The Eurocup-3 Championship visited Motorland Aragón for the second round of the season, one which would see a mixed set of results for Nick throughout the weekend. The three days of Action would see ups and downs for Gilkes, but plenty of positives can be taken heading into round three.
Qualifying for race one was the closest of the season so far, the whole field separated by just 1.1 seconds! Race one commentated later in the afternoon, one which ended in devastating fashion for Gilkes after contact resulting in a DNF. Here’s what Nick had to see about Saturday at Aragón:
“Qualifying was quite close, unfortunately I didn’t nail a lap. Having my best lap being 0.4 off of my theoretical on a grid this tight I feel is ultimately a shame, but it was good to see the potential was more than there. Race one was a ‘what could’ve been’. I made some good moves and with some incidents up ahead was up to 6th, putting pressure on those in front. Unfortunately I was spun into retirement after a tap from behind put end to what was overall quite a promising effort.”
On Sunday qualifying two saw Nick land yet another spot on the fifth row of the grid, however Gilkes wasn’t fully satisfied with this: “This one was quite messy. On the aspect of track limits, I believe we misunderstood what was possible and where they monitored, because ultimately we didn’t use enough road compared to our competitors.”
The weekend ended on a much more positive note, with Gilkes recording P6, his highest finish so far this season. Overall a strong recovery drive from 10th, I’m pretty happy given where we started.” says Gilkes on race two. “When half a gap was open I went for it, and ultimately took every opportunity I had. I think 4th was definitely a possibility if things had gone our way, potentially even more.”
The state of the drivers championship after Aragón sees Gilkes on P9. His strong points finish in race two also helps Drivex retain third in the teams championship.
Here are Gilkes thoughts on the weekend as a whole:
“It was another weekend of great potential. We showed strong race pace, and we know in the right circumstances, both this and the qualifying pace will be even stronger. The results themselves aren’t what we deserved as a team, but I am confident at Monza we will truly start our charge.”
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