Jul 2006
Report from Snetterton, Rounds 9 & 10
QUALIFYING (ROUND 9):
At Snetterton this weekend Performance Racing were
again in action. With a major heatwave gripping the
country, it was always going to be hard work out
there However, the team’s three drivers were
all ready to go when the session started. As the
officials kicked things off ten minutes early, they
were the only runners in the National Class who made
it out there in time. It didn’t stop Rodolfo
Gonzalez in the T-Sport car getting ahead of everyone
and claiming pole position yet again. As the heat
increased, thus reducing the effectiveness of the
engines, it became a matter of second-guessing the
traffic and reducing the rear wing as much as
possible. While all this was going on, Juho Annala
was able to get much closer to the Venezuelan, though
he couldn’t quite wrest pole from him. Ricardo
Teixeira had a reasonable qualifying session too, to
claim 4th on the grid, while Rodolfo Avila, in the
third of the Performance cars, was surprised to find
himself struggling to come to terms with the track,
and with a fuel pump that didn’t want to work,
and he ended the morning session in 6th.
QUALIFYING QUOTES (ROUND 9): Juho Annala: “This morning was really good. I just couldn't get the time early enough I think. But it was just three tenths or something, so it wasn't too bad. I think I should have been able to push a little bit harder somewhere mid-session when he did his best time, and I did mine just a little bit later. It's one thing I need to learn to do better.”
Ricardo Teixeira: “It didn't go that well and I wasn't quite on the pace and then last three laps I went from 6th to 4th last two laps. My mind just wasn't there yet.”
Rodolfo Avila: “The qualifying was not very good. I just managed to put some laps in, then I had a problem with the fuel pump so I had to stop.
RACE (ROUND 9): In his usual manner Gonzalez shot into the lead of the National Class at the start, getting ahead of Morgado and Juho, while Ricardo also made a very good start to claim 4th place. Meanwhile, in the Championship Class, Bruno Senna (Raikkonen Robertson Racing) and Salvador Duran (Hitech Racing) tangled coming into Sears at speed. Senna's car took off and clipped the bridge, destroying itself in the process, though the driver was miraculously unharmed. Inevitably the Safety Car had to be deployed and it stayed out for 5 laps. At the restart Gonzalez was leading Morgado while Juho was 3rd. Alex Khateeb (Promatecme F3) and Keiko Ihara (Carlin Motorsport) had got ahead of Ricardo after the Angolan had to take evading action when Senna crashed out. That meant he was trapped behind his least favourite person again. Rodolfo had made a poor start and was last. He would soon recover some of the lost ground, but it was at Ricardo's expense. To be fair, he was only profiting from someone else's actions, but Ricardo still wasn't happy afterwards. What happened was that Championship Class runner Maro Engel (Carlin Motorsport) ran into his team-mate, Christian Bakkerud (also in the Championship category) at the restart. An infuriated Bakkerud pitted for a new tyre, then tore out of the pitlane straight onto the racing line, just in front of Ricardo. Ricardo had to brake hard and lost his 4th place as a result. Gonzalez temporarily lost the lead to Morgado, but he took it back again, while the order reshuffled for 6th when Khateeb spun then pitted, letting Ricardo back through. Further up the order, Rodolfo got the better of Kudzak when the Swede made a mistake and ran very wide towards, and was able to claim 4th place.
RACE QUOTES (ROUND 9): Juho Annala: “It's not too bad. I was actually slow in one corner, the second corner, so I just got dropped from the tow every time so there's basically no chance to keep up. I just then tried to control myself and not to do anything stupid, because it was really, really slippery out there. It's just all the shit there from my best friends the GTs. I had a try on Morgado, but couldn't get past him and that was just basically it really. I also lost a lot of time to Gonzalez when I tried to do that. It's good for the sponsors if nothing else, and I can't afford any no scores. The most important thing was to get the Avon girl with the Champagne!”
Ricardo Teixeira: “It was a really good start, and I get past and get on the gas. I think I could get back to the same place if I had chance with him but then I messed up a bit when there was the crash with Senna in the Chicane. Khateeb and Ihara take a chance and pass me, because I am on the grass. I didn't have much choice but I chose the worst possible place I could. And when I was trying to recover Khateeb didn't seem to have confidence to pass Ihara through the Chicane. And when I was trying to pass Keiko it's difficult because she starts to panic so she starts to brake very early but then when she accelerates there's no chance with these engines that we can catch up. But then Christian he just went out of the pitlane straight onto the racing line in front of me and he was still slow because he was just coming out of the pit lane at like 30 or something so I had to brake and when you brake in the middle of the corner it's like panic because the car goes a little bit sideways. And when I braked of course Kudzak was side-by-side with me. And Christian was still slow through the other corner and I was still behind him. And that gave Kudzak a chance to pass me because I was outside of the line. And then of course Rodolfo got inside and got to try and get the tow and overtake me in the next straight. I think it was a shame... I don't know why he tried to block everybody there and I just went from 4th to 6th like that...”
