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Race#1: Black Sea
We arrive at the Black Sea track ready to go for the season opener. Not wasting time using Young to test setups, so Valdes and Dembele make several practice runs to test the car setup. After three runs in the practice session we get to a setup for each that they both seem pleased with.
Race Day sees Valdes start from the #3 spot, and Dembele well back in the field (don’t remember exactly where). Valdes jumps out to a quick lead midway through lap #1 but eventually settles into 5th place. He hangs around between 4th-7th through the first run. Dembele doesn’t push anything and ranges from 14th-17th place.
After the first round of pit stops, Valdes is in 7th, but manages to work his way back up to 5th prior to the second round of pitting. Meanwhile, Dembele consistently turns faster and faster laps. She works her way up to 12th for the second round of pit stops.
After the 2nd pit stop, Valdes drops to 8th but is able to work his way up to a 4th place finish. He’s nowhere close to the top three, running roughly ¾ of a lap behind them for the last eight laps. Dembele continues her slow methodical climb, and ends up in 9th place. Not too bad, both finish in the top 10 and I think Dembele actually had a more impressive run. She is the #2 driver, so the best equipment has been given to Valdes, to keep his complaining to a minimum.
After the race, we are approached to open our factory to a tv crew. The mechanics don’t want the imposition, so we turn down the $100k filming fee in order to keep the peace internally. O’Sullivan starts working on a new gearbox, it should be completed before race #2.
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