2017 GTR WC: Stick a Fork in 'er, she's done!

[AustralianStig]

This provides a strong starting point for the weekend, while it's unfortunate we had a clash with Vukovic he needs to learn to leave racing room. I'll do the same thing next time; I won't be intimidated.

[RealRacingRoots]

Brazil Friday + Saturday

Friday Weather: Persistent Heavy Rain -> Heavy Cloud and Dry

Practice Session Results:



Saturday Weather: Mixed Levels of Cloud with some Sun, Dry

Qualifying Session Results:




Notes from Friday and Saturday:

*While the rain held off for the remainder of Friday and all of Saturday, it is still in the air if the rain will show for the race or not. There are potentially multiple systems in the Sao Paulo but the odds of any one of them hitting the Interlagos circuit is anyone's guess.

*Porsche isn't the only one working on a update package that will debut in the imminent future. Luxray Engineering is also working on upgrade for the Chrysler Viper GTS-R to try and help them close the gap as well. Whether or not the upgrade will be available to other Viper teams will be up for debate. (The Base Car is the PRD Dodge Viper GTS-R GT3 that was recently released.)

*The five minutes that were added to Qualifying for this year did shake things up. It also provided Frank Zimmer the extra lap he needed to steal the pole from last round's winner Ricardo Llosa. A good run from #ZIMSANITY righting his wrongs from the race in Argentina.

[the Masked Lapwing]

Zimmer cleared to race in Brazil
There was some surprise in the paddock this weekend when Frank Zimmer took his Pagani out to qualify for the Brazilian GT-R WC race. Zimmer has not been allowed into Brazil since 2008, after setting fire to his Honda F1 car. It emerged this week that he may be allowed to enter the country to race, and confirmation from Brazilian authorities confirmed Zimmer has made peace by paying a significant fine, the exact size of which has not been released. As a result, while Zimmer is still not allowed into the country for personal visits, he is now permitted entry for anything concerning motorsport, both as a driver and team member, for a week before and after each race.

[RealRacingRoots]

Sunday in Brazil

Weather: Heavy Cloud and Dry -> Heavy but Brief Thundershower -> Heavy Cloud and Drying Track

Race Results:



Fastest Lap: Car 02 (Solvalou Lamborghini - Kuntz/Moll) - 1:26.599

Car 28 (Vittore Ferrari - Voeckler/Valenti) has been given a 15 second penalty for causing a avoidable collision with Car 11 (Best in the World Lamborghini - Horford/Lomas). Driver of Car 28 at the time, Natalia Valenti, has been given a Suspended Race Ban, effective until the conclusion of the Round of Italy, as she spun the Lamborghini while it was in the Pit-In Lane and going to pit. The Lamborghini would then retire from damage caused in the Accident as it ran into the inside barrier.

With the Guest Car (GM Sport Trophy Team Brazil Corvette - Da Silva/Serafim) finishing in the Top Ten, points for finishing P7-P10 will be rewarded to those who finished P8-P11.

Cars 03 (Solvalou Lamborghini - Fazio/Molinaro) and 17 (ICE-3 Ferrari - Boveri/Schilling) will be classified as they finished 90% of the Winners Race Distance.

The Positives:

*Fabian Rei and Ryota Wong: It would appear that the term, "Driven in Anger" was taken down a level or two by the new Number One Pairing for Lister. Instead of punting off the eventual second place car they had a race long battle with them that would eventually be won with pitting a lap earlier for the very late splash and dash. The gap was enough that they were able focus on hunting down and pass the 31 Zonda who was trying to make it home without the late stop, but fresh tires would prove too strong for Kickert and Rosenforth to Overcome giving Rei and Wong their maiden victory in the GT-R WC.

*The Underdogs: With the sudden onset Tropical Cell that hit the Sao Paulo area, the pit stops were a flurry with activity. But by the end of the storm it would appear that the teams normally at the back had a chance to steal points away from the Factory Teams. With some staying out as late as possible and others pitting as early as they can for the prefered tires, it meant that Starforce Engineering would steal the Class Victory in their first of two scheduled starts, and that Aeroracing Engineering and Chris Short Racing (after the Vittore Penalty) would get points. Infinite improbability drive of the race goes to Murphy and Gabrielson in a stunning maiden outing as they would beat last year's Independent's Trophy Runner-Up in Tommy Douglas.

*Rafa Modena and James Davies: While they didn't have the pace early on, early stops when the pit stop cycle was not jumbled by the rain would prove huge for the Maserati team. They rocketed to the Top 5 and would be able to hold onto the front runners throughout the rest of the race. While they were more busy defending from Tommy Douglas and Joel Melrose rather than attacking the Top Two, they can be happy they brought the car home with a handful of points to their name.

The Negatives:

*Natalia Valenti: A boneheaded move would cost her and her team-mate their first points in a year in what was a strong showing before the Collision with the BITW Lamborghini.

*Euromotor Inernational: While the Driver Swap showed promise after Saturday, both cars would slowly drop through the field and would eventually get a merciful exit from the race with what would appear to be identical engine failures.