Rodolfo Avila: “The race started really bad for me and there was not much grip on the side that I was on. So I went into the last position. And since then I was a bit off pace because I’m not very used to when it's too hot. The car drifts a little bit and I don't like that feeling so it takes me five or six or seven laps to get used to it. And after a bit I start pushing. As soon as I was able to go past Teixeira I started pushing a lot more and trying to get the 4th place. And all the race I was pushing Kudzak and I was waiting for a mistake but he was quite consistent and he wouldn't do any mistake, so I just had to try to go quicker. And I had my chance. I had loads of opportunities to pass him but he would always close the doors and we had a really good battle for four, five laps, and then two laps before the end he just made a small mistake and I just got much quicker outside the corner and just got the tow all over the back straight. Then I just had to do what I had to do, so I had to go on the side and push him to the grass and overtake. This afternoon I have to be more aggressive at the start because I can't lose a lot of laps like I did this morning.”
QUALIFYING (ROUND 10): In the second qualifying session of the day pretty much everyone was out there as soon as possible, hoping to avoid the traffic problems of the morning. Just by way of a change, for once it wasn’t Rodolfo Gonzalez (T-Sport) who led the National Class by the end of the half hour. Sadly, it wasn’t Juho, Ricardo or Rodolfo either. Instead it was Cristiano Morgado (Fluid Motorsport) who set the fastest time of the session. Initially Gonzalez was able to fight back; but both Morgado and Juho did their best to displace the ever-present Venezuelan and give someone else a shot. As a result there were a number of reshuffles at the top of the order, but then the session came to an abrupt end, after Rodolfo spun and ended up stuck in a dangerous position. The red flags were hung out, and the Macanese was rescued from his plight. After the restart, no one was able to improve, with the exception of Juho, and although he went faster he couldn’t improve his grid position. He would start from 3rd, just behind Morgado and Gonzalez. Rodolfo and Ricardo were 4th and 5th. It’s fair to say none of them were too happy about it.
QUALIFYING QUOTES (ROUND 10): Juho Annala: “In the afternoon I think I suffered the same problem as everyone else, and it was just oversteering badly. And then Gonzalez played my best lap away by stopping where he did and waiting so I lost that. What can you do? Not much! And anyway my racing is my strongest point, or has been at least. I need to focus and there's no hurry, it's going to be many laps, so I should just take it easy and try to win.”
Ricardo Teixeira: “This afternoon I wasn't that good. I was 4th and I went to 5th because Rodolfo was faster than me and every time I was trying to go fast I was making mistakes, but it's not an easy track. There are a few corners where you can lose a lot of time.”
Rodolfo Avila: “I pushed quite hard, and was doing my best but the times were just not there, so I'm struggling a little bit. I thought I would be a lot more comfortable on this track because I was quicker here before, but with the weather and everything I'm struggling a little bit. All I can do is go to the race and hope to do the best I can.”
RACE (ROUND 10): The Championship Class was a man down after the Senna incident, but we still had a full contingent of National Class runners. At the start Morgado managed to grab the lead, and was able to open up some space between himself and Gonzalez largely because Championship Class runner Karl Reindler (Alan Docking Racing) was between the two of them. It didn't take Reindler long to get clear of Morgado, and Gonzalez went ahead too. However, Gonzalez had problems of his own for a change, his car suffering from damaged suspension. He wasn’t about to come in to the pits though, so he pressed on, making the best of a bad job. In contrast, right at the back, Ihara was busy tripping up Ricardo. Because she’s in a newer car with a more powerful engine but she's a slower driver, the National Class boys catch her into the corners only to see her power away out of the corners. And it keeps on happening to Ricardo in particular... He certainly wasn’t pleased to see her just in front of him yet again! Meanwhile, coming into the Esses, Alberto Valerio (Cesario Formula UK) attempted to tow past Duran, but instead clipped the Mexican’s rear suspension. Valerio limped round to the pits leaving Duran stranded out in the boonies. The Safety Car was scrambled and took charge of the field. Meanwhile, Ihara pitted with a puncture after Ricardo tried to pass her and accidentally hit her rear wheel. At the same time, Kudzak fell back, as did Morgado. That put Gonzalez into the lead, from Juho, who was all over the leader now. Gonzalez then got it all wrong going into Russell, and Juho seized his chance, storming past to take the lead. Gonzalez lost ground, while Morgado also slipped a place after a cross-country moment. What all this meant was that Juho now led from Khateeb. Of course Gonzalez set about trying to recover and was soon all over Rodolfo as a result. He wrestled his way through as they came up the pit straight, and then set about Khateeb for 3rd place. Juho was safe as he was quite a way ahead, but everyone else was nervous now. It didn’t take long for Khateeb to lose his podium place to Gonzalez, but that was as far as the T-Sport driver was able to get before time ran out. Juho was delighted with his win, feeling he'd earned this one, while Rodolfo was a frustrated fifth. Even more frustrated was Ricardo, who managed to spin out on his final lap.
