[RS67]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

It's always worth putting the results into context, before a declaration of 'it's a [insert car type] track'.

Going into this event, some were claiming that Sutton is going to walk the championship - He's doing well, but it is not being handed to him on a plate.
Some were claiming that Sutton would need to push the car too hard, and his tyres wouldn't last - he managed his tyres well, and it was the FWD cars that had tyre problems. In fact, Oliphant took his race win on used tyres.

The biggest factor of the day seems to have been heat, and the ability of RWD cars to manage the heat factor better. A lot of FWD drivers commented about how different heat effects were affecting their car, but his was not as evident from RWD drivers. The only instance I can recall was Jelley talking about how he was preserving his front tyres through paddock, to avoid the exit kerb pinching the sidewall.

FP1 - FWD 1-5
FP2 - FWD 1-6
Q - FWD 1-4
R1 - FWD fastest 6 laps
R3 - FWD fastest 3 laps

The only time RWD cars were faster than FWD all weekend was in R2, when the temperatures were at their highest. FWD cars are capable of going quicker than RWD at this circuit, but it was the heat that caused the issues.
When the temperature drops later in the season, the FWD cars will start to get an ascendancy over RWD, and the conditions will come to them.

In qualifying, Sutton was pushing the car too hard, his lap times suffered as a result and he got slower and slower. Race day he seemed to have a whole new approach, he was more relaxed other than almost putting Butcher into the pit wall at the start of Race 3. His driving yesterday was the complete opposite of his frantic driving last week and he reaped the rewards from it.