*Lamborghini: The 03 and 11 Lamborghinis showed exactly no pace come race day, with the 03 Solvalou earning theDeadbeat Teammates of the Race award for being in the bottom five runners for the duration of the race while team leaders in Kuntz and Moll were in the top five or six until the second to last pit stops. The 02's Fate would be sealed when they had to pit coming to the final lap for the late splash and dash, which would relegate them far outside the points. The final Lamborghini would suffer an embarrassing crash when Marlin Hortin would spin and crash into the Divider at pit in when he was to pit for Wet Tires and would retire on the spot. A overall forgetful day for the Raging Bulls with Reject of The Race going their way.

[RealRacingRoots]

There will be a change of format for the Super GP at the end of the year. I was generally displeased with the interaction between the two separate classes (GT2 and GT1), and while that might be down to the High Speed Ring, This will still be changed none the less for 2017. Here are the details:

*All Full-Time entries will get automatic entry in the race.

*With the grid size for the race still being 45, the final 14 entries will be decided by a Pre-Q Race run for Part-Time entries, One-Off teams run by userss on the Waiting List, and One-Off teams from users who aren't on the waiting list. The Pre-Q race still be the same format that it is for the rest of the season, 15 Minute Qualifying and 30 Minute Race.

*The Part-Time teams which drivers that are DEC Claimable, excluding Winton and Starforce, will not enter.

*All the new entrants will use the cars that are available to the Part-Time entrants, excluding the Saleen S7-R. That leaves the Ferrari 575 GTC, Chrysler Viper GTS-R and the Porsche 911 GT2. Other cars may be available if you give me a good enough case.

*The Super GP Test at Suzuka will be for all Part-Time and Super GP only entries.

I wish to run the UK Race Weekend in the upcoming days, but I still need ratings for drivers from Fulcrum Racing and Katayama Racing. If you want me to make them then I will, but if you don't actually send me anything then you may not like what you get.

[RealRacingRoots]

RAC Tourist Trophy Pre-Qualifying

Weather: Overcast but Dry

Qualifying Results:



No incidents to report.

Race Result:



Fastest Lap: Car 6 - Gulf Saleen - Tomo Kazama - 59.014
The Top 18 Finishing cars will advance to the main race weekend, regardless of if they are classified or not.

Penalty Report:

*Car 42 (Valerian Lamborghini - Gretchen Suarez) has been given a 15 Second Penalty for causing an avoidable collision with Car 7 (Pulsar Corvette - Leandro Moreira).

Main Talking Points of The Race:

*After Tomo's rage quit from Gauthier, she was able to immediately put the blinders back on and put on a good run at the front in her cameo in the Gulf Saleen, passing the Kjellerup Saleen at Stowe at third distance and not looking back.

*Anita Horford had a shocker of a race. After being one of the main drivers that lost lots of time in the aftermath of the Suarez/Moreira clash, she went on to have three spins at Stowe in her attempts to make up time and then re-catch the stragglers. Whether it was Anita trying too hard, or the Murciealago not having the best setup out of the truck, it meant one of the Heavy-Hitters in the Independents Trophy wont be continuing into the rest of the weekend.

[DemocalypseNow]

Ja, it vas a good race for ze team I think, maybe ze quali vas not quite so good, but ok, in ze end we make the cut and zat is vat matters. I hope myself and Oliviero can make a good race tomorrow in ze feature.

[RealRacingRoots]

RAC Tourist Trophy Friday + Saturday

Friday Weather: Overcast and Dry

Practice Session Results:



Saturday Weather: Overcast and Dry

Qualifying Session Results:




Notes from Friday and Saturday:

*The main trouble spot for the drivers would be the transition from Becketts to Chapel with lots of people complaining of understeer at Becketts leading to them running wide at Chapel and going through the grass.

*You would think that it being April in England that some precipitation would be on the cards, but the cloud cover that has gone through the area has been rather tame compared to what was seen the Month prior.

*The Factory Lister team make it two from three for Poles in 2017 with Shane Sparks putting in the top time in the Qualifying session while his teammate will start a very-respectable fifth. Tomo Kazama continues to make a impact in her Cameo in the Gulf Saleen, while Nikolas Hirvonen puts in what might end up being his best performance of the year as he will start on the second row for the 2017 RAC Tourist Trophy.

[RealRacingRoots]

Sunday at The RAC Tourist Trophy

Weather: Cloudy but Dry

Race Results:



Fastest Lap: Car 19 (Gerald Pereria Lister - Rei/Wong) - 1:52.177

Car 24 (Trueba Ferrari - Zeitner/Cinotti) has been given a 15 second penalty for an unsafe pit release, causing the collision between Car 24 and Car 39 (Kjellerup Saleen - Mazzacane/Sitoula)

Car 39 (Kjellerup Saleen - Mazzacane/Sitoula) will be classified as they finished 90% of the Winners Race Distance.

Car 87's (JLD Saleen - Batistuta-Solari) reason for retirement is officially classified as "Accident Damage" as they were involved in the accident between Car 4 (Delacroix-Serrano Maserati - Roda/FM Voeckler) and Car 73 (JLD Saleen - Douglas-Melrose) and was able to drive back to the pit lane.


