Race reports from the opening round of the 2020 VOARS season. Raj Sharma and Ott Eskola beat Carlos Zapatero into third last season, but with the top two gone and Zapatero sticking around, can he finally win the title in his third and final season in tier 3? Race 1As the drivers lined up for the first time for the VOARS 2020 season, it was Theo Sorensen who was sat on pole, with Ethan Knight alongside, while Charyl Ratanarak and Roman Bishop qualified well in 3rd and 4th respectively for their debuts. Their lack of experience seemed to show off the line as Jon Winfield surged from 5th to 3rd, while Kirk Lazarus was unlucky to retire from 8th position with a hydraulics issue on the opening lap. Roman Bishop found himself in front of Ratanarak, and was chasing down Winfield for third, but there was contact as the rookie attempted to lift himself into a podium position at Foster's! Bishop's car was wounded but able to continue, however Winfield's car ended up in the wall and out of the race from 3rd position! The stewards deemed it a racing incident. Meanwhile, Blaine Westcott was on fine form, as he scythed his way through the field from 12th to 5th after starting in a lowly 17th place, claiming the fastest lap on his way. In the end though it was Sorensen who won with a healthy margin to Bishop in 2nd, who was beginning to come under pressure from Ethan Knight who was on a late charge before the end after dropping down the order mid race due to overheating tyres. Race 2Sorensen once again lead them away for the second race, with Winfield alongside. The top three began to run away with it, developing quite a gap back to the rest of the field, before Drayton boldly threw it up the inside of Winfield at the Dequetteville Hairpin, sticking the move and securing second place. Meanwhile, Kirk Lazarus was unlucky to DNF again with further unsolved hydraulic issues on his car, which the team will hope to fix before race three. Bishop was unfortunate to snatch a brake over the bumps going into turn 4, which sent him into the wall and out of the race, a shame for the rookie after such a strong opening race. Further down the order, Blaine Westcott and Ethan Knight were rapidly moving forwards, finding themselves trading fastest laptimes late in the race, however Westcott was never able to get close enough to initiate a move. The fastest lap ended up going the way of Knight, and eventually they both had to back off to make it to the finish on their tyres. Meanwhile, at the front, Drayton had been continuously pressuring Sorensen, who made a mistake on the penultimate lap into Senna! He had to use the runoff and clattered the kerb harder than he would've liked, which allowed Drayton to sweep through into the lead to claim his maiden victory in VOARS. Josh Little did well to keep himself out of trouble and claim a podium after Jon Winfield retired late on with failing brakes. Race 3With race three featuring a reverse grid for the top ten, it was Katsuki Bakugo who lead them away with Kwabena Nyarko alongside. They all got away well, except for Westcott who anticipated the lights perfectly to pass Riley Shaw. Meanwhile, as Knight went for the pass into Foster's, he got the place but compromised himself and Shaw poorly, allowing Chloe King to drive past the pair of them! The field remained much more compressed this race, as Sorensen, Drayton and Little all struggled to make any real progress through the pack. As the race wore on, the leading pair began to struggle, and soon fell prey to the rapid Westcott. However, Ethan Knight once again picked up the pace at a late stage, finding his way perfectly past King before being granted second by Bakugo going defensive and going wide at Senna, taking Nyarko off as well. It wasn't long before Knight dispatched of Westcott, looking easily the quicker driver, and sailed off into the distance, setting fastest lap after fastest lap. Meanwhile, Sorensen had an incredible end to the race, making passes left and right and lifting himself from 9th to 4th. Drayton was less fortunate, with a spin and a stall seeing him forced to retire late in the race. Shaw and Bakugo continued to fall backwards, but Nyarko was able to hang on from a rapidly closing Sorenson late on in the race. StandingsTheo Sorensen leads the championship after the first round then, with a healthy 17 point gap back to Ethan Knight in second, who is 5 points ahead of Drayton, having an excellent debut weekend to climb to third in the standings. Thank you very much for your time, and we look forward to seeing you next time out in Japan!
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