On the evening of Sunday 27th March TORA held round three of the Base Performance Simulators Production GT at Hockenheimring, this round would be the last chance for teams and drivers to maximise their points standings within the championship before the teams competing broke off for the Easter break of this six round series.
 
Virtual Pirtek Racing went into this round still occupying top place in the team standings and with their target set on scoring a full bank of points to see them securely stay on the top step until after the Easter break at the next round on April 17th, however things didn’t fully go to plan for team VPR as they had in team testing pre race.
 
In qualifying, team principal AnonCaliga could only manage an 11th place grid position in lobby two after putting in a disappointing qualifying time of 1:51.469 which was a far step back from his late 1:47’s and 48’s that he had been putting in during private testing before the race. Next up for team VPR was Nutter who qualified 11th place on the grid in lobby one after he set a time of 1:46.656 which again was considerably slower than that which Nutter had been setting during private testing and team practice. Finally, it was Select Veepz to qualify and although once again slightly slower than his personal best lap time set during team practice and testing Veepz did however set the best lap time out of the VPR trio by setting a 1:46.512 placing him in 9th position on the grid for race one start in lobby one.
 
Race one was the usual battle for Veepz and Nutter in lobby one with competing faster cars and slower cars, which considering turned out to be a pretty quiet race for the two VPR drivers. AnonCaliga in lobby two also had a pretty eventless first race apart from a couple of minor collisions by some overly eager opposing drivers that caused minor to medium damage to Anon’s Pirtek BMW M4.
Race results came in and by the end of the first race of round three it was Veepz who came out best for Virtual Pirtek Racing with a 5th place finishing position scoring him 121 points to add to the team pot. Nutter finished in 11th position from where he started the race, although many higher positions were held by him during the race but after the second of two mandatory pit stops Nutter found himself up against cars better suited for pit strategy at Hockenheim than that of our VPR BMW’s, nevertheless Nutter collected a worthy 115 points for the team. AnonCaliga took a step back from his original grid starting position finishing 12th after having to add an extra, but unscheduled, pit stop to his plans to repair damage to his steering caused by another driver, Anon brought home 97 points for his finishing position.
 
The final race of this round would see all drivers on grid starting race two in the positions they finished race one which immediately put Veepz in the higher points scoring position for the team starting in 5th position, Nutter started 11th and Anon 12th on his lobby grid. The race for Anon was to be immediately a disappointment, by lap two he had once again incurred damage to his BMW M4 caused by two further drivers out braking themselves and colliding with his car. Later, toward the final laps of race two Anon found himself once again with damage to his car when one of the same drivers who collided with his VPR BMW earlier in the race again came into contact with Anon whilst battling for position, however this particular battle would later see a steward’s inquiry being launched by team VPR, the outcome of which has yet to be decided on by the stewarding team. Anon took 103 points for his 10th place lobby finishing position.
 
Things weren’t at all much better for Veepz and Nutter in lobby one as just three laps before the end of the race and holding 2nd place in his lobby Nutter ran out of fuel. Sadly, too far away from the pits to be able to coast his car back for refuelling Nutter claimed his first ever DNF since joining Virtual Pirtek Racing although he did however collect DNF points which added a further 96 points to the team tally.
To add further insult to injury for team Virtual Pirtek Racing Veepz also fell victim to a DNF but the cause of his non finish was more internet connection issues than car related, Veepz unfortunately lagged out of his lobby just one lap after Nutter on lap 18 where he had reportedly been holding 5th position until losing connection with the server. DNF points also claimed by Veepz added a further 98 points to the team end of race tally. In total after race one and two had been completed the VPR team mates brought home a total of 630 points between them to add to the team scoreboard and although this round has so far been the worst round for the team, Virtual Pirtek Racing still hold the number one spot on the TORA Production GT team standings.
 
