Phillip Is Sept 24/26th 2010
Our last Oz round. Did the usual trip via air NZ and spent Thursday loading the team truck.
Friday was a full test day; it was bitterly cold, Antarctic wind. Standing on the track looking out to sea the next piece of land is the South Pole! Good 32 car field for this round.
I went out for the first session to find that my engine was missing badly. That was the end of any testing for me as the mechanics struggled to find the fault. Finally next morning 15 minutes before qualifying it was fixed, having replaced the entire wiring loom and just about everything electrical.
Saturday
I qualified with a standard set up and managed P3. You get only 3 laps on a new set of tyres to get your best time but I stayed out for the whole session to test the engine and discovered that car balance deteriorated as the session progressed.
Race 1
Starting from P3 I made a great start and was in the lead by the 3rd corner. By lap 3 Cameron Walters and I started to open up a lead on the pack fighting it out behind us. Then the inevitable Safety car and the field closed up again.
I lead the restart, a ferocious struggle involving the top 6 drivers followed with all of us pushing to the absolute limit. At about this time my car balance once again began to deteriorate to a point where my drive out of corners was badly compromised. I fell back and finished a frustrated 4th.
Sunday Race 2
An average start saw me maintain 4th spot for half a lap before the race was red flagged due to 2 nasty accidents. A tyre wall had to be rebuilt so the race was abandoned. No chance to see if set up changes had worked.
Race 3
Another average start left me fighting for 3rd. The leading pack were wheel to wheel for 3 laps, requiring huge concentration. My car set up had been reworked but regrettably if anything it was worse then before and I was drifting wide on every high speed corner.
My strength at Phillip Island is the entry onto the front straight where for some reason I manage higher speeds then most other drivers, this sets me up nicely for draft passing on the straight. This is an important weapon for me but, on lap 4 while pushing through my favorite corner along side another car, I drifted wide and put my rear wheel over the edge of the track catapulting me into the kitty litter. You can drive through traps at PI because they consist of 20mm dia gravel on a firm base. I kept my foot in it and drove the length of the trap, out onto the grass and merged with the field having lost only 4 places. Fighting to make up places I noticed my engine temp rising, my radiators had become obstructed by grass and gravel. I had to back off and just concentrated on holding my position to the end. Finished with an over heated engine in 7th.
Conclusion
I ended the Cams championship in 4th place thinking what might have been if the last 2 rounds had not thrown up so many obstacles. Lots of talk about FF becoming too dangerous and expensive. Expensive yes but I think that level of competition can only produce good drivers which is what FF is all about.
The Mygale chassis is great but in my experience the performance window is small at times.
Sadly I said goodbye to the many good friends I made in Oz after my 12 trips across the ditch to drive. Again I have learnt heaps and look forward to my next big challenge in NZ. Testing at Ruapuna the day after I get back with Stefan Webling and, round 1 of the NZ Champs on 6/7 Nov.
My sponsors and supporters provide me with so much motivation, I thank you very much for your valued interest.
Best regards
Andre
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