Jul
21
Hi everyone,
I hope you are all well. Please accept my apologies for the very late update but my life has been incredibly busy recently and whenever I get some spare time all I feel like doing is nothing!
After my success at Silverstone I of course felt very confident going to the Nurburgring. I spent my days in between the 2 races just seeing my friends, training and flying my planes. I also went along to see the F3 at Snetterton because it’s good to see my team as they also race in F3 and also it gives me my fix of motorsport when I have had a boring week! The weather was so so good!… so seriously big bike rides during the day and then long evenings flying my model planes was how it went for a couple of weeks.
Dennis came with me to the Nurburgring and the weekend started very well. We flew out Wednesday evening from Stansted to Cologne which is about 1 hour drive from the circuit…. the hotel though was a further 40 minutes over the hills so it was quite a journey! The weather was miserable all weekend. On the Friday it was like a March test day not a July race weekend… it was just above 12 degrees and I don’t think anybody was prepared for that.
Free practice started well, I finished the session with a comfortable balance and I knew for my qualifying that I had a very good car. My qualifying on the first set of tyres was very good but of course when you pit and have the second set for the final 10 minutes you naturally will go faster as both yourself and the circuit improves. I was beginning my first flying lap on the second set when I had traffic come out of the pits in front of me. I decided to immediately just give up the lap and not take too much out of the tyres and have another go on the second lap. This lap was OK but once again I had traffic…. and my session eventually ended with me having traffic on every lap on my second set of tyres. I did just about pull out two good laps to take 6th and 7th on the grid but just with a clear lap I would have been fighting for rows 1 and 2. I know I am always moaning about traffic but I guess when things are not going your way in a session there is not much you can do about it. But I knew that my car was very good and my pace was also much better than my grid slot suggested so I felt confident for my race.
I started the first race very well and had just fought my way up into 4th at the first corner on about lap 5 but then at turn 3 I just felt a knock from behind and I was spinning. It was a great shame because my pace was so good and 4th was the worst result possible for me in that race. I didn’t see anything in my mirrors although I knew who it was. These things happen and while it is very frustrating, I was once again fighting at the front so it is not so bad. When things are out of your control there is no point in getting upset about it.
Race two was very very wet! Unfortunately for me they decided to start behind the safety car so the grid was very spread out for the start and it was very difficult to make progress but I finished a solid 6th which is good points and I was happy for that after what happened in race one.
My potential for the weekend was certainly much higher than what was achieved but this is motorsport and I know that I did nothing wrong all weekend and that only circumstances prevented me. My next race is in Hungary this weekend which I leave for tomorrow afternoon. I absolutely love the circuit. In fact, it’s close to one of my favourite circuits. Every corner is so crucial with each one flowing to another without any long straights. That means you cannot afford to make a mistake because you will always pay twice.
Last weekend I also raced an Abarth 500 in the Trofeo Abarth 500 European championship at Brands Hatch. I got a phone call at around 5.30PM on Thursday asking if I wanted to come and do it for some fun… so I did! It was my first time in a left hand, front wheel drive car with a roof above my head but it was very enjoyable. The racing was very close and because I blew an engine in Quali I had to start last… but I had a mega race and came through to 3rd! It was good fun and of course great experience.
However, on the Sunday of course the whole weekend and the whole of the motorsport world was saddened by the news of Henry Surtees’ death. I first raced with Henry in karts at Rye House when I was 8 years old and ever since our paths have crossed on and off over the years. It is so very upsetting to me to have witnessed the accident and know of the consequences. It was a reminder for me of what a dangerous sport motorsport is, and that the chance of that freak accident can never really be taken away. But, what I do not agree with, is how easily the wheels are flying off the F2 cars and I expect this to be overcome because the accident should never have happened. I wish his family and friends my deepest sympathies.
The harsh reality for me is that I have a race this weekend and a career to pursue and maybe when I start moaning of getting traffic in my qualifying and what has happened to Henry puts it all into perspective a bit.
I am very much looking forward to Hungary this weekend and I look forward to updating you soon after.
Take care,
Rupert
