Session reports from the fourth round of the 2020 VWRS season, here in Pinhais, Brazil. Poor races for Jules Barclay and Matteo Zetticci in Britain mean Maximillian Thunstrom is now closer to the top 2 in the standings, but can he catch up further? QualifyingThe forecast was ominous coming into the weekend and everyone’s fears were realised when it was lashing rain. Nevertheless, it was the main culprits out in front, with a couple of surprises. Barclay, Thunstrom and Zetticci did battle throughout the session, trading fastest laps constantly, but in the end, it was the Canadian who squeaked in the fastest lap, though Zetticci will start race 2 from pole. Such was the pace of the three drivers that they locked out the top three for both races. However, Max Meyer struggled massively and as a result has middle of the grid starts for both races. Behind, Sebastien Vocquelin and Nicolas Steffensen nabbed 4th and 5th for race 1, but couldn’t back it up with another fast lap, meaning rookie Declan Byrne will start race 2 from 4th after a great performance, which will also see him start race 1 from 8th. He was backed up by another rookie in the form of Cosmo Roberts, who will start 9th and 5th for both races. Newly announced Franklin driver Danilo Forini also had a solid session, while Phoenix’s Ethan Matthews will start the first race in the top 10. Race OneThe rain stayed for the first race, but it didn’t affect Barclay, who pulled away nicely and held position ahead of Thunstrom. Surprisingly, there was very little movement in the top half of the field, as many drivers were cautious in the spray. The most noticeable gainer towards the front was Forini, who with some tidy driving scythed his way through into third. Swede Erik Oliversson also made up two positions, from 10th to 8th. Right at the back, James Mixon spun on the exit of turn 8 and was collected by Michael Kennedy and Mickey Tyler. While thankfully none were injured, all three were immediately out of the race. Barclay was slowly but surely leaving the competition in his wake, and before long he was out of Thunstrom’s sight. The only driver who could do lap times similar to Barclay was Forini, and the Swiss driver put that to good advantage by passing Thunstrom into turn 4. Oliversson made a near identical mistake to Mixon and having stalled the car he joined the growing list of retirements. Yellow flag warnings meant everyone managed to get past without hitting the car, but Roberts slithered off the track while trying to avoid it, costing him two places. Rafael Palou became the first driver to have a mechanical issue when his car got stuck in 5th gear. Thunstrom’s pace didn’t improve and he was caught by Zetticci, who moved into the last podium position with a few laps left. Luca Romero and John Shevchenko both had engine failures from 13th and last respectively, while Pablo del Fuego crashed from 19th. At the front though Barclay stormed through to a dominant win which he capped off with a fastest lap. Forini was delighted with 2nd ahead of Zetticci and Thunstrom. Steffensen had initially gotten ahead of Vocquelin at the start but the Frenchman repassed him towards the end for 5th, with Ethan Matthews 7th having stayed there the whole race. Gianluca di Stefano passed Byrne late on to take 8th while the Irishman settled for 9th, and Urmo Kruuda rounded out the top ten. Scott Jackson and Roberts completed the points paying positions, with the former having a fantastic race from 18th Race TwoRace ThreeThis session was wet. StandingsA brilliant double win and further podium sees Barclay stretch his legs at the top of the Championship, now with a 25-point gap over nearest rival Zetticci. The Italian largely stuck with his former VARS rival, but a final race retirement has cost him dear. Maximilian Thunstrom remains in contention with solid points scoring, just 11.5 points behind Zetticci, while Danilo Forini is also showing well. Two podiums and a fourth place have pulled him clear of the chasing pack, and now just 14 points behind Thunstrom.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
December 2023
Categories |