Monday 12th June, 2023: The Dominant Day (Pt 1: Monza)

Monday 12th June, 2023 was just one of those days that...just. went. right. (Well, mostly)

After returning to the Isle Of Wight, I noticed that my tyres were bald - so bought a pair of "used"/"scrub" tyres I could use just to get to my to-be-booked wheel diagnostic appointment.

Despite the slightly "unconventional" start to the day, things slowly started to go my way later that evening.

That evening it was FRL's "iMotoring Monday" league - after only three cars showed up at Round 1 - I knew whatever came next would be incredibly interesting - and oh boy was I right.

Judging by the calendar, I thought that we were only running the Monza layout without the chicanes, but upon loading in - I realised that something was afoot - I couldn't access turn one...I'd have to do a lap on the banked oval that hadn't seen a single tyre of activity in over 50 years. This was going to be nuts.

The layout was... "unique" to put it lightly - a lap of the 1971 Monza Oval, before looping around to the modern Monza circuit without chicanes.

To add a Spanner into the works - it was also announced that the setup being used (fixed setup race) would only fill the tank up 65% - meaning that we wouldn't be able to get to the end of the race - a whole new strategy was thrown into the mix.

I qualified 4th/6th (where I finished in practice) - but with 1 hour, and a completely open fuel strategy, it was anyone's to win.

The Race

Off the line, I had an absolutely STORMING start - launching myself into 2nd place before even arriving at the banking.

Upon exiting the final corner of the banking I was in the perfect position - I had the slipstream of the pole-sitter and leader, had a great run out of the final corner and was gaining at a great number of knots.

I hesitated for a millisecond - asking myself weather this pass would be worth it (or if he'd just get the slip-stream and pass me back), but I had no time to think - so went for it.

Each of us 6 had our very own unique braking marker/point for every corner, so after I had passed the leader, I braked at my marker and returned to the gas - P3 (Merc) had a much later marker than either of us two - and it was just by sheer luck that P3 (Brough) only wiped out P2 (who I just passed) without taking me out in the process.

From here, things just flipped on their head.

Young, who started P2, but fell to P4 - took the lead (with his momentum).

Cooper, who started P3, but fell to P5 followed - snatching P2 from me.

Klassens, who I only just passed for the lead attempted to go around the outside of me - but we touched...twice - the first nudge, I brushed off, the second sent me into a tank-slapper and into the gravel at the first lesmo.

I think it was 50/50 - after the first touch, I had to straighten my steering to control the car...which doesn't work whilst going around a corner with a car on your outside.

After the entire ordeal, I was down in 5th and a good 13 seconds behind the lead battle. I had to do something magical or needed something magical to happen...and oh boy did it...

I'm not going to start a war or blame game - but the fact of the matter was that on the start/finish straight the leaders/Top 2 came into contact and the then-leader Young came off worse-for wear...

By the end of the lap, I was in 4th and on Harte's gearbox - not a half a lap later, I passed him.

I knew I had pace over Harte - and I remembered clearly what was said in the briefing "65% fuel, you'll make it near to the end, but you won't make it."

With the leaders 11 seconds ahead - I knew there was only one thing for it: Brains.

(Yes. I'm a zombie.)

The leaders were within 1 second of each-other and battling hard - the more I lift and coasted and short-shifted into 6th (most fuel efficient gear) - the more fuel I'd save - and the more laps I could do - I didn't need to finish the race on one tank, I just had to do more laps than the leaders.

Halfway around the same lap - my strategy was completely thrown in the air...the leaders took themselves out...again. We weren't even 1/4 of the way into the race yet.

Again - not going to shift blame - but one car went into the back of another - the impact ultimately exploding Klassen's engine - and wiping out my fiercest competitor.

With Klassen's engine strewn across the Italian countryside and Cooper pitting for some pretty major repairs - there was the slight possibility that I could take the lead and on Lap 6 - everything became clear.

It was bitter-sweet though. For half a lap on Lap 5, myself and my new friend Harte were leading 1 - 2 - what a story that would have been!

Brough's pace was just too much for Harte - but he was having an absolutely phenomenal race.

Starting Lap 5, I had a 11-second gap to the car behind - the plan was to fuel save up until he was about 6 seconds behind (giving me a little "buffer zone" to build up my pace again)

As Brough smashed in the lap-times, I knew my job: Fuel. Save. As much as I could, as many laps I could get out of the tank.

By the start of Lap 8, it was a two-horse race between me and Derek.

3rd place was Cooper -3 Laps down.

My plan to fuel-save until Brough was 6 seconds behind came with mixed results - even when I wasn't fuel-saving, Brough's pace was absolutely rapid and was much quicker than my own...but that's what I wanted. I needed him to "bang" out the lap-times in order to catch me - because whilst I was fuel-saving, he was using every last litre - especially as from Lap 7 onwards, he had a back-marker on his gearbox.

Lap	​Brough	Truswell	Gap
5	​02:33.675	​02:36:287	​- 8s
6	02:33.078	​02:35.743	-7s
​7	​02:32.716	​02:34.292	​-4s
8	​02:32.660	​02:35.101	​-1s
9	02:34.229	​02:33.814	-2s
10	02:32.961	02:34.219	​-1s
​11	​02:32.624	02:41.230	​+8s
12	PITS

On Lap 11, I played another of my tricks - I saw that Brough was catching me at a rapid rate - and since he had a tag-along (backmarker) I let him past - we were on two completely different strategies and adding in the element of a (FAST) backmarker into the whole equation just spelled out disaster.

My patience eventually paid off at the end of Lap 12 - just over half-way into the race - as Brough peeled into the pits - I now needed to have the lap-time of my LIFE if I was going to pull this off.

A lap after Brough emerged from the pits, I had a 38 second gap - meaning if I were to have a pit-stop - I had 40 seconds (give or take) to play with.

Having not pit - I had the advantage of being lighter on fuel - with about 20 minutes/10 laps left - Brough must have taken a fair amount to make it to the end - every lap I did on light fuel meant a further lap less of fuel I'd have to fill the car up with.

Looking back (at the replay of the race) - I'm absolutely astounded at how far I got by lift-and-coasting and changing the fuel-mix.

By some miracle, I managed to do a further 7 laps than him - and as I started Lap 20 - I had an 8th (0.8) of a lap left and (somehow) had a 42 second gap to the car behind. With about 6 minutes/3 laps left of the race - and the stakes being so high for the race win, I absolutely WENT for it.

Every straight felt like a motorway every corner felt like an oval - I was just waiting for the inevitable choking of the car as the very last drop would be used up - I got around half the lap, I made it to the penultimate straight - still on full power... and then she started choking half-way down the penultimate straight.

Just to make it a little more interesting - my pit-stall was the verrry last one at the end of the pit-lane.

I took about 3 laps of fuel, no tyres and absolutely gunned it out of the pit-lane.

I knew P2 was coming and quick - I didn't quite expect the gap to be 2 seconds (and rapidly closing)

Starting the 22nd lap we were absolutely neck and neck - he had the confidence through the corners, I had the weight advantage.

Just 5 minutes, 2 laps remained. This was absolutely a sprint to the finish between the drivers who finished the first lap in last and second to last.

Unfortunately for Brough, he was dealing with the Temple Of Speed - and as the meme always goes "Weight Reduction Bro" - that tiny bit of reduction just kept me out of Brough's grips - despite a last-corner scare as I went a liiiitttle too deep - almost costing myself the win - and at least half an hour of meddling with numbers. This win definitely goes down as a favourite - especially as I earned it through smart racing and decision making.