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| Race report by Cham Dassanayake |
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Let me start by saying that I was so excited to compete in Touring Car class after a long break from major races in Touring Car.
I decided to start off my T4â™2017 with the base asphalt setup, which was a good choice. Then I worked from there. AMCRâ™s indoor track is beautiful! But hidden behind this beauty was a mix between a technical and a fast track, with challenging grip conditions. The track proved to be very difficult, even for the best drivers, and to a certain extent fatal, as the curbs are almost like jumps! Furthermore, if you missed the racing line and went off of it, your tires would get dirty and that is the end of your run. Basically NO mistakes allowed.
My racing progress started off to a slow and steady start in the practice and controlled practice rounds. Gathering more information from more experienced drivers I was able to improve my car to make it faster and easier. Also with more and more runtime I was able to find the Touring Car driving style again.
With the result of my three consecutive laps in the reseeding runs I placed myself in the second fastest group. From here my progress continued up hill..! In 4 out of 5 quali I was within the top ten. My best two qualifiers were a 2 and a 5 which placed me 6th on the grid for the finals. |
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The finals were also fantastic. I was super happy with my driving and also how much my car was consistent, over the changing track conditions. In the first final, I was pushed out in the start by a driver behind me, but despite this worked my way up and was soon battling for the 3rd place. Being over ambitious I caught one of the deadly curbs which ejected me into the air (I thought I was driving my XB4 for an instant) and ended me up on my roof. I still managed to finish 5th. For the second final, I was also pushed out of the trajectory in the opening laps. I managed to keep my cool and focus on the racing lines and the braking spots. I quickly found myself behind the fast guys in front of me. From there onwards I was like an ambulance coming faster from behind, flashing my lights and saying â move out of the way I need to get throughâ™ (all of this done cleanly, I reassure you!!).
The cars in front, noticing the clear difference in pace, started driving defensively. In a blink of an eye, I managed to overtake the cars in P3 and P2 cleanly and vanish away in the distance, to finish 2nd. At this point, I had the confidence and new that I can compete for a podium spot, and even the highest step depending on the outcome of the 3rd final. I put my head down and my objective was not to get hit or taken out in the start. After the start and a couple of laps in I was fortunate enough not to have any race incidents. I was soon hunting down the P3 car, and got testier towards the 2 mins remaining mark. Unfortunately I was not able to capitalize and finished 4th. |
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I was super happy with my car and my driving, regardless of the result. I was able to grab that last spot on the podium and that felt good as I thought it was hard fought and well deserved.
Team Xray cars were present all over and had great results! It was a T4â™2017 which shattered the lap record and the first to ever break the 13 second barrier this challenging track in the modified class. The X1â™2017 won the formula one class with ease and the T4 2017 won the 13.5T blinky class. See results below:
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| Formula 1 results : |
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1. Jérémy Limoges ⓠXRAY X1
2. Jean â“ Michel Varinard â“ XRAY X1
3. Willy Voisangrin - XRAY X1
4. Denis Lambert
5. Olivier Beining
6. Frederic Favier â“XRAY X1
7. Philippe Pauvert â“ XRAY X1
8. Franck Meilland â“ XRAY X1
9. Jean-paul Boissonnade - XRAY X1
10: Eric Chenaillie â“ XRAY X1
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| 13.5 Blinky results: |
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1. Steve Favrelle â“ XRAY T4
2. Briac Bertthoud â“ XRAY T4
3. Cedric Gerbert â“ XRAY T4
4. Renaud Brusselle â“ XRAY T4
5. Vincent Cavard â“ XRAY T4
6. Nicolas Cardoso â“ XRAY T4
7. Laurent Desperries â“ XRAY T4
8. Antoine Verdan â“ XRAY T4
9. Rudy Amaral
10. Hai Long Tran
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| 10.5 Blinky results: |
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1. Arnaud Soulignac
2. Jeremy Delalondre
3. Cham Dassanayake â“ XRAY T4
4. Pierre Delorme â“ XRAY T4
5. Richard Volta â“ XRAY T4
6. Steve Favrelle â“ XRAY T4
7. Alexandre Kunkler
8. Mathias Rascol â“ XRAY T4
9. Julien Jost
10. Fabien Valantin â“ XRAY T4
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| Modified results: |
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1. Louc Jasmin
2. RĂ©mi Callens
3. Cyril N´Diaye
4. Alexandre Duchet â“ XRAY T4
5. Manuel Wagner â“ XRAY T4
6. Thomas Vigneron
7. Alexandre Laurent â“ XRAY T4
8. Jérémy Limoges ⓠXRAY T4
9. Hugo Ragaut â“ XRAY T4
10. Walter Pollet-Villard
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