RACE QUOTES (ROUND 10): Juho Annala: “First I didn’t think I had the pace to do it today, but then when the Safety Car came I got right behind Morgado and I saw first that Cristiano went way too fast to the first corner, and went wide, so I thought ‘mm, alright, now is looking better already’. Then I think there was some A class cars or something so there was a bit of a hassle there. and then Gonzalez made a mistake in the Chicane and Reindler went straight through, and I knew that if I could get in his slipstream I could go straight through because of dirty tyres. And that’s exactly what happened. I really had to fight because I knew that I'm not quite fast enough so I knew that Cristiano will be pushing really, really hard to catch me and I’m just waiting for the flag and really trying to concentrate at the end.”
Ricardo Teixeira: “It was a crazy race, full of overtaking and not overtaking! Keiko was with me for a while, till we touched while I was trying to overtake her, and she had to pit. After that I made many mistakes because I made a really good start but in the straight I tried to overtake Morgado on the outside and of course he didn’t let me so I had to go to the grass and everybody overtake me and then the Safety Car came out. Afterwards I managed to overtake Rodolfo but then he overtake me back. And after the Safety Car I wasn't really focused and so Rodolfo and everybody got me. Anyway I start catching up and slowly, slowly, slowly I catch them up. Then on the last lap I tried to pass one of the cars in front, touched his rear and I spun. It was bad because it seems I just start racing 6 laps from the end and it's a 28 lap race!”
Rodolfo Avila: “I can’t drive! Just can't do it. I don’t know why. Nothing works out my way... I'm pushing, I'm giving 100% and nothing comes back. I was quite relaxed and I was pushing quite hard to catch up but the car just doesn't seem to correspond to what I like and the way I drive.“
Points after 10 Rounds - National Class
1st – Rodolfo Gonzalez, 178 points
2nd – Cristiano Morgado, 127 points
3rd – Juho Annala, 115 points
4th – Rodolfo Avila, 81 points
6th – Ricardo Teixeira, 54 points
Next Race Meeting: Rounds 11 & 12, Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, July 28th/30th.
QUALIFYING QUOTES (ROUND 9): Juho Annala: “This morning was really good. I just couldn't get the time early enough I think. But it was just three tenths or something, so it wasn't too bad. I think I should have been able to push a little bit harder somewhere mid-session when he did his best time, and I did mine just a little bit later. It's one thing I need to learn to do better.”
Ricardo Teixeira: “It didn't go that well and I wasn't quite on the pace and then last three laps I went from 6th to 4th last two laps. My mind just wasn't there yet.”
Rodolfo Avila: “The qualifying was not very good. I just managed to put some laps in, then I had a problem with the fuel pump so I had to stop.
RACE (ROUND 9): In his usual manner Gonzalez shot into the lead of the National Class at the start, getting ahead of Morgado and Juho, while Ricardo also made a very good start to claim 4th place. Meanwhile, in the Championship Class, Bruno Senna (Raikkonen Robertson Racing) and Salvador Duran (Hitech Racing) tangled coming into Sears at speed. Senna's car took off and clipped the bridge, destroying itself in the process, though the driver was miraculously unharmed. Inevitably the Safety Car had to be deployed and it stayed out for 5 laps. At the restart Gonzalez was leading Morgado while Juho was 3rd. Alex Khateeb (Promatecme F3) and Keiko Ihara (Carlin Motorsport) had got ahead of Ricardo after the Angolan had to take evading action when Senna crashed out. That meant he was trapped behind his least favourite person again. Rodolfo had made a poor start and was last. He would soon recover some of the lost ground, but it was at Ricardo's expense. To be fair, he was only profiting from someone else's actions, but Ricardo still wasn't happy afterwards. What happened was that Championship Class runner Maro Engel (Carlin Motorsport) ran into his team-mate, Christian Bakkerud (also in the Championship category) at the restart. An infuriated Bakkerud pitted for a new tyre, then tore out of the pitlane straight onto the racing line, just in front of Ricardo. Ricardo had to brake hard and lost his 4th place as a result. Gonzalez temporarily lost the lead to Morgado, but he took it back again, while the order reshuffled for 6th when Khateeb spun then pitted, letting Ricardo back through. Further up the order, Rodolfo got the better of Kudzak when the Swede made a mistake and ran very wide towards, and was able to claim 4th place.
