[Finished] SRF Turn One GT500 Cup Season 1

  • Thread starter Emilius_73
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Finally had time to post the results... lol

Results from Round 2:
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Drivers standings after Round 2:
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Teams standings after Round 2:
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Back in Japan!

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As the GT500 grid returns to Japan for its third round in Autopolis, let’s take a look at how each team fared in the first two rounds and what to expect from them this weekend!

Team Simpact Racing

The two Simpact squads head into Autopolis with a comfortable lead in the championships. TSR_JoeToGuy led almost from lights to flag on Round 1 to take a comfortable win at Suzuka, and he was not missing from the top 3 fight at the Red Bull Ring. TSR_Tomsoft was also a leading contender, fighting for the win and eventually finishing 3rd at Suzuka. Unfortunately, due to technical issues he had to retire from the Austrian round. TSR_Swablu was also a leading force, finishing 2nd at Suzuka and 3rd in the second round.


Arrows

Arrows have had mixed feelings in the first two rounds of the championship, with one driver finishing 4th and the other retiring at Suzuka, with ART_Haighy getting very close to the podium. On the buildup to Round 2 the team lost a driver, meaning ART_James was on his own. He didn’t disappoint, making the most of a full course caution to take the lead after the first pitstops, keeping that lead and winning the race.


Golden Bear

The American squad had a double points finish at Suzuka, being only the second team to do so in the first round. Amuda74 took 5th place with his teammate Bondzai in 7th. Bondzai unfortunately couldn’t make the race on round 2, and Amuda retired from the race due to technical issues.


Turn One

The team have had a rough start to the season, but are looking to bounce back with an all-new driver lineup! Superleggera could not start both rounds due to technical issues, with Emilius73 finishing 6th at Suzuka scoring the team’s first points. At the Red Bull Ring, Emilius had to take the role of Race Director, meaning he couldn’t start the race or participate for the rest of the season due to his new position. 3-time GT-MES driver’s champion Nilsemann2002 takes Emilius’ spot. He has proven in the past to be extremely quick in a Gr.2 car, and is full of enthusiasm for the upcoming races.


New teams

Two new teams are gearing up for the third round: 2 Mutch Racing and C&H Racing. 2 Mutch Racing bring two new drivers: nuthunmuch and rbkLanny. The two Canadians are wildcards coming into the race, and they’ll be ones to watch out for. The same applies to C&H Racing, with its driver zigzagg310 looking for their place on the running order.


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2 Mutch Racing’s new red and white livery.
 
Well, that was fun while it lasted. Unfortunately my internet quit sometime around lap 10.

First race for me with a race director calling cautions. I enjoyed it as it adds another element to the pit strategy and closes up the field for tighter racing so a cool feature.

Hope I can make more rounds in the future (and a better internet connection..)
 
Next stop: the USA!

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The next round of the season takes us to the legendary Laguna Seca circuit, let’s take a look at how the teams and drivers did at the last round in Japan, and how they stack up as we wrap up the first half of the season.

An impressive debut for Nilsemann

Nilsemann2002 made his GT500 debut with Turn One last time out at the Autopolis circuit in Japan, and immediately impressed, taking pole position for the race by a margin of over 0.7 seconds. During the race, a Full Course Caution meant he could only finish in P4, but the 3-time SRF GT-MES champion cemented himself as a competitive contender right out of the gate.

Can anyone stop TSR? Maybe only TSR themselves

Team Simpact Racing have absolutely dominated the first half of the season, with 2 wins in 3 races, and a massive championship lead over second placed team Arrows. The two sister squads of Simpact and Simpact Honda have been regular contenders at the front of the field during the first 3 races, and there is little indication of them slowing down in the coming rounds. Their success has come at a cost though, and they are the team with the most amount of weight ballast mandated on their cars, with Simpact Honda having more ballast than the entire rest of the grid combined.

Arrows continue their charge

Arrows Racing Team have had a good start to the season, with the British squad sitting second in the teams standings, and its lead driver ART_James winning at the second round, they looked strong coming into Autopolis. He could only finish 5th in that race though, but eventual winner Tomsoft’s efforts could not take their 2nd place spot in the championship. These two results mean that he has a hefty amount of ballast coming into Laguna Seca, which could play against him.

The Golden Bears roar along

Golden Bear Motorsport have had a mixed start to the season. After slightly disappointing results in the first 3 rounds, and rumors of a driver change coming into round 4, the team needs a stable and consistent driver lineup to make their way up the grid.

The new teams’ pace remains a mystery

Coming into Round 3, two new squads joined the series, those being C&H Racing and 2 Mutch Racing. C&H and their lead driver zigzagg310 had a disappointing qualifying, starting on the final two rows of the grid. 2 Mutch’s lead driver nuthunmuch qualified 6th, but started last due to technical problems. Both teams left Autopolis with zero points and DNFs due to disconnects. If they can get their problems sorted, we will see their real pace at Laguna Seca.
 
A soaked Spa!

SEASON 1 FINALE!

The teams and drivers head to Belgium for the final round of the season, facing treacherous wet conditions that will challenge everyone at every corner they take. With the drivers championship wrapped up, who will come out on top of the teams?


The drivers champion!

TSR_Tomsoft clinched the drivers title at the previous round in Tokyo, driving his Team Simpact Racing Lexus car. Huge congratulations to him and his team! His tally of 75 points can no longer be matched by anyone.

Turn One's new driver
After a turbulent start to the season, the Turn One team fielded a single driver, Nilsemann2002 in their black and yellow Lexus car. For the Tokyo round though, the team found a second driver, Guatemala's GT_502_sh. He showed his capability with a strong qualifying, ranking as high as second in the session behind his teammate Nils. Unfortunately, a first lap incident meant he could only finish 5th in the race.

The battle for 2nd
Now that the drivers title has been won, the attention moves to the close battle between Golden Bear's Amuda74 and Nils for the second place spot in the Drivers championship. Separated by a single point coming in to the finale, they both need to finish 4th or higher and ahead of their rival to clinch 2nd.

Promising new drivers, a threat in future seasons?

The entrance of ART_Splurge and GT_502_sh at Tokyo was a surprising moment, with both showing strong performances in qualifying and the race. Splurge won the race with a lead of over 15 seconds in his Nissan, with GT_502_sh recovering from a first lap incident to finish 5th. If they stay with their teams for Season 2, they could certainly shake things up. Only time will tell!

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