euros (Sunday) it was the finals day and it was the first day that it didnâ™t rain, so the track had more grip and was faster than in the previous days.
In my semi-final, at the start someone touched me so in the first corner I was in last place. I knew that I had to make a comeback for the race. I started to improve my pace and overcome some drivers. After that I was in secure position for the final and I tried to stay calm and secure that spot, since the front guys had a good advantage over me. My car was really great in the semis and I felt really confident driving it, but it was slipping a bit (which I knew to be tire choice), so I decided to change for the final. |
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
|
For the Final I had the worst-ever start for a final all this year long. After the triple section a car came straight towards me and I was again in last place⦠but worse than that I was miles away from the front drivers. I knew that if I was patient and calm I could make a comeback, but this track was really difficult to overcome especially in the fast sections because it was very narrow and in the corners. Everyone protected their positions well. By the 15min mark I was being lapped by Ricardo Monteiro and after that point I started to improve my pace and overcome cars.
I made a comeback up to 2nd position, but I didnâ™t have enough time to get the leader. He was going really fast and making almost no mistakes.
At the end I was happy with my 2nd position at this B European Championship, since it was really hard to make a comeback from last place to 2nd in 45min at this competition level. I was always pushing and trying to manage the traffic, but I lost too much time in the beginning and I could do nothing about it. It as a huge effort and I did my best and was comfortable with that since my sponsors deserve my best effort and best attitude. |
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
|
| For the entire weekend, my XRAY was awesome. I always felt great driving it, and even with mixed conditions / grips / trajectory lines / tires⦠the car always performed great. It is a joy for a driver to not think about the car and just DRIVE. My RB engine was great too, always having power for the conditions and also having good fuel consumption over the weekend. |
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
| Final results : |
|
1. Ricardo Monteiro
2. Carlos Duraes â“ XRAY XB808
3. Adrian Perez
4. Alex Bayer
5. Martin Roca
|
|
(click to enlarge) |
|
|