RACE QUOTES (ROUND 9): Juho Annala: “It's not too bad. I was actually slow in one corner, the second corner, so I just got dropped from the tow every time so there's basically no chance to keep up. I just then tried to control myself and not to do anything stupid, because it was really, really slippery out there. It's just all the shit there from my best friends the GTs. I had a try on Morgado, but couldn't get past him and that was just basically it really. I also lost a lot of time to Gonzalez when I tried to do that. It's good for the sponsors if nothing else, and I can't afford any no scores. The most important thing was to get the Avon girl with the Champagne!”
Ricardo Teixeira: “It was a really good start, and I get past and get on the gas. I think I could get back to the same place if I had chance with him but then I messed up a bit when there was the crash with Senna in the Chicane. Khateeb and Ihara take a chance and pass me, because I am on the grass. I didn't have much choice but I chose the worst possible place I could. And when I was trying to recover Khateeb didn't seem to have confidence to pass Ihara through the Chicane. And when I was trying to pass Keiko it's difficult because she starts to panic so she starts to brake very early but then when she accelerates there's no chance with these engines that we can catch up. But then Christian he just went out of the pitlane straight onto the racing line in front of me and he was still slow because he was just coming out of the pit lane at like 30 or something so I had to brake and when you brake in the middle of the corner it's like panic because the car goes a little bit sideways. And when I braked of course Kudzak was side-by-side with me. And Christian was still slow through the other corner and I was still behind him. And that gave Kudzak a chance to pass me because I was outside of the line. And then of course Rodolfo got inside and got to try and get the tow and overtake me in the next straight. I think it was a shame... I don't know why he tried to block everybody there and I just went from 4th to 6th like that...”
Rodolfo Avila: “The race started really bad for me and there was not much grip on the side that I was on. So I went into the last position. And since then I was a bit off pace because I’m not very used to when it's too hot. The car drifts a little bit and I don't like that feeling so it takes me five or six or seven laps to get used to it. And after a bit I start pushing. As soon as I was able to go past Teixeira I started pushing a lot more and trying to get the 4th place. And all the race I was pushing Kudzak and I was waiting for a mistake but he was quite consistent and he wouldn't do any mistake, so I just had to try to go quicker. And I had my chance. I had loads of opportunities to pass him but he would always close the doors and we had a really good battle for four, five laps, and then two laps before the end he just made a small mistake and I just got much quicker outside the corner and just got the tow all over the back straight. Then I just had to do what I had to do, so I had to go on the side and push him to the grass and overtake. This afternoon I have to be more aggressive at the start because I can't lose a lot of laps like I did this morning.”
QUALIFYING (ROUND 10): In the second qualifying session of the day pretty much everyone was out there as soon as possible, hoping to avoid the traffic problems of the morning. Just by way of a change, for once it wasn’t Rodolfo Gonzalez (T-Sport) who led the National Class by the end of the half hour. Sadly, it wasn’t Juho, Ricardo or Rodolfo either. Instead it was Cristiano Morgado (Fluid Motorsport) who set the fastest time of the session. Initially Gonzalez was able to fight back; but both Morgado and Juho did their best to displace the ever-present Venezuelan and give someone else a shot. As a result there were a number of reshuffles at the top of the order, but then the session came to an abrupt end, after Rodolfo spun and ended up stuck in a dangerous position. The red flags were hung out, and the Macanese was rescued from his plight. After the restart, no one was able to improve, with the exception of Juho, and although he went faster he couldn’t improve his grid position. He would start from 3rd, just behind Morgado and Gonzalez. Rodolfo and Ricardo were 4th and 5th. It’s fair to say none of them were too happy about it.
QUALIFYING QUOTES (ROUND 10): Juho Annala: “In the afternoon I think I suffered the same problem as everyone else, and it was just oversteering badly. And then Gonzalez played my best lap away by stopping where he did and waiting so I lost that. What can you do? Not much! And anyway my racing is my strongest point, or has been at least. I need to focus and there's no hurry, it's going to be many laps, so I should just take it easy and try to win.”