The Positives:

*Asim Adhikari and Marlin Hortin: Pitting at the exact right moment and better than average pace meant that the sole BITW Lambo in this race found itself right at the front of the pack during the last stint of the race. They battled with the 19 Factory Lister and the 02 Factory Lamborghini for the lead on the stint prior and with the early stop compared to the others it left them with a Five second gap that would evaporate by the end, but a victory wasn't in doubt when second through fourth would continue to squabble for the final podium spots. 15 Points in both Main Championships for the car that was truly, The Best In The World. (trademark)

*Ricardo Llosa and Jordan McKenna: Starting 16th and finishing second doesn't happen out of pure luck. They gained the second most time via the pit stops with the undercut, after the eventual winner in the 41. Their race pace was a bit better than the Best In The World Lambo but the 1 Car had trouble navigating the lone lapped car which meant McKenna had all the work to do in the final stint. His pace was better at the end, but the 02 and 40 cars weren't afraid of bringing the fight to the champions; consolidating for Second marked a good end for a hard day's work at Union Saver.

*Nikolas Hirvonen and David Simmons: While their race pace wasn't the best, the Full-Time Globex car remained vigilant and were rewarded with a strong points finished when others started to drop with reliability troubles and being on one of the better pit strategies that they would share with the 02 Lamborghini. They were one of the first to clear the struggling Commonwealth Corvette before they pitted before the final time, which guaranteed Fourth in the Independent's Trophy,infinite improbability drive of the race, and a utter domination over their team leaders in the 92 car.

The Negatives:

*Stefan Kuntz: Blew a perfectly good opportunity at the win with a spin at Stowe with 3 laps to go while following the second place Union Saver Corvette.

*JLD Motorsport: Both cars were caught in the exact same crash that wasn't their own fault. The Delacroix-Serrano Maserati of Frédéric-Maxime Voeckler suffered a suspension failure on the run to Copse, crashed into the inside barrier and then collected both JLD cars when it bounced back to the other side of the track eliminating all three cars on the spot. The Double-DNF is going to cost them dearly in the long haul for the Independent's championship.

*Gulf Racing's Engine: Tomo Kazama carried the Gulf Team on her shoulders in Roland Davidson's absence. She lead from the start, was at the front for the duration of the race and stayed there throughout. She did so well in fact that they were only going to put in Antonio Bizzarri for the last stint to maximise race pace while still getting the minimum drive time in for both drivers. However that wasn't to be; at the same moment as the crash on the old-pit straight, the Engine in the back of the Gulf Saleen suffered a catastrophic failure while Kazama was in third place and battling for the lead. An obvious choice for the Reject of The Race.

[RealRacingRoots]

France Pre-Qualifying

Weather: Clear and Dry

Qualifying Results:



No incidents to report.

Race Result:



Fastest Lap: Car 39 - Kjellerup Saleen - José Pablo Mazzacane - 1:11.554
The Top 18 Finishing cars will advance to the main race weekend, regardless of if they are classified or not.

Penalty Report:

*Car 52 (Ayari Chrysler - Raymond Dupuis) has been given a 15 Second Penalty for causing an avoidable collision with Car 33 (Moldova et Bérgeron Porsche - Olivier Gagné).

Main Talking Points of The Race:

*The Safety Car was deployed during this race. The Onyx Saleen locked up the rears while braking at the end of the, albeit shortened, Mistral Straight. The 87 JLD Saleen of Diego Mauricio Batistuta clipped Milan Vukovic and spun out himself. The pack behind had to check up massively to miss the two stopped cars which caused the Pulsar Corvette who had no where to go to run into the Onyx Saleen. When the dust settled the amount of debris on track was too high to safely clear under local yellows so the SC was called.

*The drama was not over for JLD. A few laps after the SC, Tommy Douglas put the power on too soon at the last corner and Looped it around. He only dropped ten places but the potential for a double DNPQ for them was great. To add insult to Injury, Batistuta spun the same way Douglas did with two minutes remaining.

[CaptainGetz12]

Has there been any list made over which teams will field which cars for the Super GP event? I know it's a ways off but I would like to decide on a car so I can work on the livery...

[RealRacingRoots]

France Friday + Saturday

Friday Weather: Clear and Dry

Practice Session Results:



Saturday Weather: Clear and Dry

Qualifying Session Results:




Notes from Friday and Saturday:

*The Italian Ferrari that is making only their first run of two made a good impression on Friday and Saturday, being on the pace with the rest of the Ferrari 575 runners. Meanwhile, Roland Davidson returns to his lead seat at Gulf, clearly showing his discontent after being subbed for Kazama with Gulf's worst showing since 2016.

*With GTR once again using the un-chicaned Mistral Straight, the draft going down the 1.8 Km back straight is expected to make a huge influence on race day.

*After a tough weekend at the RAC Tourist Trophy, Rosenforth and their Zonda came out swinging at Paul Ricard with #ZIMSANITY striking again and getting their second pole of the year. This now means that Lister and Pagani have two poles each to start the year whilst the Scuderia Vittore Ferraris have their best showing of the year with their lead car starting alongside Zimmer and their second car starting on second row.

