After Portugal I came to Brands Hatch on a high after winning the National championship the previous week, there was no pressure and I was going into the last race weekend of the series extremely hopeful and looking to enjoy the last round as much as possible.
After first qualifying I had a lot of time to make up as I was near a second of the pace. After many hours discussing the issues with my engineer we came to a couple conclusions that would hopefully help us close the gap significantly.
Coming to Portugal to race is fantastic as I am a great fan of the country and the weather which leading into the race weekend soared into the mid thirty degrees proving fitness to be very important.
Going into second qualifying I knew Gabriel had more pace than me so the idea was to get as close as possible and if I could out qualify him then that would be great.
Last time I raced at Silverstone I had 1st place snatched from me on the last lap on the second race which really annoyed in more ways than you can imagine and so I wanted this visit to be very different.
Second qualifying I had to make up some lost ground on Dias and make some set up changes that would help the car in producing a better lap time. From the lack of practice time from overheating difficulties I couldn’t set the car up as quickly as I would have liked.
Coming to Spa is a real treat for all drivers; this circuit is my outright favourite of all time for many reasons, the main reason being the fast corner of Eau rouge being the most exciting corner of all time regardless of wet dry conditions.
After first qualifying the weather wasn’t quite so promising with a sudden downpour 15 minutes before the session was to start. I was very confident about the session ahead as the car had been improving throughout the weekend and showing pace in difficult conditions.
Donington Park has always been known for its slippery surface, mainly because of the airport nearby and the planes flying over leaving fuel spray on the track surface.
Second Qualifying was more successful in getting a much better time out of the car even though the track was slower due to hotter temperatures.