Race #5 of the Rok Sonoma Championship was was back on my favorite layout, Pro National and the speed was back. Unfortunately, the field was back down to only 4 karts, one in Mini and three in Micro.
While I was back on the pace overall in practice, I ended qualifying 3rd, 6 10ths off Chico on pole and 2 10ths back of Mateo in second, highlighting the need to still work on the one-lap qualifying pace.
In Pre-Final 1, I started 3rd, but on the inside, which allowed me to follow Chico through turn one and fall into into second. I didn't quite have the pace to contend with Chico at the front. He was consistently about 2 10ths faster per lap and was able to pull out a 2 second gap after the 8 lap race distance.
In Pre-Final 2 Mateo was able to get a jump on the outside and slot in behind Chico. After a few and back and forth passes, I was able to grab second for good, maximizing the pre-final points for the day.
The two 2nds in the pre-finals meant starting out the outside of row one for the final, which is always a challenge. I was able to stay even with Chico at the start and hold onto his outside going into turn 1 which enabled me to fall in behind on the exit and then maintain the 2nd position through the first lap. Chico had too much pace to try and challenge for the overall win, but I was able to maintain the position over Mateo to take the win in Micro!
