8/27/98 - I had high hopes for this week's Papy Cup race at Rouen, because before I left for Papyrus I did a string of 2:01's with a couple of 2:02's mixed in. I figured if I could do that during the race, I'd be in very good shape.
I qualified well, with a 2:02.20, which was good enough for third on the grid. Rich Yasi and Matt Sentell, two of the fastest drivers in the series, did not race, and Dave Kaemmer got held up in practice - his setup was all wonky from testing an obscure bug, since fixed - and didn't get in a good time. Only Tony Johns, who got the pole, and Shawn Wise were quicker than me.
The field was rather thin this week, with only ten cars. I'm not sure if work on the pending release kept people too busy to race, or if the intimidating nature of the Rouen circuit kept people away. Perhaps it was a little of both.
The qualifying order:
In the race, it was a heady feeling to be sitting on the front row of the grid, with a clear view of the first turn and nothing ahead of me! Unfortunately, I bogged down at the start, and Scott Sanford rear-ended me, causing chaos on the grid. Somehow, when I got going again, I was fourth, but I slid wide in the second turn, and Dave Kaemmer flew by. I followed Shawn Wise and Kevin Wasson for a while, but I was unable to repeat my pre-race form and they gradually pulled away. I got up to 4th when Kevin Wasson made a mistake and allowed me past, but then I started making mistakes and slipped back to fifth. Soon I was being endangered by Scott Sanford's Ferrari, until he too made a mistake and dropped back.
Up front, Dave moved quickly into the lead, and stretched out the margin over Tony until he started having to run through lapped traffic. As Dave was slowed, having to wait for opportunities to move by slower cars, Tony closed up, but then once in the clear, Dave opened the gap again.
I had a harrowing moment near the end, when I came over the brow of the hill at the first turn and found a Ferrari crawling along right on the line. The rate of closure was too great for me to avoid him, and we collided with great force, my car flying up onto the bank.
Miraculously, all four wheels were still attached, and I drove back to the track and started to accelerate, only to discover that the engine had been damaged. I braked to a halt, planning to hit Shift-R to repair it, when Scott Sanford came roaring over the hill and did the same thing to me that I'd done to the other Ferrari! Poor Scott; it was entirely my fault, as I should have moved off line before stopping for Shift-R, but I was fortunate to get away first, and thus finished ahead of Scott in fifth.
Kevin and Shawn tangled near the end, and Shawn got the better of Kevin after the incident, giving him the final podium position.
Now, onto the sunny landscape of Old Blighty!
The results:
Fastest Lap 4 D. Kaemmer LOT 1:59.31