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Date: 25. and 26.2.2012
Race: DRCMU 4
Track: Tinglevhallen
Condition:Carpet – mixed to fast layout – 20 degr.C
Class: Modified

Up to the race
After the good performance in the DRCMU 3 in Vamdrup I wanted to be prepared for the race in Tinglev. Therefore, I built my second Serpent S411 and built in my GM power. I now knew the car, and was able to put the right setup on the car. When training in my hometown club, I could immediately drive excellent times, and on the second day I could even set a new track record for 5 minutes. I also held the old record, but this time I was on the first 34 laps ever. The car responded exactly as I wanted it and like – aggressive on the steering.

Practice at the race
Also on the big track in the sport arena I drove immediately fast times. In the first part of the day I was on the top, later on the drivers Steen Graversen, Patrick Hornum and Morten Juul Iversen – all with the Russian Awesomatix A700 – got their cars tuned to the track, and they were also driving better times. In the evening Steen then was about 0.2 seconds faster than me, but I was on a par with Patrick and faster than Morten. My car was really good and I was well prepared for the race on Sunday.

Qualification
The qualification was actually very good. In the night Patrick had found a failure on his car, and he was now faster in the qualifying. In the first heat I ended up in second place behind Patrick, when I was able to take advantage of a rare mistake by Steen. In the second heat everything went normal and I ended up in third place behind Steen and Patrick. The third heat I again ended up in second place – only 0.5 second behind Steen. Patrick had a failure. Morten was in all three heats fourth. I therefore had to start from the third place in the A main.

A main.
In the first main all went well at the start. I was able to follow Steen and Patrick, until I drove a little too hard on the curb and lost a few tenths of a second. Then suddenly Morten drove faster and he put me under pressure. More than three minutes I held him behind me, and I could cross the finish line in third position. In the second main it went almost the same in the start. I was able to follow both in front of me, until I again was set under pressure by Morten. However, I managed to take a lead over him by 1-2 seconds, as I again drove too hard on a curb in a curve in the infield. My car went on the side! In slow motion, the car rocked back and forth. When I wanted to help out with the steering, the car tipped over on its roof. Morten came flying, and he hit my car that it came back on all four wheels. Now I was in fourth position and was the hunter. I could easily drive up to Morten, and for several minutes we had a thrilling battle for the third place. Unfortunately I ended up as third, as in the front Patrick had to withdraw this heat and therefore Morten finished second. In the last main I now had to make at least a second place to come to the podium. I did not, because at the very beginning I had a great mistake. I wanted it too much. Still I could drive me up to the fourth place. Overall, I “only” ended up in the thankless fourth place. Only, because my car was very good, and just the stupid mistake in the second main cost me the third place. My fastest lap was 12.492, which was only 0.1 second slower than the hot lap from Steen Graversen. The three Awesomatix cars were in the first three places in Tinglev.

After the race
The next scheduled race is the final race in the DRCMU Championship. Right now I’m in the second place in the championship behind Patrick, who is hardly to catch anymore, but in front of Morten. The DRCMU Modified Championship in Denmark is highly respected, as there is no other race series for Modified in Denmark.

Up to the final race I will practice, and I will try different things. E.g. I’ll try something on my GM EDC, because the next race shortly after the DRCMU finals is the ETS in Poland. This race is on a very large track, and therefore I want to test the timing to get more speed but without changing the drivability.

My S411 was really good at the race. Only my own racing skills held me out of the podium in Tinglev. Here several days after the race I still can feel the car and how it reacted. I look forward to the next races – especially the ETS, as I want to race against some new competitors, than the same ones every time in Denmark.
I want to thank Serpent, that they have created such a great car, and that I can race it for Serpent.

See you all at the racing tracks.
Best regards
Rasmus Tobias Callesen