The International Grand Touring Championship concluded its 2009 season on September 26th with the double-points 8 Hours of Aston Historic. After three rounds without a safety car period, the 8-hour race saw its share of chaos. Four safety cars interrupted the proceedings, three of which were for flipped cars. First to go was Concept Racing, who got caught out in the "Eau Rouge" corner with Jörgen Kursk at the wheel. The second safety car was brought out by My3id Gaming's Jack Basford, who spun and got his FZR stuck with its rear wheels off the ground, necessitating a push car deployment. On the subsequent restart, the #17 FXR of the Independent Slovak eRacing team made contact with the Serbian Hell Drivers FZR going into the first corner. Both cars flipped, but only the #17 stayed on its roof, bringing out yet another full-course yellow. Last to go was CoRe Racing's Corey Green, who got it all wrong at the final chicane and found himself watching the entire field go by upside down.

Following the last safety car period, the race became a game of pit strategy, with Team Inferno playing the long stint card and My3id trying to make up the difference in raw pace. Sonicrealms Racing and spdoRacing were also in the hunt on the lead lap, remarkably so for spdo, who had earlier suffered a disconnection. Additional interest came from the fact that spdo needed to finish sixth in order to guarantee the championship win, particularly with rival My3id threatening for the win. Doing an epic three-hour stint behind the wheel, Team Inferno's Michal Dekanek pitted from the lead with just over an hour and ten minutes to go, handing it to Sonicrealms, who would pit a few laps later. My3id, with the incredible Hugo Luis at the wheel, would take the lead at Sonicrealms' stop, and then hold on to it with a short-fuel stop with 30 minutes to go. In the closing laps, Dekanek did his best to hold off the charging Sonicrealms car of Johannes Mäkelä, but ultimately an encounter with a lapped car sealed the XRR's fate. And that's how they would finish--My3id, Sonicrealms, Inferno. F1RST Racing and spdo rounded out the top five, with spdo clinching the title in dramatic style.

Congratulations to spdoRacing for successfully defending their IGTC title and winning two highly competitive championships in a row! Congratulations also go to My3id Gaming for winning three races in a row to finish the season, making a real fight of it in the points standings--only a six-point gap at the end! F1RST Racing rounds out the championship podium with a very solid season in the highest-placing XRR in the field.

Thanks to all teams who participated in this season and, as always, made the series a better and more competitive venue for endurance racing. The IGTC is nothing without its dedicated teams and drivers. We look forward to seeing you all back in 2010 for the IGTC's 4th season!

Best regards,
Ben & Ben


Results & Final Points



We would also like to thank:

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