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Round 3 - San Marino (Imola) |
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Following the Beginner and Pro races earlier in the day, the Ace entrants all lined up on the grid, 6 instead of the original 7 due to Rafal Ziarnik having a suspension failure in morning practice which could not be explained. Yapamotox decided to stay on the side of caution and withdrew from the race just in case. On pole was the blue and white Team Ecosse of Mike Hogg the team having found the perfect qualifying set up but had been having trouble keeping the car competitive on full tanks. Alongside was Svehlik with Maltez and Bodlien a second further back.
As the lights went out and the the cars roared off the grid, Svehilk edged past Hogg for the lead while Mirko Patzenbein made the best start of all, up to 3rd from 5th. Stephen Wallace touched the grass and had an immediate spin, Futuretech now part of Potato Racers. Thomas Bodlien was now on the move, taking 3rd from Patzenbein but then being repassed by the Arado which also got past the Team Ecosse of Hogg which was clearly handling evily as he then dropped behind Bodlien on lap 4 and Maltez on lap 5.
Maltez and Bodlien then got into a close scrap for a couple of laps before the Power Tech found a way past Patzenbein. Maltez then got past the Arado for 3rd only to find himself in 2nd on lap 12 when Bodlien had a spin which dropped him to 4th.
With Stephen Wallace entering the pits for attention on lap 15 and finally retiring on lap 25 we were down to five cars as the pit-stops loomed. With the stops completed on lap 32, Svehlik was leading by 35 seconds from Patzenbein, Maltez, Hogg and Bodlien.
An incident loomed on lap 39 when Hogg was pushed into the wall by an impatient Svehlik who was trying to lap him. The Team Ecosse came into the pits for a new nosecone followed on the next lap by Svehlik who was due to change tyres anyway and wanted to make sure there was no damage to the Bolgani. "He didn't put me off on purpose," said Hogg after the race, "I'd been fighting the handling of the car all race and wasn't paying as much attention to the mirrors as I should have."
On lap 43 the race came back to life as first Maltez crashed out and Bodlien and Hogg began a fierce nose-to-tail battle for the final podium slot behind the rapidly disappearing Svehlik and Patzenbein. The battle raged for 3 laps until, under pressure, Bodlien missed his turn and ploughed across the Aqua Minerale chicane, allowing Hogg into 3rd for a few seconds but as the two blasted up the hill towards the tight chicane Bodlien refused to bend and pushed alongside, sending Hogg over the kerbing and loosening his front wing. He pitted for repairs but the cars handling was getting worse all the time and he slid into the wall on lap 59 to retire for good.
All this didn't bother Svehlik who cruised across the line 14 seconds clear of Patzenbein and 2 minutes ahead of Bodlien. "I did my job." he shrugged simply afterwards.
The win means Svehlik makes the most Championship progress, moving up 3 spots to 3rd while Bodlien moves up to 2nd behind Hogg. A non-finish for Maltez means he plummets from 4th to 2nd.