Another disappointing race but I guess I can contribute that to my poor pit strategy, the 2 stop was at least half a minute slower.
Coming in, I was hoping to fight for a podium, with Monaco being one of my best circuits in the game, and my last race here was also a surprise 2nd many seasons ago. However I could not understand how I could be so far off the pace, almost 2 seconds slower than Dan in practice. I had to lower my target considerably for qualifying and the race. I aimed for 6th, but Alfa just pipped me, but 7th wasn't all bad.
Or so it seemed. Track position is everything at Monaco and I certainly was on the wrong side of the grid. Forced to go all the way around the outside, it was a huge relief to have not dropped a position. Beau and I were side by side all the way up through Casino Square, but being boxed in at Mirabeau meant I had to give up the position. I intended to pass Beau into the chicane but I missed my shift at Portier and dropped back.
It was rather easy to catch up with the pack as Mint was holding Warrior and Beau up. However as soon as I got close I'd make a mistake, the walls were really punishing. I noticed as the tyres were wearing out I was slipping behind. I had nothing to lose so I rolled the dice and pitted at the thirds distance. My reasoning was that I had more pace than Beau and I'd have a pit lane all to myself. The plan turned awry when Beau and Mint pitted only 4 laps later, not enough to pull out a gap. And now that I was on older tyres, suddenly I was the one on the defence.
I decided to try and stretch this set to the end and hold then all off for 5th place, but I realised I didn't have enough fuel... I was chewed up and spat out. I knew overhauling them after a stop now was impossible. I made way too many mistakes and settled for 10th, well short of what I was hoping for.
Despite the poor end to the season, I refuse to look at this season anything other than one full of positives. It was great to be fighting at the front again and scoring podiums after too many seasons at the back. 70 points is my largest points haul in Div 1 yet it also could have been much more! Huge congrats on Warrior for his 11th straight title. The Div 1B title is a nice bonus, a great feeling to win my first Sunday title since the BRZ, and a big confidence booster heading into S7. hope to see you all back for next season!
Cheers, Jono.
Last edited: Jul 13, 2015