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News  Racing
T4 Podium Finish at SITCC R2, Switzerland |
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| Race report by Cham Dassayanake |
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Race 2 of 4 of the Swiss Indoor Touring Car Championship (SITCC) series took place 15 December, and would be the last race for the 2012 chapter of the 2012/2013 SITCC series.
The organizing club ERMC of Grand Saconnex, Switzerland concocted a pretty demanding and finger cramping circuit. Whilst the club members laid down the prima track GT carpet, the night before, the tire groove from the first round of the SITCC•s circuit was still noticeable. This was the first year where the imposed tire and tire traction compound combo developed significant amounts of grip.
After feedback from the first race the race organizers planned on having three 5 minute qualifications with only one of them to count for the finals based on FTQ and three finals with the best two to count.
The gym doors opened at 7:30am and racers from all over Switzerland and neighboring France poured in to find their spots. Due to the over populated drivers stand of the morning•s free practice I opted to sit out and started my day with the controlled free practice. Though I noticed a slight lack of rear traction, I did not make any changes for Q1 as I knew the grip of the track would have increased by then. |
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The starting order of the Qualifications was that of the ranking of the last round of the series, therefore I started 2nd, behind WPV and in front of JMB. At the start of the quali, with the over confidence in the capability of my T4 I took a corner a little to tight and clipped one of the buttons and rolled the car. Though the marshall was quick to react, this mishap cost me over 2 seconds ! I quickly made up lost ground, but on lap 15 entered into contact with a crashing back marker which cost me another 2 seconds. At the end of the Q1 I finished 3rd, but proudly walked away with the fastest time of the day of 9.738 seconds, which was a comfortable 10th of a second faster than the 2nd best lap.
For Q2 I started 3 behind JMB and after 5 laps was right on his tail ! With a gentleman like a gesture he opened to let me through. All was going good until the over confidence again bit me as I caught a button and rolled the car fortunately back on to all fours, however this allowed JMB back through. Getting back into the rythm I was able to close back up on JMB by lap 9. The plan was to play it safe by staying behind and following him by a foot or so knowing that I would be reseeded a head of him for Q3 if I kept that distance. However I couldn•t follow through on my plan due to JMB•s fairplay, as he opened the door for me to pass again ! As we completed our laps I made a silly mistake and JMB passed through again. This time determined to stay close behind him to save the second spot, however as the 5 minute marked tone rung I hit the curbing and lost the cushion gap and with it the TQ runner up spot. I did however obtain the fastest lap of the day again wuth a 9.648 seconds. |
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The carpet•s grip was at it•s best during Q3 but besides that it is not worth talking about as I performed so poorly with multiple mistakes and multiple clashes with the possessed duct tape (thanks Paul F.). Worth mentioning though, is the durability of the T4. It•s a tank !! I was off the best lap by 5 hundreths of a second, with a 9.588..
To conclude a 3rd, 3rd and a 2nd had me sitting 3 on the grid for the finals.
The track had lost some of it•s traction for F1, and I could not allow all the power to the ground. I dropped to 4th but in a blink of an eye snatched 3rd place back with a sweet clean pass on my contender Rafael Tolotta. I finished 3rd.
After some thought and discussion with my pit mates, I reduced the power on my speedo to suit the new track conditions. This really helped. At the sound of the tone of F2 I was soo surprised at how quickly I shot off the 3rd place grid spot, that I had to slam the brakes so not to hit JMB from behind. Three corners into F2 JMB made a mistake and pinballed away from the curbing, leaving a small gap for me to pass through. Seeing this opportunity, I slammed the throttle and just as I thought the overtaking manouver was over and that i had passed successfully, JMB•s car found traction and we collided. My car took the best of the situation as poor JMB•s car did a 180 and got caught in traffic. Though I had distanced him quite a bit, and pushing too hard to catch WPV out in front I did a series of mistakes which gave back well deserved 2nd place to JMB. Finished 3rd again.
With the win already gifted to WPV, the second place podium was up for grabs ! After a clean start to F3 I stayed as close as I could to JMB. He made the error and we swapped places. I did my best to drive as consistently as possible. To my surprise WPV made a mistake and I dangerously closed in on him. Further to my surprise 2 corners later he opened a wide door for me to pass !?! Which I took advantage of.. But not for long as I made a mistake and rolled it allow him to recuperate the first spot. Though I pushed hard I didn•t manage to reel him in to threaten him. I finished 2nd for this one. |
| The Final Results were as follows : |
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1. Walter Pollet-Villard
2. Jean-Marc Betticher
3. Cham Dassayanake •XRAY T4
4. Arthur Brule
5. Paul Franceschi • XRAY T3
6. Raffaele Tolotta
7. Nicolas Huguenin
8. Joao Godinho • XRAY T4
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