“The Race That Tried to Break Me — But Didn’t.”
Kyalami is not a track that gives you anything for free.
It tests your patience, your courage, your instincts, and your ability to keep your head cool when everyone around you is losing theirs.
And as a newcomer to ACC, Kyalami looked at me like:
“So… show me. Can you actually drive, or do you just think you can?”
My goal was simple:
Not just survive — but improve.
At Red Bull Ring the gap to the Bronze leader was almost one second per lap.
Here, I wanted to cut that in half.
🔵 Reverse Grid Chaos — and a Climb From P29
Round 4 means reverse grid based on championship standings.
I was 5th in Bronze (out of 9), so I started 29th overall in a mixed field.
Practice times:
- My best: 1:44.02
- Fitzpatrick (Bronze leader): 1:43.54
Not the fastest, but I had one advantage:
I practiced with a full tank.
I knew I was faster than at least five cars ahead of me.
So my plan was simple:
Start slow. Avoid chaos. Let the race come to me.
Start was pure madness — cars everywhere.
In Turn 1 I took the outside line, stayed out of trouble, and gained 4 places immediately.
A few more clean moves followed, and by the 15-minute mark…
👉 P16 overall
👉 Fitzpatrick behind me
👉 Caraballo behind him
👉 And both of them fighting each other
Perfect scenario.
🔵 Holding P16 for 22 Minutes
Fitzpatrick was faster — around 0.5 sec per lap —
but Caraballo kept attacking him, and they couldn’t fully focus on me.
For 22 minutes, I held P16 with pure consistency.
The setup felt great, the car felt predictable, and everything was under control.
But Kyalami always asks one question:
“For how long?”
🔵 The First Big Turning Point — A Tiny Mistake, a Big Price
In Turn 2, defending the inside, I clipped the curb wrong.
It unsettled the car just enough.
Fitzpatrick didn’t wait:
He dived inside.
Forced me wide.
We touched.
I lost 3 seconds instantly.
Gap to them became 4 seconds.
But worse — they were now fighting for the Bronze lead, and my clean window was gone.
Still… this would later turn into my advantage.
🔵 The Collision That Changed the Race
31:48 remaining.
I had slowly closed the gap again — down to 3 seconds.
Then it happened.
In the narrow second-to-last corner, Caraballo tried an insane outside overtake on Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick defended.
Contact.
Both cars snapped sideways.
My instincts yelled:
“Lift! Now!”
I did a slalom worthy of a skiing World Cup run — and somehow squeezed through.
👉 And suddenly… I was the Bronze class leader.
P1 in Bronze. P16 overall.
From P29 on the grid.
Unreal.
🔵 The Peak — P6 to P8 Before the Pit Window
The race calmed down for a while.
Others boxed early, and by staying out I rose to:
- P8 overall
- Even briefly P6 overall
Fitzpatrick was now 7 seconds behind me.
I felt like I was finally racing, not surviving.
Pit stop was routine:
Fresh tyres, full focus.
I came out with a rhythm around 1:44.8 — and held it for nearly 15 minutes.
🔵 The Final Act — Damage, Pressure, and Survival
With 11:44 to go, Warrior caught me on P16.
He was much faster, and with my tyres fading, I wisely let him go.
But immediately behind him…
👉 Fitzpatrick.
This was the last fight for Bronze.
And then came my only real big mistake of the race:
In the second-to-last corner, I turned in a bit too early.
Hit the inside curb.
The car literally jumped.
Fitzpatrick hit me as I landed.
I dropped to P18.
Got back on the track.
Someone ahead retired.
Back to P17.
But now my car was damaged — and behind me was O’Leary, closing 0.7 sec per lap.
I had one job:
Hold him behind.
Somehow, I did.
With a wounded car, I kept my lap times in the 1:45.0–1:45.5 range.
Final gap to O’Leary at the finish: 2 seconds.
Final gap to Fitzpatrick: 12 seconds —
a massive improvement from Red Bull Ring, where he beat me by almost a minute.
🥈 Final Result
- P17 Overall
- P2 in Bronze Class
This wasn’t just a race.
It was a fight.
A lesson.
A breakthrough.
And a real step forward.
🔵 **Next Time in ACC Chronicles:
Understanding Anti-Roll Bars**
We now move into the real setup world —
how ARBs control body roll, stability, turn-in, mid-corner balance, and rear rotation.
And how M4 reacts when you get it wrong… or right.
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