Another important chapter of the Prototype championship fight was written in ASTON RETRO, with unexpected twists and drama on all fronts!
Pole Position was set by RG^LORENZO in his BETA11F12 prototype: the italian was already in Pole in Fern Bay, but was slowed down by the usual tech issues.
Race start was clean between the prototypes, besides Berlin podium finisher Dani, being stuck on the grid for a few moments after the green lights, causing little bit of drama between the GT's.
But the action got heated between the 3 main championship protagonists: Mazdarati tried to overtake RG^LORENZO in the first corner, but went little bit wide, allowing ZFRL Thehemuli to jump ahead of both with a brave move before the little Eau Rouge!
The three of them went together till the end of Lap 1, when Mazdarati unexpectedly crashed hard into the unforgiving tyre barriers of the Shell Chicane! Drama!
The damage was too big, as the dutch legend was forced to pit for damages, losing around 30 seconds from the lead duo.
Ahead, it was an all out battle between Lorenzo and Thehemuli: the finn was able to escape on the fast sections, while the italian managed to close off the gap in the fast corners.
The two changed position a couple of times, before a crucial moment happened around lap 10: ZFRL Thehemuli encountered the GT of B2R Rayman in a tricky part of the circuit, misjudged the space and found himself on the gravel part, losing speed.
RG^LORENZO saw the opportunity, went all out and passed in the slim space between the GT and the Prototype, launching himself in the lead of the race!
It was the beginning of a solo drive for Lorenzo, who managed the gap in front till the end of the race.
Thehemuli had to face the late comeback of Mazdarati, who closed to P2 in the last few laps for the race.
Mazdarati put pressure to his title rival, and Thehemuli made a mistake in the Eau Rouge exit, spinning out, allowing the dutch driver to pass and claim P2 and the championship lead once again!
Chequered flag, and it was victory for Lorenzo!
The italian of Race Green pulled off the hat trick in Aston, scoring Pole, win and Fastest Lap, collecting 27 precious points and closing in to the leading duo in the standings.
The fight for the Prototype title is entering its decisive phase!
GT PRO
Once again GT Pro confirmed itself to be the most crowded class of the championship: with 17 cars starting the race, it was bound to be a dramatic opener lap in Aston!
And it certainly was!
/SRP/ Master managed to start good from his Pole Position, while behind the big group of cars passed the first few turns relatively cleanly, apart from a few bounces!
But Master soon realized that he had a tough client knocking at his door: in the mirros, the Porsche of B2R M appeared larger and larger every turn.
The Born To Race star launched an attack in the downhill section after the little Eau Rouge: Master didn't want to concede ground, so they both entered the fast corner with no intention to give up space.
As a result, there's contact between the two, and Master is sent sideways into the gravel, losing precious time from the tight Porsche Cammera JGT Group.
Master will eventually retire from the race later on, after crashing into the Shell chicane, which will do quite a few victims today!
More drama at the end of Lap 1, when the Prototype of Dani slams in the back of B2R Twincam, the big championship contender, sending him into a dangerous spin on the main straight of Aston.
Luckily for him, no big damages from the crash, but the big damage will eventually come a few laps later, when the Born to Race driver will smash into the Shell Chicane barriers, launching into a 50 meters spiral flight, landing on its roof and rolling multiple times.
It was a race ending crash for Twincam, who now sees his championship chances getting slimmer.
B2R M flies solo in the lead of the race and soon creates a big gap on the following cars: the battle for the podium was still wide open tho, as champ leader RG^NOSLE and [MRC] Jsk were close all race long, often exchanging positions.
B2R M wins the Aston Retro GP in solitary fashion, another show of class from the Born To Race driver, who already won last year's Berlin GP in the prototype class.
Behind him, it was a photofinish for the podium, as [MRC] jsk managed to overtake the Race Green's champ leader NOSLE in the final few meters of the race, for P2!
B2R Rejekt gets P4, ahead of returnee CRAAACH, who completes the Top 5!
O.A scores a solid P6 in his grey Porsche, while the battle of the Plovers is won by Hermanni, who finishes P7 and beats INNO, who also had a big one at the chicane!
ROAD CLASS
Drama at the technical scrutiny even before the race starts in Aston!
Some late changes were made to the AM Phoenix manufacturer ahead of the race: unable to test it properly, champ contender B2R Stiefla was forced to change car and go for a Porsche Cammera.
And the choice seemed to pay off in the first half of the race: the B2R drivers overtook Poleman S.Martin in the first corner, and tried to escape from his rivals, pushing right away to create a gap.
But Martin showed pace all day long, and kept the distance, but RG^M@CI3K didn't want to waste any time and pulled of a big overtake after the Eau Rouge section, launching himself at the hunt of Stiefla.
The other championship contender, SGR Madjester, had a more calculative start of the race staying in P4 for a few laps, while the others were scrapping for positions.
Soon, the iconic group of 4 formed: Stiefla in front in his unusual orange Porsche, M@CI3K in P2, S.Martin in P3 and Madjester following. A classic sight!
But the balance was soon broke by the Race Green's Porsche Whisperer and double champion, M@CI3K, who attacked the lead of Stiefla before the Shell Chicane, and flying away!
Madjester knew it was time to push, and overtook both Stiefla and S.Martin in the space of a few laps, before launching himself in the hunt of M@CI3K, who formed a 9 seconds gap in the meantime.
S.Martin passed Stiefla too, who started dropping back, struggling with the still relatively unknown Porsche.
Victory looked certain for RG^M@CI3K, with a 30 seconds lead on the Madjester-Martin pair and a clear pace advantage in this track.
But hey, this is Road Class, so every race has to be decided at the very last!
RG^M@CI3K is forced to the pits for a late pit-stop, changing the front tyres, worn out by Aston's fast corners.
He exits the pits just 2 seconds behind SG^Madjester, with S.Martin right on his tail!
With 2 laps to go and fresh tyres, RG^M@CI3K goes for the attack and cuts the 2 seconds gap: he catches Madjester with just two corners to go, and he attacks on the outside!
Madjester knows it's the decisive moment of the race, goes deep and outbrakes the Porsche driver to retain P1 and take the win in Aston!!
S.Martin finishes 3rd, just a few seconds behind, while B2R Stiefla suffered a puncture in the closing stages, losing one lap.
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER 5 ROUNDS
RELIVE THE EVENT!
It's been another crazy race in Retro Cup, with plenty going on in all classes, between crashes, overtakes and last lap battles for the win!
If you wish to relive the event, you can do that by downloading the race replay, linked above, or you can watch the event streams brought by Baptiste DLV and M@CI3K!
RACE STREAMING (No Commentary, by Baptiste DLV)
M@CI3K ONBOARD CAM
NEXT WEEK: THE HIGHWAY TO HELL
Brace yourselves Retro Drivers, this is gonna be a rough ride.
Ain't no easy roads on the Highway to Hell!
A brand new track debuts this championship: South City Highways is the penultimate challenge of the RETRO CUP 24.
This new track combines the soul of South City with some added super fast sections and the entire outskirts/docks area, making this track a complete challenge, suitable for all cars.
This is going to be a proper stress test for the drivers and the teams, a crucial round for the championship battles before the long awaited Season Finale in Westhill de la Sarthe!
See you next monday, Retro Drivers!