On Monday, earlier this week, the VPR Media team felt that team principal Anon by now would have got over the previous night’s race upset that we were daring enough to ask him for a response. He had this to say:
 
How do I feel, I feel we could have done better as a team but I personally could have done much better if not for a couple of competing drivers racing beyond their capability which caused me damage to my car and loss of places, hey it is what it is and we just look forward to getting back onto the virtual black stuff for round four next month. Our two guys Veepz and Nutter both know they were slightly slower than what they had been during private test sessions on the lead up to this round but to be honest, we as a team, I, couldn’t ask more from them. Veepz and Nutter, lets be truthful, are working with a car that’s not the fastest on track, isn’t the best handling nor is it any lightweight but they both do a tremendous job with what they’ve got to work with, helped of course by Nutter who is the team master tuner now as well as team driver.
It was unfortunate that Veepz lagged out in race two, can’t be helped, it happens to us all and no doubt somewhere down the line it will happen again but no matter what he brought points back and that’s what is important. Nutter, got to feel for the guy to be sitting second place and three laps before the end of the race you run out of fuel, annoying is an understatement.
I don’t yet know the reason how or why exactly Nutter came to get so low and run out of fuel particularly as fuel in this car is something we, as a team, have regularly spoken about and keep tabs on during each race but at the same time I’m not angry at all about it as I’ve done the very same thing myself whilst in third position back in round one of this series and that was just a few corners before the end of the race. I think you just keep telling yourself, “yeah there’s enough fuel to get me across that line” but as we have all found out now at VPR, there’s never enough even when you think there’s enough!
We’re looking forward to round four after these short few weeks break and heading to Monza Italy. Early indications tell us the car, the VPR BMW M4 likes this circuit but like everything we just have to wait until the lights go out to see how accurate our info is and to see what the other teams have brought to the table.
So while we’re all on a few weeks mid series break I’m personally looking forward to the start of the real world BTCC season and seeing our official sponsor, Pirtek UK / Pirtek Racing doing well in the new Motorbase Ford Focus at the first round of the 2016 BTCC season at Brands Hatch this weekend.

Round 4, Monza, Race 1 & 2 Of The TORA Base Performance Simulators Production GT Gets Underway On Sunday April 17th At 8pm (UK) & You Can Watch Both Races Live From On-board One Of The Virtual Pirtek Racing BMW’s By Visiting & Following Our Official Twitch Channel At:  www.twitch.tv/ctechmotorsport
 
Alternatively, You May Also Watch A Live Stream Of The Round Four Races From 8pm On Sunday April 17th On This Very Website By Clicking On The ‘Video’ Tab Found On The Navigation Menu Above.

The trio of Virtual Pirtek Racing BMW M4's head to Hockenheim for this Sunday's round three of the TORA Base Performance Simulators Production GT. Race one and two of this round will get underway at 20:00 GMT.
The VPR drivers have all tested privately but a planned team test session with all three cars will go ahead tomorrow evening which will include some pictures being taken for team media purposes. Virtual Pirtek Racing currently occupy the top spot of the TORA Production GT team standings and hope to further the team points tally this weekend.
You can watch a live stream of race one and two from onboard one of the three VPR cars during the Hockenheim round this Sunday.
To watch the live action visit the official CTech Motorsport Twitch channel by clicking on the Video tab on the navigation menu at the top of this website from 8pm this Sunday evening or alternatively go directly to our official Twitch channel by using this link:  twitch.tv/ctechmotorsport

