As predicted by the very small time difference between the GT2 field of 28 cars, this 3-hour-race had a lot of action, with high-contact racing, risky overtaking maneuvers which provided very intense, competitive racing and also inevitably, some crashes.
The race was ultimately won by Western Wolves, followed by Team Vires with an impressive race and with Genuine Racing Pro finishing 3rd, with this trio also making the Professional class podium.
In the Amateur class, K&S Racing scored an amazing class win in their GT2 debut, while also briefly leading the race overall, after a race-long battle against runners-up BAZINGA. Genuine Racing Am bounced back from an early connection setback to complete the Amateur class podium.
On the LLM side of the race, things also turned out to go better than expected. Our Professional class FZR, driven by Anton Moroz and Pawel Kulijewicz finished in a satisfying 12th place overall (8th in class) after starting 16th from the grid in what was a relatively calm race for them, where they managed to get through the major accidents and staying out of trouble throughout the whole race.
Last Lap Motorsports' Amateur class XRR had a more eventful race though, and after having to start from the pits, in 27th place after failing to set a time in qualifying, they put on a charge that started by avoiding the Turn 1 mayhem, with the debuting Erikas Bakðenskas making a slightly nervous but steady stint before handing the car over to Nathan Lamothe a bit earlier than expected due to a puncture. After taking the car, Lamothe quickly turned up the wick to recover time lost and even gain some more spots after the only Safety Car situation of the race before giving the car to Jordan Lavrikov for the finish. Lavrikov kept going on the attack during his whole stint, and by the end of his stint he brought the car home in 15th, a position which he managed to hold while struggling with very old tyres, which unfortunately were enough to put him a lap down, taking the unwanted first of the lapped finishers.
The Revolutionary Racing Leagues' Am class entry, the only bus-..sorry, FXR in the field, driven by LLM drivers Rui Pinto and Matt Kingsbury was a surprise. Starting from a low 25th on the grid due to the car's massive disadvantage in top speed on the fastest track of the calendar, Pinto and Kingsbury could only hope to keep up with the rest of the field, let alone go up the order. But both Rui and Matt's race pace was very consistent and that, combined with avoiding the Turn 1 accidents, two flawless pitstops, and a Safety Car that got them back on the lead lap plus taking advantage of some more accidents ahead of them allowed them to go up the order during the race. By the time Kingsbury gave the car back to Pinto for the final stint, they were up to 18th. Pinto gained two more places, and with two laps to go still managed to take 15th place from a struggling Jordan Lavrikov, only for his connection to give in, putting all of the Bus team's hard work to waste. Matt still got back in the car to do the final lap and finish the race in a heart-breaking 24th, 2 laps down.
The next event in the GT2 World Series Calendar will be the 3 Hours of South City, taking place on September 1st, in a month's time.
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