The Course

Start on a long, exposed straightaway – no wind though. Long sweeping right into a wide right. Long shaded straightaway. Right turn, sweeping left then right chicane. Right turn back to the long finish.

The Race

Stayed midpack, or top 30 until the second prime. Attacked to keep the race strung out a little and avoid some cornerswarm – and to put some hurt on the Third Pillar guys who tried for every prime. Dragged the pack around for a lap and then sat back in fifth wheel for a while. Lost some ground when the lap cards went up and spent a lap midpack to rest a bit. Started moving up and looked for Seth. He jumped up the inside of the first corner with three to go and I followed.

Photo courtesy of pmalaiyandi on Flickr

Sat top 15 until the bell when three guys went off the front. Two gave chase. I jumped up inside corner one with Seth and the rest of the pack in tow. I caught the break and passed two of them before the final corner, coming around fourth wheel, totally gassed. Seth and the pack started passing me at 200-300m to go. So, not much of a leadout for Seth but definitely a factor in the outcome. I like to think my effort at the end contributed a little to his 6th place finish.

The Goals

• Strong pack finish, check
• Contribute to the team effort, check
• Spent a lap or two up front, check
• Dictate the outcome of the race to some extent, check

The Result

Got 36th out of 81, not a good personal result but a good teamwork for not really having a plan going in.