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This past weekend saw the Virtual Pirtek Racing boys on double duty. Two races at either end of their respective series calendars occurred on consecutive evenings. Firstly, let’s recap the season finale of DOR’s Retro GT Series that took place at Sebring. In the VPR Bluebirds, qualifying was a mixed bag. Mutley and A55ASSIN both made it into A lobby, in 10th and 16th respectively. StaticSh33p had a disappointing time, putting him down in C lobby for race 1, though he would be on pole. All three CTech Motorsport Lancia’s were once again in attendance, with all three of them joining StatcSh33p in C lobby. Pluto 6th, AnonCaliga 7th, and StealthDavo 12th. The first race was an eventful one for the A lobby pair. Mutley got involved in a few incidents, even dropping to last at one point. Eventually came home in 11th. A55ASSIN did an impressive job moving up enough positions to avoid relegation to B lobby, crossing the line in 13th. StaticSh33p showed his race pace was far better that his qualifying time suggested, and dominated C lobby, winning from pole. In the CTech Motorsport team, both Pluto and StealthDavo finished where they started. With AnonCaliga having an unfortunate race, dropping from just behind one teammate in 7th, to just ahead of the other in 11th. Despite neither driver benefiting from the reversed top 10, both Mutley and A55ASSIN made progress in race 2. Mutely moved all the way up to finish 6th, whilst A55ASSIN also improved on his starting spot to finish 11th. Also making real progress was StaticSh33p. Now in B lobby, he made his way through the field, to finish 8th, from 14th on the grid. Pluto also showed improvement in race 2, moving up to finish 4th in his Lancia. AnonCaliga and StealthDavo would both stay status quo, once again finishing in 11th and 12th. In the final series standings, VPR had a strong showing, 3rd overall in the Teams Championship, from 25 entries. CTech Motorsport only had 2 scoring drivers on 2 occasions, and came 19th in the overall standings. The drivers also had some fantastic individual results. Mutley finished 6th in the Drivers Championship, with A55ASSIN 16th, and StaticSh33p 22nd, from a whopping 92 total entries. AnonCaliga lead the way for CTech Motorsport in 40th. Pluto came 69th, with StealthDavo 74th, both having only entered two of the six rounds.
It’s out with the old, and in with the new for our next series entry, as four of our drivers get behind the wheel of the 2016 Ford Fusion NASCAR for TORA’s TASCAR series. For the season opener at Sonoma Road course, it was perhaps unsurprisingly, our resident American, A55ASSIN, that was up to speed from the off. A fantastic qualifying put him 9th on the grid in the top lobby, from a massive 77 entrants. Joining him in the top lobby was Mutley, who snuck in for 16th on the grid. AnonCaliga and StealthDavo were higher up their respective grid (1st and 4th) but were in lobby 5. In the race, A55ASSIN recovered well from an early incident, making his way back up the field to finish 8th. Mutley kept his nose comparatively clean compared to some, despite making a big mistake of his own. He would move up to finish 12th. In lobby 5, AnonCaliga showed his dominance in that lobby, converting his pole into a win! StealthDavo was not as fortunate, as a myriad of issues dropped him to a finishing position of 13th. Article By: J Hastings For the penultimate round of the Retro GT series, expectations were high. With both teams and all drivers seemingly improving round on round, it was now crunch time. Results were needed. In the VPR Bluebirds, qualifying was perhaps a little disappointing. Mutley once again made it into A lobby, but 12th on the grid was 7 places lower than he managed the previous week. StaticSh33p and A55ASSIN both qualified in the mid pack of B lobby, 4th and 7th respectively. For race one, there was some improvement. Mutley kept his nose clean as incidents happened around him, and as a result moved up to finish 8th. StaticSh33p held station in B lobby to finish 4th, whilst A55ASSIN moved up to finish directly behind in 5th. Race two, and the boys in (dark) blue (cars) really upped that ante, with all 3 drivers standing on the podium at the end of the evening! Mutley benefited from a reversed top 10 grid, started 3rd, and was fighting for the lead at points, before crossing the line in 2nd. StaticSh33p and A55ASSIN each moved up two positions from their first race results, meaning StaticSh33p would also stand on the middle step of the podium, with A55ASSIN just one step lower in 3rd. As the lone CTech Lancia once again, this is how Team Principle AnonCaliga described his evening: “Race one, started 10th and constantly caught the pack ahead in every corner but the Lancia just didn’t have the top end to pass the group once caught and then as they got onto the straights they simply drove right out of my life until I would again catch them at the next corner. Managed to move up to 9th and finish the first race one place ahead of where I started. Unfortunately due to finishing 9th meant I fell into the lobby drop three and so moved to lobby D to begin race two, however with no host for a fourth lobby we got to stay in lobby C but treated as D lobby. Race two and starting in 12th position or 1st position in lobby D. Basically a mirror image of race one, each time I’d close up on the pack at the corners and bends or on many occasions come along side and drive around other cars on the corners but as soon as the corner would open up the lack of straight line speed hurt me badly. Acceleration was great in the car and on many occasions I had passed a good few cars in the corners and accelerated away but if the following straight was any great length then the Lancia’s advantage would soon be reeled back in by the other cars with better top end speeds. Coming off the top of Eau Rouge into Raidillon was a particular strong area for the Lancia as it would leave any chasing cars well behind and any cars ahead would soon be caught and I’d be able to come alongside for a drag race along the Kemmel Straight but just as we’d approach Les Combes the higher top end car would usually have just crept ahead and so the whole cycle would begin again”. Just one more round to go before the curtain falls on the series. Sebring hosts the finale, as VPR and CTech look to finish strongly. Article By: J Hastings |
