Tom Dillmann extended his Formula V8 3.5 championship lead to 33 points over Louis Deletraz despite being forced to settle for fourth in race one at Silverstone on Saturday.
The French AVF driver believed that he should have taken pole position but was unable to do any better than fourth on the grid, but remained confident of a good result, only to find himself fighting for the lower reaches of the podium.
Dillmann pinpointed the moment when his race appeared to unravel, as rival Matthieu Vaxiviere ran off course at turn eleven and rather than joining the track at the correct point, rejoined ahead of the Frenchman, which put him under attack from Rene Binder.
“I think we had the pace for the pole this morning but it was a matter of putting the lap together,” said Dillmann to The Checkered Flag. “We made some changes on the car this weekend and we’ve had to adapt every session because we are tweaking.
“I was looking confident for the race but for me the turning point was when Vaxiviere rejoined illegally the track in turn 11 when he went off. I had to battle with him and then Binder could catch me, and instead of gaining one [position] I lost one.
“I got the radio call that he had to let me passed, and I was waiting, but then Binder passed me, so that for us was the turnaround because it would have been a P2 otherwise. Between Vaxiviere, Binder and me, I think Binder and I were faster than Vaxiviere but not enough to overtake so it stayed like that.
“It’s a shame we only took twelve points but for the championship it’s not a bad day, but it could have been better.”
Dillmann is aiming for pole position and the win during Sunday’s second race at Silverstone, feeling the pace is there in the AVF car to do just that.
“Tomorrow we need to do the pole as I think we have the pace for it,” insisted Dillmann. “The goal will be to get the pole and then win.”