Pippa Mann – Estoril
Expectations are not always the most helpful thing in motor racing, and that’s certainly been apparent this weekend in Portugal! Ever since my first outing on this circuit a year ago, I have been looking forward to arriving in Estoril, getting out onto the track, and instantly being on the pace. If ever there was going to be a weekend where I was going to get some strong results, I expected it to be here. I think we might be better off without expectations – then we can be neither optimistic, nor sceptical, and when things don’t go how we expect them to, it’s not quite so disappointing.
Our Team Director and Chief Engineer Roly Vinicni wasn’t able to be with the team over the race weekend due to family circumstances. Everyone understood and wished him and his family well, but we just hoped that the cars wouldn’t need too much done to them in terms of setup. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Both Giedo and I were struggling for overall pace, and it was frustrating that we just couldn’t seem to get the car working for us around the Estoril circuit.
My team mate didn’t make Super Pole for the first time this year, and I was down in 20th position for Race One. From there, we could only do our best and hope that would be good enough. At this point in the season with P1 still leading the team’s championship, and Giedo just points away from taking the driver’s title, it was certainly not a time to give up.
Race One was over pretty quickly for me – Charles Pic had spun earlier in the lap and was trying to come back through the field. He was quicker, but it made a very optimistic dive down my inside on lap three, and put us both out of the race. He came up to me afterwards and apologised, which I really appreciated. It doesn’t happen very often anymore, which makes it all the more noticeable when someone does hold their hand up and say they’re sorry.
Starting at the back of the grid for Race Two was not exactly where I thought I’d be, but I had to grin and bear it… I made a good start, I got some clear air and I was actually driving pretty well. The car became increasingly difficult as the race went on, and it’s especially frustrating when considering the handling problems, I had a good race. It didn’t look like that on paper though!
Some good news for the team though, in that Giedo managed to score enough points to secure the driver’s championship. The team were very excited and Giedo thoroughly deserves the title – he’s driven well all year and really has dominated the series.
So – the team’s championship is still up for grabs, and while we’ve just dropped below Tech 1 Racing for the first time this year, all is not lost! If we come back strong in Barcelona, we could take the lead back – you never know… However one thing is for sure – I’m not going into that weekend with any expectations! That way maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised, which after the run of disappointment I’ve had recently, would make a welcome change!
Yours Pippa