Session reports from day one of the third round of the 2020 VWRS season, here from the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent. Jules Barclay left France a very happy man after a stonking weekend saw him take the lead of the standings, but Matteo Zetticci will be looking to take it back with just four points splitting the pair. QualifyingWith surprisingly sunny skies, qualifying got underway, and after his failure to set two good laps in Pau, Maximillian Thunstrom was on a mission. The first man to take to the track, he immediately set impressive lap times, and as the rest followed, none could best him. Despite Thunstrom’s fast string of laps, it seemed no one else was able to get two good laps out of the tyres and most settled for one fast lap. The biggest shock came from Raj Sharma, who, after most had pitted, went out for another quick flying lap and just beat Thunstrom to P1. All eyes were on the Swede to see how he would respond, but as the temperatures increased, tyre wear became even more of a problem and only a few drivers managed to set personal best lap times. This led to jumbled up grids, with Sharma the first rookie to take pole this season, though he will be well down the grid for race 2. Thunstrom was the only top driver to secure a good position for both races, with both Barclay and Zetticci getting caught out by the weather change, leaving them both in the midfield for both races. Race OneThe pressure was on Sharma as he started on pole for the first time in his VWRS career, but he kept calm and led off the start, cutting off Thunstrom before the first corner. Thunstrom in turn backed off, allowing 2nd row starters Erik Oliversson and Sebastien Vocquelin to sweep into 2nd and 3rd respectively. From 5th Hector Draper had a visor rip off get stuck in his brake ducts which led to overheating, and for a few laps he free-fell down the order to 8th. His pain was Daniel Zientek’s gain however, the Polish driver having the best start of everyone starting from the top 12, going from 9th to 6th before passing Ethan Matthews for 5th. Further back Declan Byrne, starting from 13th, got stuck behind Nicolas Steffensen in the first few laps and frustration got the better of him when he tagged the Dane, damaging the Irishman’s front wing slightly and giving Steffensen a puncture that ultimately put him out of the race. There were more retirements further back when Moe Zeya and Rafael Palou collided with each other from 20th and 21st.
Most were expecting Oliversson to pass Sharma quickly, but the Indian held the gap at just over a second, keeping the Swede out of overtaking range. Sensing an opportunity, Vocquelin tried a late move for 2nd into Druids and just about made it stick. With momentum on his side, he pushed to catch up to Sharma and pulled a switchback on the exit of Clark Curve to take the lead down the start finish straight. There were more overtakes behind as Matthews fought back past Zientek for 5th, and Barclay, who initially lost ground at the start of the race, began to make a recovery as he moved up into 7th. Just behind him, Danilo Forini was looking to do the same, but an engine failure put paid to his hopes. This played in the hands of Zetticci, who after a quiet start like Barclay was beginning to claw his way into the points in 11th, just ahead of Max Meyer. The high amount of retirements continued as James Mixon spun at Paddock Hill and beached the car from 21st and Luca Romero had a hydraulics failure from 25th. Oliversson’s challenge on Sharma was looking more and more unconvincing as he started to struggle. Thunstrom, still in 4th, was quick to take his chance and get pass his countryman for 3rd. He then immediately pounced on Sharma with a bold move at the infield section to take 2nd, and with Vocquelin beginning to struggle with tyre wear, a win was looking possible for Thunstrom. Another bold move gave the Swede the lead and Vocquelin proceeded to slide off the track onto the grass, dropping him to 3rd. Thunstrom held his composure at the front and came home to take his second win of the season, ahead of Sharma who was delighted with second. Vocquelin and Oliversson salvaged 3rd and 4th, while the continued battle between Matthews and Zientek allowed Barclay to slip past to take 5th, ahead of Zeintek who bested the Briton to 6th. Gianluca di Stefano took advantage of a mistake from both Pablo del Fuego and Draper to take 8th ahead of the New Zealander, with Zetticci winding up 10th with the fastest lap. Del Fuego was disappointed in 11th while Meyer had to make do with 12th and one point.
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