I do wonder just how many people have been caught out by the pre-Bus Stop starting line today. I know I certainly was expecting the auto drive to last a lot longer than it did and had to focus in a hurry!
Definitely just caught me off guard. What on earth was that?!
Even P1 starting before the chicane?
Yep!
That's a one and done for me. I think I've got the pace for a win if I can qualify well and keep my focus, but good god that Bus Stop start is horrible!
I started P7 on the Mediums and within seconds all hell broke loose. The French driver in P8 had absolutely no sense of caution and dived me into the Bus Stop. That punted the German in P6, giving both damage. Getting a penalty for a collision and causing damage in just 5 seconds from race start has to be some kind of record. Not really the show I wanted a front-row seat for moments after the race begins, and trying to navigate the French driver's mess cost me dearly at the start. It let P5 break away and compromised my exit from the Bus Stop, so the French and German drivers gapped me pretty heavily at the start too.
With no tow, a Spaniard got the run on me down the Kemmel and I'm now down in P9. The Frenchman and German then started fighting heavily, the Spaniard got into the mix, mistakes were made on the run up to Pouhon and the order started flipping all over the place.
The whole lap was chaos.
A Belgian got past me at La Source and I ended up playing chicken with another Brit on the run up to Eau Rouge, but he backed out. I get past the German into Les Combes thanks to his damage, and then the poor guy gets punted
again by the Brit. What a horrendous start to a race. I'm very thankful I didn't pick up any damage throughout, but all this chaos was just continuing to let the front pack pull away unabated.
The Belgian hit one of the bollards at the end of the Kemmel Straight and bounced left over the runoff with the sausages so I picked P7 back up. From there my race finally settled down and I was able to try get my head down and pump in laps. I eventually caught up with another Brit on lap 8, and I nearly had some mishaps on lap 9 since he went to concede the position at Blanchimont and I wasn't expecting it. My angle through the turn was awful as I frantically tried to bring the radar up to track where he was, and my Bus Stop afterwards was incredibly sloppy. Managed to hold it together, but I bet that guy was freaking out a bit from my sudden panic.
I knew the win was very likely off the cards very soon after. As I rounded La Source on lap 10, I ended up behind a German who was exiting the pits. Not what I wanted to see, but still lots to fight for since my fast stint was still to come.
I took my pit stop after lap 12 and emerged in P9. Time to see how many people still have pit stops planned or on Mediums and within reach. The start of lap 14 moved me back up to P7 through pit stops, and I came rocketing up behind a Brit at the end of the Kemmel Straight (he must have had damage, he was
really slow) and got up the inside into Les Combes. Back up to P6, but all the time lost at the start was substantial. I was a long, long way behind.
It was all the way up to lap 19 before I caught anyone, and it wasn't on merit. The Spaniard from earlier had binned it coming out of Bruxelles, giving me P5. I was now within visual contact of the Swiss driver in P4, but catching him wouldn't happen until lap 21. He was also
very adamant about defending the position, and even though my dying Softs should provide an advantage over his dying Mediums, they're still dying.
I was right up his bumper at the start of lap 22 and he dropped it at La Source, exiting stage right. I'll admit, I actually waved goodbye when I saw his mistake unfolding. Am I a bad person?
From there I brought it home in P4 for 225 points, very happy with that. Also have to give respect to the German who was being used as a pinball because he managed to claw back up to P5 in spite of everything.