Qualifying Results

Qualifying was a shambles, with drivers eager to get track position to begin a flyer on the short track. MRc's Gemini was the favourite for the round, and proved his supporters right by setting the pace from the beginning. His team mate Zesty shadowed his pace but could not challenge for the fastest lap. Atian then stepped up to the plate and brought SIDUS's Gabor with him as they both attempted to knock Gemini off pole, to no avail! Air Attack's Swiftz lined up a remarkable 4th, just ahead of Race Green's Mandula and then Michal, who at this point, was virtually out of the running for the championship - such is Trespasser's dominance! That could not be said for him today however, as he only qualified his TRR machine in a lowly 13th.




Race Results




The race kicked off with an even launch from the top few drivers, with Atian unable to get past Gemini using draft into the sweeping Turn 1. Gabor and Swift held back and then attempted to pass at Turn 2, forming a 3 wide situation, of which saw Swiftz moved past Gabor, while a compromised Mandula collected Zesty, spinning him out of contention. Gemini was then passed by Atian into the chicane, losing his flow and dropping down to 6th, behind Michal.




Meanwhile, carnage further back ensued as Pickard stalled on the start, forming a bottleneck around 10th place, which resulted in contact between Seven and Trespasser, sending the champion-elect across the track and down the order. He would later retire on Lap 2, after damage put him miles behind the pack.




As the field spread out, small battles started emerging, and one of which was Swiftz and Michal. Swiftz, who had gotten re-passed by Gabor, was now falling backwards in 4th, and the two drivers fought down into the braking of Turn 2, making initial contact, sending Michal across the weeds and back into Swiftz. A small heart stopper for both, but luckily, they escaped unharmed!




A few places behind, Oscar Hardwick was in a battle with the Race Green boys of Redbot and Mandula, and on Lap 11, managed to pass both of them as they fumbled at the chicane!




Atian, who had gotten past Gemini in the opening laps, was now coming under pressure from the MRc driver, who had calmly made his way up to 2nd, and made the move into the lead on Lap 14 down into the chicane, after a prolonged side-by-side battle which Atian lost. A new race leader!




A few laps later and Gabor was right on the rear of Atian, hassling for 2nd. A small error under braking for the chicane saw the SIDUS driver spin off, rejoining ahead of Swiftz, only to engage in a battle and receive damage at the same place the next lap, conceding the place and eventually retiring following a second dizzy spin.




Michal was running a quiet race in 4th, until Oscar upped his pace and slowly reeled him in - engaging in a feisty battle on lap 24 and finally passing the ailing MRc driver 2 laps later. Michal then bailed for his compulsory pit stop, emerging behind the battling duo of Talha and Maciek. Up ahead, Pickard had pitted, and emerged behind this 3-way battle for 11th.





As the laps ticked down, Oscar, who was holding on to 4th, was being caught by Mandula at a vast rate of knots - defending hard but losing his place on the final lap in the final sector! This left Mandula in a splendid 4th in what was a poor first half of the race. As for Seven in 15th, a rouge recovering PitlaneRacer gave him a jolt as he clobbered into him as he rejoined the track surface. For this, PitlaneRacer received a penalty.




At the front however, a brilliant recovery drive and well executed pace and strategy saw Gemini win his first race in Layout Racing League, 8 seconds clear from Atian, who kept ahead of Swiftz and the fast Mandula. Oscar claimed 5th, ahead of Born2Race's Twincam and Race Green's Redbot. Maciek capped off the top 10, whilst Zesty finished in 21st, second to last only to Beluthar, following a horrid sequence of incidents.




Official Driver Standings


Full race results and Driver's Championship Standings can be found at https://www.lfs.net/forum/post/1955979#post1955979
The final race weekend for Layout Racing League is coming up, at Fern Bay 9397 Carousel with the FZ5 on 24th October. Don't miss!