[RealRacingRoots]

Sunday at France

Weather: Clear and Dry

Race Results:



Fastest Lap: Car 62 (Rosenforth Pagani - Zimmer/Stern) - 1:46.792

Car 02 (Solvalou Lamborghini - Kuntz/Moll) has been given a 15 second penalty for causing an avoidable collision with Car 1 (Union Saver Chevrolet - Llosa/McKenna)


The Positives:

*Fabian Rei and Ryota Wong: Not on the best strategy, but in the end it wasn't going to matter with smart racing when it mattered the most. A final pit stop that was quicker than their rivals around them shot them up the order on the final stint and when the leaders were stuck behind a lapped car, they were the main car to take advantage and shot to the lead. After a final battle that would last for the duration of the final stint with the other podium finishers, the current car to beat ended up on top earning another 15 points.

*Denis van Walwijk and Lorenzo Crescenzi: Pace late into a stint wasn't the best, which would eventually burn them at the end of the race, but they were on the best strategy and used the undercut to it's fullest potential rocketing to the lead when the stops were to cycle out. This is the best run the new Factory Ferrari team have had to date, and they did their best to extract a great result; consistently at the front and kept out of trouble. A well earned third position.

*José Pablo Mazzacane and Ashok Sitoula: After being bang on the pace early on the race, the lead Kjellerup Saleen would get caught up in two separate moments at turn 1. The first time around they hit a spinning Maserati when they had no where to go, and then 20 laps later they would have a spin of their own at turn 1.Knowing this they changed up their strategy to mirror that being used by the 27 Ferrari, and it allowed them to claw back what they lost, earning them theinfinite improbability drive of the race.

The Negatives:

*Frank Zimmer and Mike Stern: Asleep on the start, not on the best strategy, fell down the order slowly after leading in the first stint. Fastest Lap is little consolation especially when the car's engine let go on the cooldown lap.

*Stefan Kuntz: The Number 1 Corvette must have a bad luck charm targeted at their main rivals from the back end of last year. Stefan Kuntz has blown two perfectly good shots at wins in the last two races, this time with sloppily spinning Llosa at the last corner late in the first stint, picking up a penalty in the process.

*Delacroix-Serrano Compétition: A spin for each car at turn 1 dropped any hopes of the Maseratis finishing in the top ten. What was even more concerning was their lack of race pace after pit stops. There is only so much a star-studded lineup can do when their car holds them back from succeeding, giving themReject of The Race.

[Rated]

This is going to be a long season with the unreliable and slow 575s.

[WaffleCat]

*Pops open champagne bottle* TIME TO CELEBRATE!!!

*Pops open champagne bottle* Time to drown my sorrows….

[RealRacingRoots]

Italy Pre-Qualifying

Weather: Clear and Dry

Qualifying Results:



No incidents to report.

Race Result:



Fastest Lap: Car 5 - Belgio Ferrari - Gia Van Dycke - 1:42.273
The Top 18 Finishing cars will advance to the main race weekend, regardless of if they are classified or not.

Penalty Report:

*Car 39 (Kjellerup Saleen - José Pablo Mazzacane) has been given a 15 Second Penalty for causing an avoidable collision with Car24 (Trueba Ferrari -Jans Zeitner).

Main Talking Points of The Race:

*Paul Jenkins and Darren Older Jr finally showed mid-season form, scoring a dominant 1-2 for arguably the heaviest-hitting part-time runners. After Randall Wade was slow off the line, the two-time reigning and defending RTCC champion was the main driver to take advantage early on and cemented victory after a race long battle with AR ST rival Darren Older Jr which would eventually go Jenkins's way.

*A majority of the teams who were running in the mid-field and lower all had noticeable front end damage to their cars by the end of the Pre-Q race. The concertina effect at The Rettifilo was a major talking point during the race with the amount of traffic jams at the slowest point on track just a few positions above the cut-off position.

[RealRacingRoots]

Italy Friday + Saturday

Friday Weather: Clear and Dry

Practice Session Results:



Saturday Weather: Light Cloud Cover and Dry

Qualifying Session Results:




Notes from Friday and Saturday:

*After the Factory Prodrive Ferraris began to show signs of improvement in France, the two customer Ferrari teams would see those improvements come their way for Ferrari's home weekend. Gia Van Dycke was able to get the most out of the new developments in qualifying whilst the Minarae crew were more focused on race trim throughout Friday and Saturday.

*The concertina effect continued to be a issue during Saturday qualifying, with multiple laps ruined by checking up at the Retitfilio and a total loss of momentum for the remainder of the lap. Alexandre-Laurent Voeckler was one of the main drivers to lose out on Saturday, as he was more than capable for a Top 5 starting position for Sunday.

*Ricardo Llosa finally takes his first pole for the year in convincing fashion leading a all Corvette front row alongside the Part-Time Commonwealth entry. It is their first pole position of the year after Pagani and Lister have come out of the gate running, now the new Factory Ferrari team have found their footing this means that four and a half of the factory teams have the capacity to fight at the front. (The half being the lead Solvalou Lamborghini)

[RealRacingRoots]

Sunday at Italy

Weather: Clear and Dry

Race Results:



Fastest Lap: Car 01 (Union Saver Chevrolet - Llosa/McKenna) - 1:41.678

Cars 28 (Vittore Ferrari - Voeckler/Valenti) and 13 (Aeroracing Ferrari - Garrido/Mellows) will finish classified as they finished 90% of the Race Winner's Distance.


