Session reports from round two of the 2020 VARS season, here from Punta del Este in Uruguay. With the stunning performances from rookies Ellie-Mae Theodoulou and Barney Hoskins last time out, a lot of anticipation surrounded the paddock with the hope for another great weekend of racing. QualifyingThe Punta del Este Street Circuit seemed like a welcome sight to returning Logan James as he stormed to race one pole by over four tenths of a second, followed by Henri Ruotsalainen and Swedish driver Carl Sandholm. As a contrast to last race, we saw no rookies at all inside of the top 7 and this also saw Cyprian debutante star Theodoulou drop to nineteenth on the grid for race one after she claimed that the car was unstable under braking during the lengthened session. After a disappointing showing last race, with three no point finishes from three races, Elon De Minassi qualified tenth on the grid for what would be his best qualifying of the day. After the main headline event of round one grid positions were over and done with, it was revealed that Logan James had completed a double in his qualifying efforts, starting in pole position in both of the races at the Uruguay street circuit. However this time, the Brit was followed by a surprisingly consistent Toby Evans and Finnish driver Henri Ruotsalainen. Further down the grid saw Theodoulou put in another poor attempt down in sixteenth place and Barney Hoskins alongside them on the eighth row of the grid. Luca Gray also qualified in an impressive eleventh place, and looked optimistic to convert his position to some points. Race OneAs lights went to flag in Uruguay for the inaugural race of the weekend, Logan James seemed to be haunted by his starts in Argentina last time out, as the Brit missed the start and fell to fourth position after the first lap. This made way for Ruotsalainen to take the lead, as well as being followed closely by Sandholm for a provisional "Scandinavian" one-two. Further down the field, the young Cypriot of Ellie-Mae Theodoulou struggled off the line complaining of the same braking instability as in qualifying, followed by some explicit team radio.
During the first lap, Danilo Casemiro was alongside the Peruvian of Teofilo Guerrero, who had gotten off the line quite well, However, during their fight, the tight and punishing corners of the street circuit played a part, leaving the Brazilian of Casemiro in the wall and Teofilo towards the back of the grid. The race then settled from there, with not much changing during the midpart of the race, Sandholm still followed behind Ruotsalainen while American Andrew Wright made his way through the upper-field in order to hang onto the back of the leading duo. This was shortly celebrated by the Wayne Corini Racing crew as Logan James stormed past, looking almost determined to get back the positions he lost. Andrew Wright then tried to maintain the same pace to the Brit in front of him, only to be claimed victim by the mammoth bump at the turn three and four chicane, resulting in the front of his car facing inwards. After the mentioned incident was cleaned up, title contender Chase Newfield put in an excellent move around the outside of both Hayward and Hoskins at the double-apex left hander. During this move, a similar squabble was happening behind that front pack, despite this, it didn't end well for all three drivers of De Minassi, Robin Best and Alex Allen, who all ended rear first into the barriers causing yet another track cleanup. Engine troubles seemed to plague the latter half of the race, with Antonio Felix pulling off to the side of the track with his engine bellowing smoke, shortly followed by ALL three of David Sanders, Neto Carrillo and Luca Gray. After all this, it was meant to be for Carl Sandholm, who pulled off an amazing overtake on Ruotsalainen, who was followed in third by vengeful Logan James. Chase Newfield and Freddie Hayward followed close behind, with Barney Hoskins finishing the highest of all the rookies. Further behind, anyone that finished the race was guaranteed points, with damaged Teofilo Guerrero propping up the back of the field in only eleventh place, allowing Theodoulou, Campbell and Martinez to gather unexpected points.
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