The first official race of the new season, the Portuguese Open, was held last weekend at the 2010 Euros track at Guarda. It would be my first time with the new XB808 2011-spec, which I had received just a few days before.
On Saturday there were no practice sessions for me since there was too much water on the track and almost all drivers decided not to run.
On Sunday the track was better because it didnâ™t rain during the night. Still there was some mud on the track but it was okay.
The qualification heat was not so bad and I finished 3rd. It was my first time racing the new car because we had heavy rain all week long. I made one mistake that cost me the win; Pedro Figueiredo won with his XRAY 808.
The second qualification heat was not good, because I didnâ™t pit to re-fuel before the start of the heat and in the last lap my engine flamed out.
In the third (last) qualification heat I made two mistakes and finished 4th, while Pedro Figueiredo won again and got TQ.
During the afternoon the rain came to stay â“ heavy rain and lots of wind â“ and the race was stopped. The final results were the qualifying positions, which put two XRAY cars on the podium!
I really enjoyed this all-new 2011 car, and I really believe XRAY has produced one of the best cars ever. I canâ™t wait to race it again.
See you at the track!
