2013-12-09 09:17:19.2
An incident free day saw Eddie claim a solid 8th place today. At a circuit that he admits he doesn’t get on with, Eddie once again missed out on qualifying straight into the A final despite scoring the same amount of qualifying points as the last two on the grid.
Eddie spoke face to face with Ian Berry, Chris Davis and Mick Eldridge for the first time since Whilton Mill about the controversial start to clear the air and make sure that there wasn’t any bad blood between any of them.
“They are all professional guys” said Eddie, “I spoke to all of them in the morning and there is no problem at all. Most people in this series are friendly and these guys are no exception. We all had a laugh about it and the issue is now completely dead and buried.”
The day got off to a cracking start, with Eddie jumping from 12th on the grid to finish fourth in his first heat. This became third when the second place driver got a penalty.
It started to go a little awry after this, however. Starting 4th in his second heat, Eddie made an initial good start but lost out going into turn two. Never really showing any true pace, he nevertheless managed to claim seventh.
Heat three was much of the same. Starting sixth, he again lost out at turn two and dropped way down the order. Again seemingly not on the pace, he struggled back only to manage a disappointing eighth.
These results put him in third on the grid for the B final, although the top three were tied on points. At the start, Eddie again didn’t make the best use of his high grid slot and dropped back to sixth by the end of the opening lap. He lost a few more places in the first half of the race before the pack settled down. Eddie had a very lonely race in eighth position, keeping the same pace as the drivers in front but making no real progress. Not really showing any true pace, he finished in that position.
Eddie was quite disappointed with the result. “To be honest I wasn’t happy with my performance all day. Even in the first qualifying heat when I went from 12th to third, I felt I made too many small errors in some of the corners. In my second and third heats I simply wasn’t aggressive enough. There were several times when I aborted an overtaking move to avoid contact and ended up losing out myself. If I hadn’t been such a pussy I would have again made the A final.
“In the final, I just didn’t have the pace – simple as that. I could match the pace of the guys in front of me and I kept a nice gap to the guy behind, but it was a pretty pathetic show really.”
Despite his self criticism, Eddie was also pleased to have another clean race. “Again, I went through the day without incident and without being taken out so I’m happy. Despite my disappointment with the result, I don’t think I drove badly. I drove sensibly and kept out of trouble. I did as well as I have ever done at this circuit, which is not one that I like as it doesn’t suit my driving style. Roll on Clay…”