The Positives:

*Denis van Walwijk and Lorenzo Crescenzi: While Race Pace late into the stints weren't the best, they had the best strategy and a hungry South African that was never going to take no for an answer. Crescenzi controlled the pace of the race very well in the middle stint even though he would slowly lose time to the third place car. At the start of the third and final stint van Walwijk had all the work to do with a bunch of cars yet to pit potentially costing them the race. Lap after lap the lead driver for the Vittore team passed these cars one by one, leaving them two seconds of breathing space to the 20 Gerald Pereria Lister. The last stint would be a scrap for the podium positions with victory going to the Ferrari camp with a defiant pass on the run to the della Roggia on the last lap after the Factory Lister passed them the lap prior at Variante Ascari. Have some evidence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDPAdvrTSSI

*Darren Older Jr.: The amount of heavy lifting the AR STS driver did during the first and last thirds of the race should leave the Commonwealth Group optimistic going into the future. He held Ricardo Llosa at bay for the duration of the first third of the race, and made up 6 seconds in the last stint and caught the top two with 4 laps to spare, leaving him plenty of time to fight it out for the overall win. Second was secured when he followed van Walwijk when he passed on Shane Sparks on the last lap, securing the Independant Class Victory and, undoubtedly, the best Independents Trophy points haul for a Part-Time entry.

*Tommy Douglas and Joel Melrose: Gaining 14 spots over the duration of the race and quietly finishing third in class is easily the best finish of the year for last year's Independents Trophy Runner up in Tommy Douglas. Being at the right place at the right time and not on the worst pit strategy helped give the lead JLD Saleen the infinite improbability drive of the race.

The Negatives:

*Gonzalo Solari: The other car that gained huge from good pit strategy early on outside of the eventual winners would be the All-Argentine Saleen. While perfectly happy with running 10 seconds behind the 27 Ferrari, when the cavalry came to take second Gonzalo couldn't take the pressure. A hapless chop on the Commonwealth Corvette at The Retitfilio left the JLD Saleen pointing the wrong direction and demoted to the back of the field before the 31 Rosenforth Pagani ran into the back of Solari when he was turning the car around. Both cars would have to pit to repair the damage, ruining any chances of a good result.

*Customer Listers: In what will no doubt be a race to forget for both teams, none of their cars finished the race, and even worse a car for each team would be written off after Quentin Bisping (woops forgot to have him be lead driver, it was suppose to be Bisping and Bertinelli sharing the car) had a brake failure going to Lesmo 1 and hit the tire wall at the end of the runoff and Sylvain Fabron suffered a suspension failure on the run to Parabolica which sent the part-time Globex car hard into the outside barriers and deep into the sandtrap. A pair of heavy repair bills sent out and good Independant points left wanting for Euromotor International and Scorpio Racing.

*Delacroix-Serrano Compétition: They were quietly making up positions in the first stint for their manufacturer's home race. But all that went away when Gio Roda and Alexandre-Laurent Voeckler did spins in-stereo when they went side-by-side at della Roggia and made contact. In the ensuing traffic jam, the sister Maserati would get themselves blocked in by the two recovering cars. The Maseratis found themselves Twenty-Ninth and Thirtieth with all the work in the world to do. They would eventually catch the stragglers in the Aeroracing Ferraris, but rather than clearing them in as little time as possible in an attempt to re-catch the main pack, they spent the rest of the stint fighting to the death for P27. After pitting late into the pit-stop cycles which didn't to them any favors, no one heard from them again for the rest of the race, earning them Reject of The Race for the second round in a row.

[Onxy Wrecked]

I have to admit that the Onyx Saleen always seems to be one of those cars where it just misses being a positive due to a poor start but gaining 16 positions and finishing 9th isn't bad.

[RealRacingRoots]

America Pre-Qualifying

Weather: Persistent Rain

Qualifying Results:



No incidents to report.

Race Result:



Fastest Lap: Car 6 - Gulf Saleen - Roland Davidson - 1:32.379
The Top 18 Finishing cars will advance to the main race weekend, regardless of if they are classified or not.

Penalty Report:

Clean as a whistle, even though it was messy out there in the rain.

Main Talking Points of The Race:

*Best In The World blew a perfectly good shot to bank a easy 1-2 in the wet. Anita Horford went to the inside for braking for Turn 1, ran over the kerb and into the side of the sister Lamborghini. Adhikari was able to recover from the spin and only dropped to then fourth place but Anita dropped to the bottom of the top ten at the time. This allowed Diego Batistuta to take advantage as Gretchen Suarez had to check up in order to avoid running into the BITW Lambos. It was Valerian vs JLD for the duration of the race, with the more experienced Diego coming out on top after a back and forth battle that went on for the last 8 minutes of the race.