Virtual Pirtek Racing took to the grid on Friday night at the famous street circuit of Long Beach in California to qualify for round five of the TORA Formula E championship. VPR team principal AnonCaliga missed out on qualifying and so no time was set by him for the session. Select Veepz set a qualifying time of 0:54.745 placing him in 2nd position on the grid for the race and Nutter qualified in 3rd position with a time of 0:54.866.
 The main event seen AnonCaliga start from 14th position at the very back of the grid due to not taking part in qualifying and having not set any qualifying time. Just a few laps after the race had got underway the safety car was called for whilst several cars that had collided with the tyre wall and each other were cleared from blocking turn one. The resulting safety car for the incident meant that the pack had to bunch up which cancelled out any distance Veepz and Nutter had put between themselves and the cars behind. After several laps behind the safety car the race once again got underway but as the safety car peeled off AnonCaliga was caught out and the pack pulled half way down the main straight toward turn one before Anon had got back onto the power cycle of his Pirtek sponsored formula E car. Meanwhile Veepz and Nutter at the front end of the pack in second and third position made easy work of staying with each other and the leading car.
 Only a few laps went by before the safety car was called for again which naturally backed the pack up again cancelling out any distance built by each driver on the street circuit. Finally, once the race got underway again Veepz set fast lap after fast lap and was ever so slightly faster than the lead car throughout the entire race but couldn’t find a safe way by. Nutter meanwhile did battle with a Benedict Racing team car that managed to slip by him just before the last safety car came on track. The chase with the Benedict car lasted a few laps before Nutter gained momentum from out braking the Benedict car, that made great efforts to stay ahead, but Nutter slipped by just at a bend and passed the fourth placed Benedict Racing car before entering the back straight.
 Soon it was time to pit for the mandatory stop stipulated by the TORA Formula E rules. Veepz re-joined the track in thirteenth position while Nutter re-joined fifteenth which brought backmarkers into the equation for both VPR drivers and most of the field who pitted mid race. Once the backmarkers had completed their stops both Veepz and Nutter had regained their original positions at the front of the field. AnonCaliga meanwhile had a reasonably quiet race which would see him later cross the finish line taking tenth position and 91 points. Veepz and Nutter both continued to race hard with great pace and other than a little unfounded grumbling from another team member aimed at Nutter the remainder of the race went by pretty quietly. The race concluded with Nutter bringing home third position and 98 points while Veepz took second position and bagged 99 points to add to the team tally.
 
After round five at Long Beach Virtual Pirtek Racing now occupy second place overall in the TORA Formula E team standings. Round six of this series will be held on May 6th with Watkins Glen being the backdrop for the event.

On Sunday March 13th round two of the TORA Base Performance Simulators Production GT was held at Silverstone. Virtual Pirtek Racing drivers Nutter and Veepz both qualified in lobby one, meanwhile VPR team principal AnonCaliga qualified in lobby two with a 2:10.682 qualifying time. Nutter placed a respectable qualifying time of 2:08.426 very closely chased down by team mate Veepz who set a 2:08.535 qualifying time.

Race one got underway and the Virtual Pirtek Racing trio felt more confident with the BMW’s fuel economy after a few minor tweaks during the off period between round one and round two of the series. Race one seen Nutter and Veepz battle with the field and each other whilst also having some notable nail biting moments when running over Silverstone’s notoriously slippy rumble strips which sent their cars side ways making for some thrilling Twitch viewing. Nutter finished race one in 9th position earning the team 117 points and Veepz crossed the line to take 11th place with 115 points added to the team tally. AnonCaliga in lobby two crossed the line in 16th position earning 93 points after also having several close encounters with the Silverstone rumble strips and falling victim to a mid race crash ahead of him which caused one car to spin across the track clipping AnonCaliga’s BMW M4 coupe causing rear suspension damage dropping him further down the field after an unscheduled pit stop.
 
Race two got underway and Veepz immediately found his pace passing one group of cars moving Veepz further up the field. Nutter drove a smooth race in race two punching in fast lap after fast lap although toward the end of race two Nutter once again had a moment with one of the rumble strips but on this occasion it sent his BMW into a huge left, right tank slapper at around 120 mph but Nutter proving to be quite the driver brought the car under control very quickly without losing much, if any, time from his lap. AnonCaliga had a quiet race in his lobby but after the first of his scheduled pit stops he came up against a group of cars which Anon battled to keep with for several laps but soon realised in doing so he was costing himself valuable lap time so after following the pack closely for seven laps Anon stopped for his second and final pit stop of the race. Veepz finished race two taking a superb 6th place and an additional 120 points, Nutter crossed the line in 12th place taking 114 race points for the team and AnonCaliga finished his lobby two race in 13th position adding a further 99 points to the team collection.
 
