| Race report by Chris Nielsen |
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The third round of the DRCMU series was held in Tinglev, in the southern part of Denmark, close to the German border. This meant that the race attracted quite a few German racers, and therefore the driver lineup was the biggest of the series so far.
I was racing in the stock class (17.5T Blinky. The field was a mixture of newcomers, and experienced guys, and you had to be quick to make the A main. Having won the first two rounds of the series, I put a lot of pressure on myself to make it 3 out of 3.
Saturdays practice was very much an up and down and up again experience. I had never been to this track before, since this was only my 4th Touring Car race ever. The track is very different from what Iâ™m used to, itâ™s big and flowing, with a lot of high speed technical sections, where as my home track is smaller and has a lot of 180 turns. I have a steep learning curve ahead of me, on these bigger tracks, but itâ™s a challenge that I enjoy.
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I had decent speed on Saturday, but my car was very unstable, and I couldnâ™t really repeat the lines lap after lap, the way I wanted. I had very little confidence in the car at that point. I tried a lot of things, and it got better and better, but it still wasnâ™t what I wanted. I then got some advise from Bjarke Nyskov, and that helped improve the car a lot. I now had a basic setup that I could drive with confidence, but It still wasnâ™t perfect.
Sunday started with two timed practice sessions, where the fastest 3 consecutive laps would determine the rankings for Qualifying. In the first practice I was 2nd, 0,1 behind Rasmus. I made some minor adjustments, and in the second practice I was quickest, by about 0,7.
Rankings after controlled Practice:
1. Chris Nielsen - XRAY T4
2. Bjarke Nyskov - XRAY T4
3. Rasmus Skjoldborg Jakobsen
4. Nicolai Nielsen
5. Mirko Schreuer
6. Emil Tranberg
7. Per Dissing
8. Mads Konge
9. Niels Ole Klinge - XRAY T4
10. Victor Nielsen
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In qualifying Bjarke was quickest in Q1 and Q2, while I was just driving badly. I made some stupid mistakes, and I was pushing the car too much. I finally got it together in Q3, and TQâ™ed that round. This meant, that I would start the race second on the grid.
Rankings after Qualifying:
1. Bjarke Nyskov - XRAY T4
2. Chris Nielsen - XRAY T4
3. Nicolai Nielsen
4. Mirko Schreuer
5. Per Dissing
6. Emil Tranberg
7. Niels Ole Klinge - XRAY T4
8. Victor Nielsen
9. Holger Stannek
10. Gert Koue
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I made some further adjustments before A1, as the grip was getting really high at that point. I had a good start, and was able to keep up with Bjarke, and pass him on lap 3. I then controlled the race from that point, until I came up to some lapped traffic, and the guy in front of me clips a curb and crashes in front of me. I had to avoid him, and that causes me to hit a curb, and land on my roof. Bjarke goes by, and there is about a minute left on the clock. I hunt him down, and pass him with 10 seconds to go, and I take the win in A1.
In A2 I again make a good start, and was able to push Bjarke for the first couple of laps, until I make a mistake, and that gave him the breathing room he needed. I pushed as hard as I could, and I wheeled him in little by little, but I made another mistake, and that was it. I set a new lap record of 13.428, but Bjarke had the race under control and was cruising around to take the win in A2. He also set a faster time in A2, than me, so he was leading going in to A3.
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| Before A3, I felt like I had nothing to loose, so I gambled with the setup on my car. I changed a lot on the front end of the car, and on the warm up laps it felt like it was the right call. I again made a good start, and was pushing Bjarke right from the very first corner. Unfortunately a car came out of nowhere tumbling towards us. It collects us both, but I was lucky to stay on the wheels, while Bjarke needed marshalling. By then I just focused on controlling the gap to Bjarke, and staying safe on the racing line. The changes I made on the car before the final was working great, and I could race it the way I wanted to. I cruised home to take the win in A3, and also setting a new track record for quickest final. 23 laps on 5:10,055. |
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| Final Standings |
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1. Chris Nielsen â“ XRAY T4
2. Bjarke Nyskov â“ XRAY T4
3. Nicolai Nielsen
4. Emil Tranberg
5. Mirko Schreuer
6. Niels Ole Klinge â“ XRAY T4
7. Per Dissing
8. Victor Nielsen
9. Holger Stannek
10. Mads Groth
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