*José Pablo Mazzacane slowly made ground through the whole race, eventually making it to fourth place after 25 minutes of running. His next target at that time was Gretchen Suarez, before he got a little bit too close to the rear of the Lamborghini and checked up in order to not spin the Valerian Lambo. In checking up, the front right tire locked up at turn three and spun all by himself. The 30 seconds that were between him and the rear of the advancing runners was more than enough time to get his Saleen pointing in the right direction and running again.

*The other major incident of the race happens when Milan Vukovic spun at turn two after clipping a white line in the middle of the midfield pack early on in the race. Helena Boveri was right behind the Onyx Saleen when Milan spun and clobbered the side of the Onyx Racing car. The ICE-3 Ferrari had to pit to repair the damage done to the car while a bunch of people behind had collateral damage in the concertina effect, including the Belgio Ferrari who suffered some Splitter damage but was able to continue at a price. The pace that the car was showing in the race was all but gone.

[RealRacingRoots]

USA Friday + Saturday

Friday Weather: Light Rain and Heavy Cloud -> Dry and Overcast

Practice Session Results:



Saturday Weather: Light Cloud Cover and Dry

Qualifying Session Results:




Notes from Friday and Saturday:

*The main news coming out of Friday was that the Number 1 Union Saver Corvette suffered an engine failure part way through their second qualifying simulation. It appeared to be a random failure at the end of the pit straight, as it caught Ricardo Llosa completely by surprise. The only team who saw this as a potential warning was the 73 JLD Saleen, who stopped their programme after 22 laps to preserve their car, it also helps that they were third on the timesheets.

*The confidence at the Pagani Camp continues to grow as Frank Zimmer controlled the running on Friday and Saturday, earning his third pole position in six races. Nathan Scott puts in his best run of the year and he will be the highest starting Independant runner.

[RealRacingRoots]

Sunday at USA

Weather: Clear and Dry

Race Results:



Fastest Lap: Car 19 (Gerald Pereria Lister - Rei/Wong) - 1:41.678

Cars 13 (Aeroracing Ferrari - Garrido/Mellows) will finish classified as they finished 90% of the Race Winner's Distance.

Driver of Car 4 (Delacroix-Serrano Maserati - Frédéric-Maxime Voeckler) has been given a One-Race Suspended Ban, effective until the completeion of the Round of Belgium, for his persistent ignorance of Blue Flags when the leaders were trying to lap him part-way through the race.


The Positives:

*Alexandre-Laurent Voeckler and Natalia Valenti: Scuderia Vittore for the second race in a row hit the nail on the head in terms of the strategy, although they had some heavy hitting company pitting with them no matter what in the Reigning and Defending GTR Champions. While Llosa and McKenna were more than happy to play hardball with the lesser-known quantities comapred to their other rivals, the lone remaining Factory Ferrari kept calm during the final third in the race and held off the lone Union Saver Corvette to make it two in a row for Scuderia Vittore.

*Nathan Scott and Heizo Takekawa: After struggling for the early part of the year to get acclimated to the new car, Heizo Takekawa especially, the duo at Minarae are slowly beginning to hit their stride when it matters the most on Sunday. On the whole it was a quiet affair for the eventuall Independant Class winners with chaos happening around them throughout the last hour of the race with the pair of Best In The World Lamborghinis clearing it too late to attack Nathan Scott in his best performance of the year.

*Shane Sparks and Owen Carvill: After getting checked into a spin at the chaos of Lap 1 Turn 1, the second Factory Lister crew kept their head down after being relegated to he back of the pack and slowly fought through the field and earned a wall deserved tenth place when others began to drop out, eanring them infinite improbability drive of the race.

The Negatives:

* Frédéric-Maxime Voeckler: What are Mirrors. Seriously.

*Pagani: The pair of Rosenforth Paganis controlled the race throughout the first stint. It was no doubt their best performance since taking on the Zonda GR project. But almost on time, both cars suffered the exact same suspension failure while at the front of the pack. While the pace they are starting to show may be ominous, it doesn't stop them from getting Reject of The Race.

[RealRacingRoots]

Canada Pre-Qualifying

Weather: Clear and Dry

Qualifying Results:



Alexi Melvanov ran into the back of the Local Porsche in qualifying when how early Olivier Gagne braked at turn 3 caught the Russian off-guard. There was plenty of time to repair the damage done to both cars.

Race Result:



Fastest Lap: Car 77 - Minarae Ferrari - Nathan Scott - 2:18.866
The Top 18 Finishing cars will advance to the main race weekend, regardless of if they are classified or not.

Penalty Report:

Car 70 (Jameson Viper - Ryan Jameson) has been excluded from the Race Results for Dangerous Driving, including multiple overtakes, under yellow flag conditions.

Main Talking Points of The Race:

*The race finished under the safety car after a accident on the penultimate lap of the race. Tommy Douglas spun all by himself at Turn 9 out of Third Place after taking the corner too hot and was collected by the Belgio Ferrari. In the chaos behind the 39 Kjellerup had to check up and got run-into by the also checking-up Onyx Saleen. Both cars had significant damage and had to pit to prevent causing furthur damage to their cars, even though they had started the final lap.