Ricardo Teixeira: “This afternoon I wasn't that good. I was 4th and I went to 5th because Rodolfo was faster than me and every time I was trying to go fast I was making mistakes, but it's not an easy track. There are a few corners where you can lose a lot of time.”
Rodolfo Avila: “I pushed quite hard, and was doing my best but the times were just not there, so I'm struggling a little bit. I thought I would be a lot more comfortable on this track because I was quicker here before, but with the weather and everything I'm struggling a little bit. All I can do is go to the race and hope to do the best I can.”
RACE (ROUND 10): The Championship Class was a man down after the Senna incident, but we still had a full contingent of National Class runners. At the start Morgado managed to grab the lead, and was able to open up some space between himself and Gonzalez largely because Championship Class runner Karl Reindler (Alan Docking Racing) was between the two of them. It didn't take Reindler long to get clear of Morgado, and Gonzalez went ahead too. However, Gonzalez had problems of his own for a change, his car suffering from damaged suspension. He wasn’t about to come in to the pits though, so he pressed on, making the best of a bad job. In contrast, right at the back, Ihara was busy tripping up Ricardo. Because she’s in a newer car with a more powerful engine but she's a slower driver, the National Class boys catch her into the corners only to see her power away out of the corners. And it keeps on happening to Ricardo in particular... He certainly wasn’t pleased to see her just in front of him yet again! Meanwhile, coming into the Esses, Alberto Valerio (Cesario Formula UK) attempted to tow past Duran, but instead clipped the Mexican’s rear suspension. Valerio limped round to the pits leaving Duran stranded out in the boonies. The Safety Car was scrambled and took charge of the field. Meanwhile, Ihara pitted with a puncture after Ricardo tried to pass her and accidentally hit her rear wheel. At the same time, Kudzak fell back, as did Morgado. That put Gonzalez into the lead, from Juho, who was all over the leader now. Gonzalez then got it all wrong going into Russell, and Juho seized his chance, storming past to take the lead. Gonzalez lost ground, while Morgado also slipped a place after a cross-country moment. What all this meant was that Juho now led from Khateeb. Of course Gonzalez set about trying to recover and was soon all over Rodolfo as a result. He wrestled his way through as they came up the pit straight, and then set about Khateeb for 3rd place. Juho was safe as he was quite a way ahead, but everyone else was nervous now. It didn’t take long for Khateeb to lose his podium place to Gonzalez, but that was as far as the T-Sport driver was able to get before time ran out. Juho was delighted with his win, feeling he'd earned this one, while Rodolfo was a frustrated fifth. Even more frustrated was Ricardo, who managed to spin out on his final lap.
RACE QUOTES (ROUND 10): Juho Annala: “First I didn’t think I had the pace to do it today, but then when the Safety Car came I got right behind Morgado and I saw first that Cristiano went way too fast to the first corner, and went wide, so I thought ‘mm, alright, now is looking better already’. Then I think there was some A class cars or something so there was a bit of a hassle there. and then Gonzalez made a mistake in the Chicane and Reindler went straight through, and I knew that if I could get in his slipstream I could go straight through because of dirty tyres. And that’s exactly what happened. I really had to fight because I knew that I'm not quite fast enough so I knew that Cristiano will be pushing really, really hard to catch me and I’m just waiting for the flag and really trying to concentrate at the end.”
Ricardo Teixeira: “It was a crazy race, full of overtaking and not overtaking! Keiko was with me for a while, till we touched while I was trying to overtake her, and she had to pit. After that I made many mistakes because I made a really good start but in the straight I tried to overtake Morgado on the outside and of course he didn’t let me so I had to go to the grass and everybody overtake me and then the Safety Car came out. Afterwards I managed to overtake Rodolfo but then he overtake me back. And after the Safety Car I wasn't really focused and so Rodolfo and everybody got me. Anyway I start catching up and slowly, slowly, slowly I catch them up. Then on the last lap I tried to pass one of the cars in front, touched his rear and I spun. It was bad because it seems I just start racing 6 laps from the end and it's a 28 lap race!”
Rodolfo Avila: “I can’t drive! Just can't do it. I don’t know why. Nothing works out my way... I'm pushing, I'm giving 100% and nothing comes back. I was quite relaxed and I was pushing quite hard to catch up but the car just doesn't seem to correspond to what I like and the way I drive.“
Points after 10 Rounds - National Class
1st – Rodolfo Gonzalez, 178 points
2nd – Cristiano Morgado, 127 points
3rd – Juho Annala, 115 points
4th – Rodolfo Avila, 81 points
6th – Ricardo Teixeira, 54 points
Next Race Meeting: Rounds 11 & 12, Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, July 28th/30th.