A tough weekend, a comeback required
Things were looking bright for both EHF and Parveen following the tests in Volpara as we didn’t only see her outperform most of her competitors but she was also carrying a mostly mediocre car to the top parts of the field. So arriving at Hodori for non-points race weekend expectations were high. The feeling all around the team was fairly positive too, as both Pemecutan and Bollonich had shown us that there was performance in the car. Parveen was visibly excited for this first complete race weekend despite it not being for points, she knew that this would be important to find some race pace.
Conditions would play a major role this weekend as rain was predicted for Friday and Saturday however it looked like we would get some sunshine on Sunday. This meant Qualifying would be very important as position then could very much decide the result of the race. As rain poured down, getting a clean lap time in during practice would be challenge however she needed to get used to the weather. Going out on the inters she struggled to get into the groove during her first few push laps as she struggled for grip. Pitting for wets as the rain got heavier she got faster however couldn’t reach the times other had put in earlier in the session on the inters. She was therefore at a dismal last place following the practice.
“Man, the car today was all over the place. Sliding around, no grip. I couldn’t even get a clean lap in.”
“Yeah we saw that. The setup changes will help. This is still testing, we’ll iron out all issues ahead of the first round.”
Parveen needed to make major improvements in Sunday afternoon’s qualifying if she was to try to get into Q2 and Q3 which would be what she would be aiming for. The conditions however didn’t help her in the slightest as more rain poured down on Saturday making Qualifying a real challenge with everyone having to go out on the wet tyres. Rain in Volpara was something, but here at Yakumicha she had struggled in practice. This was not going to be anymore easier for her. Her first flying lap in Q1 was a pretty good time which she and everyone in the team thought would get her into the top 12. However as more and more drivers put in better times following the black and white flag she just missed out finishing in 13th position. This was quite disappointing for the team as we had shown some real pace and missing out by such a tiny margin was truly difficult. The rain following this however didn’t get any better as it rained even more heavily resulting in quite slow timings in the following sessions. Shalmaneser Kalhu the Adabian was on pole following spectacular performances in each and every session. His teammate, Adonis however wasn’t so lucky struggling with traffic qualifying in 17th place. Following this disappointing qualifying it was up to Parveen to make it up in the race which surprisingly saw no rain as we finally ran in dry conditions.
“Radio Check, Parveen.”
“Yup, can hear you.”
“Okay good, let’s give it our all.”
She got off to a really good start immediately climbing a place and getting into the groove. Findlay behind her however got an even better one making two places on the spot. This had been an exciting start to the race as Parveen looked to climb the order further. This however was a visibly tough task in machinery that was evidently not performing well through out the weekend. She had been consistent in her lap times giving it her all however she failed to make any sort of progress. She pitted slightly later than Adonis behind her who overtook her in the pitstops with the undercut. She however had fresher rubber giving her the advantage. She immediately made up time and was right behind Adonis’s rear wing. The car however failed to make any progress due to the dirty air slowing her down. She lacked a substantial pace advantage as effects of the dirty air was clearly visible in her handling.
“It’s sliding all over the place. I have no grip.”
“Copy. Conserve your tyres for now.”
Evidently struggling she dropped back focusing on conserving her tyres so she could have a burst of performance towards the end. Most of the Grand Prix had been quite uneventful for her with basically zero overtakes. Being stuck behind Adonis she also fell off the pace of Jukkena ahead of them. Pushing in the end, she got extremely close to Fitzpatrick as she was six hundredths off him. Being wheel to wheel in the last corner and in its exit this was truly a great finish to an uneventful race for her.
“P15, P15. Good job, fabulous drive. We got unlucky, we’ll bounce back in Nimbus.”
“Thank you guys. Good work from the team. Sorry, not the best result for us.”
“Pick up rubber on your way in.”
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