*Nathan Scott spun twice within 15 minutes. Initally he locked up the rears following the Valerian Lamborghini while in the battle at the front of the pack which dropped him well outside of advancing, and then he spun at turn 9 all by himself. Him and the team's new found pace came to play though late in the race, he would easily cruise back into the picture getting Fastest Lap in the process.

*Yes, Morgan Le Fay did a thing.

[RonDenisDeletraz]

Communism has no brakes apparently

[Nessafox]

Still a good result, though.

[RealRacingRoots]

Friday and Saturday in Canada

Friday Weather: Clear and Dry

Practice Session Results:



Saturday Weather: Light Cloud Cover and Dry

Qualifying Session Results:



Notes from Friday and Saturday:

*The factory teams continue to show their stength in the North American Tour as they take up the front three rows of the grid. The confidence at the customer Prodrive-Ferrari camp continues to grow with Scuderia Belgio having their best performance of the year thus far, and Minarae continuing to impress with Nathan Scott pushing ahead since the team's breakthrough in Indianapolis.

*GTR officials are starting to show concern for the Euromotor Team. They have reached the limit of Driver Role changes with their participation this weekend and are poised to go over the limit, and face exlcusion from the rest of the Championship, as soon as the championship's return to Europe unless they retain their current driver pairings for the rest of the season.

[Klon]

[AustralianStig]

It's great to put pen to paper on a secure, multi-year deal. This proves that anyone can make a career out of motorsport, provided they have the talent. Nepal is an emerging nation in the world of motorsport and I hope this deal, plus the success of Himalayas Racing last year in SARS, will inspire more young drivers back home to dream.

[RealRacingRoots]

Sunday in Canada

Weather: Clear and Dry

Race Results:



Fastest Lap: Car 1 (Union Saver Chevrolet - Llosa/McKenna) - 2:16.453

Cars 28 (Vittore Ferrari - Vockler/Valenti) and 97 (Chris Short Ferrari - Melvanov/Kabirov) will finish classified as they finished 90% of the Race Winner's Distance.


The Positives:

*Ricardo Llosa and Jordan McKenna: While they found themselves a good ten seconds behind the 3 Maserati and the eventual Runner-Up, the Reigning and Defending GTR Champions were not going to take no for a answer. Llosa fired off one qualifying lap after another early in the final stint to bring them into the fight. The scrap between them, the 27 and the 77 would last for the remainder of the race, with the evenutal race-winning pass being made at Turn 1 of the final lap. Surprisingly it's only their second win of the year, but it's a vital win for their title defence.

*Nathan Scott and Heizo Takekawa: A dominant sweep of the North American tour for Minarae fires them straight into the Independant Title picture. Using the lead Union Saver Corvette as a tow for the duration of the race allowed them to slowly sneak into the battle for the lead as the race wore on. While Nathan Scott did take the initative a few times to go to the lead late in the race, it wasn't to last against the likes of Llosa and Van Walwijk. Minarae can be happy as return to Europe with another 13 points to their tally for the year.

*Chiara Rossi and Ludvig Kristoffersen: A points-paying result hung in the balance for the duration of the final stint. While they nailed the strategy and found themselves in P10 on the road, the likes of JLD, Pulsar and Gerald Pereria were all hunting down the relative-minnows of the field. While two of the three oppnents in question would relquenish them of the final point during the final stint, they would get it back with the 41 Lamborghini Pitting, the Splash-And-Dash for the 3 Maserati, with the insurance they needed came when the engine on the second Vittore Ferrari expired on the last lap. They certianly earned the two points today, and infinite improbability drive of the race to boot.

The Negatives:

*Ryota Wong: Blew any opportunity of a good points finish by spinning at turn 1 two laps in a row. While Fabian Rei continued with the heavy lifting and eventually brought the lead Gerald Pereria Lister back to sixth, the damage had been done and a better result was well out of reach.

*Best In The World Motorsport: Zero points from the main race at Road Gatineau is going to be a tough pill to swallow for Kay Lon's Lads. Anita Horford suffered a spin at turn 1 in the midfield tussle and was never able to recover, the 11 crew's day ending mercifully with a mechanical failure. Asim Adhikari became the victim in a spin at turn 1 by Shane Sparks which did major front end damage to the Lamborghini. They remained off-cycle for the rest of the day, having good battles in the top 10 before being relegated back to the rear of the field after their scheduled pit stops. The 41 was welll on the pace, but could never make up the time and only managed to clear the ICE-3 Ferrari with 10 minutes to go in the race.

*Delacroix-Serrano Compétition's Race Strategist: While bold undercuts did rocket the pair of Factory Maseratis to the front of the pack it came at a major price late in the race. The Maserati's relatively poor Fuel Mileage struck them hard when the truth came to pass that the 3 car, fighting for the win, had to pit for a splash and dash with less than five minutes to go. It was also apparent that the 4 was beginning to really struggle right at the end on probably the most worn-out tires by the end of the race. A fifth place finish is little solace when so much more was on offer, but the magnitude of how badly Manfred blew it earns him Reject of The Race.

