Race day dawns on Calder Park and there is an eager buzz around the Thunderdome, as the fans pile in to watch the season opener for the eVirtual season. Can Steven Kasami finally win his first race after 3 previous failed attempts from pole? Or will one of the chasing pack be able to hunt him down? Kasami is one of 13 drivers utilising the Attacking strategy, with his teammate Zvironas also opting for the most aggressive strategy. Lada, BMW and K8ley join them in going for a double attacking strategy, while Östberg, Einarsson, Vocquelin and Matthews are the sole representatives on their team. The rest of the grid are on the Balanced strategy, with the exception of GP1’s Erik Oliversson who is the only Efficient runner in the field today. Part 1As the pace car pulls in and the field charge down towards the first turn, it’s Kip Maxwell who blinks first, allowing Kasami to sweep through Turn 1 in the lead. Further back in the pack it’s Erik Oliversson who gets out of the racing line on cold tyres, losing 3 places in one corner. From there the race settled into a quiet rhythm, with no drivers wanting to show their hand too soon. The early attention instead fell on Zander Brynildsen, the Norwegian making some early moves to put himself into 8th after the first 10 laps. Suddenly the cameras switched back to the front of the field, as Jules Barclay powered past Kip Maxwell to grab second only a few laps before the opening stop. Soon it was time for the first pit stops for the attacking group and there was drama for BMW’s Kip Maxwell as a slow pit stop saw him lose time to the leading duo, becoming trapped behind Stefánsson and de la Fuente who were locked in a tussle themselves. Further back there was more drama for Opel’s Cosmo Roberts, who hit the wall on the exit of Turn 2 and was forced to return to the garage after the team determined his car was too damaged to continue. Meanwhile Maximilian Thunström was making the most of the clean air as the first of the balanced runners and when he came in 3 laps later he was able to come out in 3rd, jumping the struggling Kip Maxwell who had dropped behind Zvironas to 5th. Elsewhere it was becoming clear that the wildcard strategy for Oliversson was not working out, as his 1st pit stop dropped him down to 19th behind many of the balanced runners he was previously leading. Part 2Kip Maxwell continued to struggle, and as he battled with Oleksandr Zozulya on Lap 24 the two ran wide, allowing Sam Hudson’s Lada to sneak past both of them into 5th. Hudson continued to advance up the field, passing Dominykas Zvironas just 3 laps later to go into his second pit stop running 4th. As those pit stops wrapped up there was disaster for Jochem van Snelheid as an underwhelming weekend came to an early end with gearbox failure on Lap 30. As half race distance approached and the balanced runners pitted from the lead Jules Barclay made his move. Diving to the inside at Turn 3, Barclay pushed his factory Mathershaw Porsche past the customer Manziel, taking the lead for the first time after allowing Kasami to set the opening pace. So as the race reached half distance it was Barclay who found himself at the head of the attacking group, but not at the head of the race. With the less efficient strategy having to make 1 extra pitstop in the first half, it was the trio of Thunström, Zozulya and Brynildsen who led the race. All drivers (bar Oliversson) now had 2 stops to make and the stage was set for a proper showdown with multiple drivers still firmly within reach of a win. Part 3As the race moved into its second half reliability concerns began to creep in. First Bentley’s Ryota Yoshida lost power and headed for pitlane and an eventual retirement. Then with pit stops fast approaching for the balanced drivers, BMW’s Niklaus Hölzberg came to a sudden halt on track from last place, bringing out the safety car for the first time in the race. With the pitlane closed Thunström and the rest of the balanced drivers were dropped to the rear of the pack when they were eventually allowed to make their stops. But it would not be Jules Barclay to retake the lead, as Manziel’s Steven Kasami had managed to sneak through into 4th just before the yellow was called, meaning he inherited the lead. This lead would be short lived, as the penultimate pit stops were also due for the attacking drivers. For a brief time this left Erik Oliversson in the lead in a surprise cameo before he too was brought into the pits, dropping to the back of the field. And again there was drama for Kasami as Jules Barclay’s Mathershaw pitcrew were able to get their man out in front of the Swiss. Both however were able to crucially stay ahead of Thunström, with all drivers now only needing one more stop. So as the final quarter of the race approached it was still Kasami leading from pole, with Barclay and Thunström close behind followed by Zvironas and Zozulya. Further down the grid there was a resurgent drive from Barclay’s Porsche teammate Sebastian Bergkvist that was him steadily gaining places to find himself in a solid 6th place ahead of the former teammates Östberg and Hudson. Arrow were using the balanced strategy to good effect, with Brynildsen and de la Fuente rounding out the points while lower down it was continued disappointment for Kip Maxwell, who had faded over the course of the race to 12th. Part 4Behind the top 3 there was fierce competition for 4th, 5th and 6th with Zvironas and Zozulya battling hard. But it was defence that Zozulya should have been thinking about, as the resurgent Sebastian Bergkvist grabbed 5th place from him just before their final pit stops. With Thunström down the field after his pit stop, Barclay launched yet another dramatic attack on Steven Kasami. But as the two duelled they lost time, seemingly unaware that further down the field Maximilian Thunström was setting quick lap time after quick lap time. Barclay dived through at Turn 1 to take the lead, but when his final pit stop came around the scale of the time lost became apparent. Maximilian Thunström, after quietly stalking the top 2 for lap after lap, had played his cards right and with 10 laps to go was in the lead. Barclay tried every trick in the book, desperately looking to use his attacking power mode to his advantage, but Thunström was holding firm. The tension was rising in the stands and in the garages, surely they couldn’t keep this up? Eventually someone had to crack, and it was Jules Barclay who made the error. Running wide out of Turn 4 with 3 laps to go, his chances of the win slipped away and he suddenly found himself in the clutches of the ever present Steven Kasami. Barclay was rattled, and it was Kasami who capitalised to take 2nd place, a redemption of sorts after his 2022 disappointment. But further ahead it was Maximilian Thunström who took victory in his maiden race, an ominous sign for the rest of the field as the quick Swede returns to racing with a serious statement of intent for 2023. Although overshadowed by the leaders' dramatics, it was a similarly fierce scrap over 4th place. When the chequered flag fell it was Zvironas who came out on top over Zozulya and Bergkvist, in a very solid result for Manziel. Östberg rounded out a quiet but decent race in 7th ahead of the Mercedes of Zander Brynildsen, another driver who used the balanced strategy to great effect. Behind them, a brilliant final stint from Renault’s Kiara Thunder saw her come out of nowhere to claim 8th, ahead of de la Fuente and the Lada of Sam Hudson. Erik Oliversson was almost able to ride the efficient strategy to a points finish, but fell just short in 11th, something that was made all the more disappointing for GP1 by a poor race from teammate Robert Stefánsson. The driver left most unhappy about their race performance is undoubtedly Kip Maxwell, who never quite followed up on his qualifying pace, slowly dropping down the field before a tap against the Turn 2 wall saw him retire with suspension damage. As usual with eVirtual, every driver has a story to tell and the full results and lap chart are attached below. The series now moves to the north of India, for the Indian eV-Prix at Buddh International Circuit. Can Thunström continue his strong start to 2023, or will a change of circuit type flip the pecking order on its head? All will be answered next time out. Final ClassificationChampionship Standings
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