OEL Historic Touring Car Series - Postmortem
It could be the toughest series I ever raced. There was no taming these HET Cars. Up until the series finale I was tweaking the setup, but the car just didn't respond to the changes. Every corner, every bump or dip, every control input lap after lap... there was just this sense of dread that the car will snap or slide or even flip over. This series was a true endurance test; not of physical exertion, but the fear.
For the first three rounds of the series I was stuck chasing the ET. I just couldn't match his pace and was P2 for three consecutive races. In the fourth round in Mid-Ohio, I went the wrong way with the setup and finished in 3rd place, one lap behind the leader. Then came the breakthrough at the fifth round in Spa, where the old track layout and my car's engine power advantage came together and propelled me to victory. For a moment there I thought I could win the remaining races in the series. I had good pace at the next race in Bathurst, but I got into a grievous incident after I misjudged the braking point by inches while trying to setup an overtake maneuver. After the collision I lost the rhythm and made a few subsequent errors to finish a distant 2nd. I was leading in Preluk when I threw away the race win. My car snap oversteered after an errant downshift, slid up a bank, and jumped over the wall. I landed in an area with no way to return to the track. With that DNF my fight for the championship was over and I lost the motivation for the series finale in Zandvoort.
Congrats to Elia Tartari, HET Series Champ and still the king of OEL. Thanks to all participating drivers and to our admins. I am just glad it's all over and I don't have to race these cars again.