[DemocalypseNow]

GTRWC driver Modena launches own clothing line

Works Maserati driver and former Ferrari racer Rafael Modena has launched a tongue-in-cheek clothing line, playing on constant jibes that he was to blame for poor performances by both IBR Alitalia in 2016 and Voeckler Maserati this season.

The range is named Tutta Colpa di Modena, which roughly translates to English as "It's all Modena's fault," a reference to the barrage of fingerpointing and insults the Italian has received over Twitter following former team principal Alessandro Linari publicly blaming the driver on multiple occasions for his team's poor performances in 2016.

"I have spent a lot of my career with people always pointing the finger at me," said Modena. "I figured it's long enough that I just sat and took these insults for no reason, I should turn it around and turn it into something positive and worthwhile. And with some humour, of course."

The joke may also be on those throwing the insults to begin with; with over 100 pre-orders for the t-shirts at $50 apiece, it seems Modena is in line to make a tidy profit from the enterprise.

[AustralianStig]

Not gonna lie, I'd actually buy one of those.

But not at $50.

[Rated]

What a drive ! Chiara and Ludvig drove perfectly. The top 10 was running away from us, but we finally entered it. Too bad Helena and Julia were sent into a spin, they were on Chiara and Ludvig's strategy. A top 10 is a small victory for us and we will soon celebrate that result in the garage.

[RealRacingRoots]

FantometteBR, this is your final warning relating to the Driver Role Change Rule. You have voluntarily reached the limit for both cars with the lineups they had in place for Canada. Due to the nature of only two of your seven drivers being used else where, your lineups will be Dawn Granger/Aramis Santon and Quentin Bisping/Helena Bertinelli if you respond to this and understand that the rule was put in place to prevent situations like this, and MRT's 2016 IFRC Campaign. It requires a lot of uncessary work for Series Organisers, and there was no reason to do this in the first place unless a decent storyline reason was given.

You have until Wedensday to acknowledge the situation or else the 50's next, and only, race will be Suzuka, and the 51's only races will be Zhuhai and Suzuka.

[pi314159]

I'm really happy to finally score my first points in this championship. It took more time for me to adapt to a GT car than I expected, but today we did everything right and we were rewarded with a 9th place in this very competetive championship.

[FantometteBR]

FantometteBR, this is your final warning relating to the Driver Role Change Rule. You have voluntarily reached the limit for both cars with the lineups they had in place for Canada. Due to the nature of only two of your seven drivers being used else where, your lineups will be Dawn Granger/Aramis Santon and Quentin Bisping/Helena Bertinelli if you respond to this and understand that the rule was put in place to prevent situations like this, and MRT's 2016 IFRC Campaign. It requires a lot of uncessary work for Series Organisers, and there was no reason to do this in the first place unless a decent storyline reason was given.

You have until Wedensday to acknowledge the situation or else the 50's next, and only, race will be Suzuka, and the 51's only races will be Zhuhai and Suzuka.

We are going to retain the lineup for the rest of the season to not allow the league to go in disarray because of my team

[RealRacingRoots]

The Germany Race Weekend as a whole was posted in articles at RejectSport for each Pre-Qualifying, Qualifying and the Race. Screen Caps of the results will still be posted on my Photobucket Account.

I will post the links to the articles here, alongside any notes that come from the proceedings, wether it be penalties, ROTR or alike. Practice and The Pre-Q Grid will be posted here as they do not make a appearance in the articles.

We have this great new website, why not use it right?

[RealRacingRoots]

Belgium Pre-Qualifying

Qualifying Results:



Race Report and Results -> At RejectSport

Car 7 (Pulsar Corvette – Leandro Moreira) was given a 15 second penalty for causing a avoidable collision with Car 77 (Minarae Ferrari – Nathan Scott)

Friday will have, rather ominously, the majority of the dry running for this weekend. Lots of rain is expected for Qualifying and the Race.

Small error in the Results Chart. Anita Horford was +2.557 behind the race winner.

[RealRacingRoots]

Belgium Friday and Saturday

Friday Weather: Cloudy and Dry

Practice Results:



Motors were blown in the Katayama Ferrari.

Qualifying Results -> at RejectSport

Saturday was as wet as it gets. Details for Super GP entries will come after the Belgium Race has been posted.

[RealRacingRoots]

Belgium Race Report -> At RejectSport

Weather: Persistent Heavy Rain

Fastest Lap – 27 (Vittore Ferrari – Van Walwijk/Crescenzi) – 2:29.142

Infinite Improbability Drive of the Race – Rafael Modena and James Davies: Brought a inconsistent car kicking and screaming to a great result in terrible conditions.

Reject of The Race – The Kjellerup Pit Crew: The 39 dropped like a stone after starring, and the 40’s first pit stop was so slow that it put Steffen Belsø twenty seconds behind the struggling Katayama Ferrari.

Super GP One-Off Entry details are next, alongside the presumed introduction of SuperAguri's points table generator.

[CaptainGetz12]

With Super GT coming up, Blokkmonsta Motorsport will be looking for an entry there. Since it will be GT1 cars we will elect for a 1-car entry, and we are aiming for a Corvette as our first choice.