After round two of the TORA Production GT Virtual Pirtek Racing now currently occupy the top spot in the championship team standings with a team total of 916 points closely followed in second position with 909 points is team F4H, however F4H decided after round two to suddenly withdraw their entire team entry with no plans in competing any further in the TORA production GT season. Round three of the championship will be held at Hockenheim on March 27th.

Meanwhile the TORA Formula E series continues tomorrow (Friday 18th) with round five being held at Long Beach California. Virtual Pirtek Racing have already been testing on this east format of the famous Long Beach street circuit for the past several days and the team cars look promising in speed and handling on this bumpy street circuit. Currently VPR still hold third place overall in the team championship points standings for TORA Formula E going into round five tomorrow evening. Round five of the Formula E series gets going at 20:00 GMT and VPR will be streaming from onboard one of their team cars throughout the race. To watch the onboard action tomorrow evening be sure to go to the Virtual Pirtek Racing Twitch channel from 8pm or alternatively you can watch the live stream from the Virtual Pirtek Racing website by clicking on the 'Video' tab found on the top of the website navigation menu.

Team Virtual Pirtek Racing head to Silverstone this evening with their trio of VPR BMW M4 Coupes for round two of the TORA production GT championship. After almost two weeks of team testing and fine tuning of their Silverstone setup the VPR team mates now have the excessive fuel consumption under control which was a major concern for the team after team principal AnonCaliga was denied a top ranking finish in his lobby after running out of fuel just several corners from the finish line of the last lap in race one of the last round. Select Veepz and Nutter both look superbly fast during team testing last week while AnonCaliga was a little more reserved having what happened to him in round one still fresh in his mind. Round two of the production GT championship gets the green light at 20:00 GMT this evening (Sunday 13th) and the very latest live timing can be viewed on the TORA website immediately after qualifying and after both races have finished.

On February 21st the first round of the TORA Base Performance Simulators Production GT series got underway at Watkins Glen. Virtual Pirtek Racing drivers Veepz and Nutter both qualified for lobby one while Caliga settled for a lobby three start. The VPR BMW’s had promising power and a good setup but the team were aware of the huge fuel consumption rate these cars had in race setup testing and for one of the VPR trio he would fall victim to an empty tank just three corners from the finish line on the final lap.
In race one Veepz crossed the finish line taking sixteenth position in lobby one followed by Nutter in seventeenth position, meanwhile in lobby three and after running his fuel tank dry AnonCaliga managed to pull in a tenth place finish position.
In race two Caliga played his cards with caution after his earlier fuel incident in race one and had a quiet race finally crossing the finish line again in tenth position in lobby three. Select Veepz and Nutter in lobby one secured tenth and eleventh.
After round one of the TORA Production GT series Virtual Pirtek Racing currently sit in third position in the team standings with a total points tally of 450. The Silverstone track in leafy Northamptonshire will host round two of the series on March 13th.
 
February 26th seen Brands Hatch play host to round four of the TORA Formula E series and eager to carry on with his winning way VPR number two driver Select Veepz placed his electric powered VPR car on grid position three after qualifying had been completed. Virtual Pirtek Racing driver number three, Nutter, also secured a second row grid start after qualifying had finished and placed his VPR car on fourth position for the race start. Due to the low turnout for round four of the series all drivers and teams who took part in round four placed positions in lobby one.
Once again Virtual Pirtek Racing battled with team Samsung throughout the race but it was team Samsung who were victorious on this occasion and took a well deserved first and second place whilst VPR driver Veepz crossed the line in a solid third position quickly followed by VPR team mate Nutter who also replicated his starting position for the race and finished in a well deserved fourth position. VPR driver and team principal AnonCaliga meanwhile rolled across the finish line taking a fourteenth place after again, similar to round three, being rammed on two separate occasions by the same team Samsung driver, unfortunately this sent Caliga onto the grass to take a scenic excursion and caused him to drop back from the seventh position he was maintaining at the time after starting the race in ninth.
Round five of the TORA Formula E series will see all drivers and teams head off to sunny California to race on the street circuit of Long Beach on March 18th. Virtual Pirtek Racing currently occupy third position in the TORA Formula E championship standings with a points tally of 573.