This win was pretty special for me in many ways
Anyone who was at Brands Hatch at the weekend will know what the outcome of my weekend was, but I feel before telling you about the end result I should paint the whole picture for you!
There are some days when I feel the world has got it in for me. One of those days was last Saturday at Brands Hatch where we were for the 11th and 12th rounds of the FIA World Touring Car Championship. It was my home race and I wanted to have a great weekend, but this was not to be the case. I started off the day with a brilliant free practice and ended with a 1,500 euro fine. In between I saw my sixth best time in qualifying turn to 16th on the grid. S..t happens and that is definitely what my Saturday was all about.
However, I have not been in motor racing for well over two decades not to learn to roll with the punches. Perhaps I should also explain that the grid drop was due to just one of those things that happen and there is nothing you can do about it. When the team was getting the car ready for the weekend on Thursday an unfortunate set of circumstances saw my engine blow. A change was necessary and the rules say if you do this more often than after four consecutive races then the penalty is a grid drop. Rules are rules and so I had to work out over night how I was going to deal with this and still come away from Brands Hatch with championship points and in touch with the guys at the top of the table.
As for the 1,500 fine. It was because I set a quicker sector time when the yellow flags were out in free practice. I contend there was nothing I could do as I was too far along in the sector when I saw them. However, again rules are rules and I am hoping my team boss, Bart Mampaey, will feel sorry for me and pay the fine!
Now fast forward to Sunday. As people often say ‘tomorrow is another day’ and that is just what Sunday was. Race one from 16th on the grid looked grim, but I was not going to let it get me down and as soon as the lights went to green as we came round on the rolling lap I was on the move.
Lap one saw me move up four places, lap two another one, lap four another one, lap six another one. I was then ninth and tantalisingly close to that all important eighth, and pole for race two. We then had a safety car period after a Chevrolet that had burst into flames was moved from the side of the track. Once we were racing again I knew what I had to do – get by Tiago Monteiro’s SEAT. I followed him for a couple of laps and knew I had to take any small window of opportunity he presented as Brands is a notoriously difficult track for overtaking. On lap 14 he did just that and I was able to muscle by. It was pretty hectic as we were all very close and then on the last lap I had to contend with Alain Menu, who was dropping back from the front of the field. He obviously also wanted eighth. I am delighted to say I beat him to it!
Now race two from pole. I actually didn’t get the best start – I reckon it may have been raining on my side of the grid – and was beaten into the first corner by my team-mate, Augusto Farfus. However, I was close by him and when an opportunity was presented on lap three I was able to get by safely at Druids and take the lead. Unfortunately Alain Menu, who was right behind me, also wanted to get by and the two collided. I was sorry for Augusto but had to then get on with the race. I was able to control it from the front and had a BMW rear gunner for the rest of the distance. This time it was Colin Turkington who was there to make sure we got a BMW one-two.
This win was pretty special for me in many ways. It was at my home race. I had all my family and friends there as well as my loyal fans. It was my fourth of the season. It was the 16th of my FIA WTCC career and I am now head of the all time winners’ list. It also meant that I retained third in the drivers’ championship standings.
I may be 53 points behind championship leader, Yvan Muller, but with 25 for a win I am still determined to keep fighting as I would so love to get ‘my’ title back. Now we are also heading for circuits that suit our car, so there is another reason to be optimistic. We are challengers for the championship, but we are ambitious challengers and hopefully we can take the fight to the last weekend in Macau.
I am now looking forward to Brno in a couple of weeks and then our summer break. I have something special in that break. I have been invited by Tom Kristensen to race in the Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix in August. They have some amazing old BMW cars so I am really excited about this chance. I shall, as usual, let you all know how I get on.