Round 1 of the inaugural season of the Super GT Series brought the teams and drivers to the venerable Aston Grand Prix circuit, where more than 50 registered teams competed in a week-long pre-qualifying session to gain entry into the main race. On Sunday, November 6th, the fastest 15 in each class--the powerful GT500 and the tightly contested GT300--took to the track to get the season underway.
The 20-minute qualifying session saw My3id Gaming's Tomek Nogiec pip Johannes Scheuerle of Team RACE-STAR by just one tenth of a second for the pole in GT500, while Mikko Meriluoto of LowLandLions took a comparatively comfortable pole over Tiger Express Motorsports' Oskari Rinne in GT300. FZRs dominated the GT500 qualifying order, taking the top six spots, while XRRs claimed the top four in GT300.
After a brief pause, the race proper got going... or tried to. On the initial start, contact between 5th-place qualifier Lanzarote Racing Team and Conquest Racing sent the latter into the pit wall and caused the start to be waved off. The field continued around the track at safety car speed for a second try, which proved even more eventful than the first. In GT500, polesitter Niki Dakovic made contact with fellow front-row starter Scheuerle, with LowLandLions driver Matti Wentjarvi also getting a piece of the action. The unfortunate Dakovic went for a long spin down the straight before being collected by Genuine Racing's Dominik Engel and then the outside wall.
Meanwhile, back in GT300, back row starters Glowing Pistons and Pilote from Hell made contact, sending Pistons driver Dimitar Dimitrov into the outside wall. While he struggled to get going again, he wasn't in last place for long, as PlayerZone's Cristiano Menicucci found himself in the gravel trap in turn 1. He was lucky to keep his wheels spinning and escape without push car intervention.
At the front of the field, Scheuerle ran away from Wentjärvi, and RACE-STAR were never really challenged for the victory. This dominance is all the more impressive for the fact that Scheuerle lost force feedback in his wheel partway through his stint. Just after the halfway mark, he handed the car off to co-driver Phil Rose, who took it home without a hitch. Behind him, Wentjärvi had a few close moments with Ruben Blasco of Lanzarote Racing Team, but he and his partner Simon Cattell would hold on to take 2nd over The Danish Racing Team car, driven by Bert Knops and Miro Tuutijärvi. The LRT team of Blasco and Peña followed in 4th, trailed by Engel and Heijerman for Genuine Racing, who persevered through a long fight with the windy on-track conditions.
LowLandLions cruised uncontested through a flag-to-flag victory in GT300, with Meriluoto and Isaac Price easily outpacing all of their rivals. Behind, Genuine Racing emerged the victor over SAVAGE SimSports in a ferocious battle for 2nd, with Klaidas Gasiunas bringing the car home after the first leg was driven by Krasimir Ivanov. spdoRacing and CoRe Racing rounded out the top 5 in class, despite some troubles for both.
Both of the first lap victims made strong comebacks, with Dakovic hauling the My3id car back up through the pack to as high as 5th before handing the car off to Nogiec. Unfortunately, the Polish driver would soon experience technical issues that left the team as the race's only DNF. PlayerZone, meanwhile, spent nearly the entire race in close battles. The team of Meniucci and Mangano eventually climbed to 6th in GT300, securing their spot in Round 2.
The series heads next to the much more intimate confines of Blackwood Reversed on November 20th. Round 2 sees the introduction of the Qualifying Heat Race format, where drivers outside the top 10 in points compete for the remaining spots on the grid for the feature race. It's guaranteed excitement, and we hope to see you all there!
Race Results
Series Points
On-Demand Race Broadcast
The 20-minute qualifying session saw My3id Gaming's Tomek Nogiec pip Johannes Scheuerle of Team RACE-STAR by just one tenth of a second for the pole in GT500, while Mikko Meriluoto of LowLandLions took a comparatively comfortable pole over Tiger Express Motorsports' Oskari Rinne in GT300. FZRs dominated the GT500 qualifying order, taking the top six spots, while XRRs claimed the top four in GT300.After a brief pause, the race proper got going... or tried to. On the initial start, contact between 5th-place qualifier Lanzarote Racing Team and Conquest Racing sent the latter into the pit wall and caused the start to be waved off. The field continued around the track at safety car speed for a second try, which proved even more eventful than the first. In GT500, polesitter Niki Dakovic made contact with fellow front-row starter Scheuerle, with LowLandLions driver Matti Wentjarvi also getting a piece of the action. The unfortunate Dakovic went for a long spin down the straight before being collected by Genuine Racing's Dominik Engel and then the outside wall.Meanwhile, back in GT300, back row starters Glowing Pistons and Pilote from Hell made contact, sending Pistons driver Dimitar Dimitrov into the outside wall. While he struggled to get going again, he wasn't in last place for long, as PlayerZone's Cristiano Menicucci found himself in the gravel trap in turn 1. He was lucky to keep his wheels spinning and escape without push car intervention.At the front of the field, Scheuerle ran away from Wentjärvi, and RACE-STAR were never really challenged for the victory. This dominance is all the more impressive for the fact that Scheuerle lost force feedback in his wheel partway through his stint. Just after the halfway mark, he handed the car off to co-driver Phil Rose, who took it home without a hitch. Behind him, Wentjärvi had a few close moments with Ruben Blasco of Lanzarote Racing Team, but he and his partner Simon Cattell would hold on to take 2nd over The Danish Racing Team car, driven by Bert Knops and Miro Tuutijärvi. The LRT team of Blasco and Peña followed in 4th, trailed by Engel and Heijerman for Genuine Racing, who persevered through a long fight with the windy on-track conditions.LowLandLions cruised uncontested through a flag-to-flag victory in GT300, with Meriluoto and Isaac Price easily outpacing all of their rivals. Behind, Genuine Racing emerged the victor over SAVAGE SimSports in a ferocious battle for 2nd, with Klaidas Gasiunas bringing the car home after the first leg was driven by Krasimir Ivanov. spdoRacing and CoRe Racing rounded out the top 5 in class, despite some troubles for both.Both of the first lap victims made strong comebacks, with Dakovic hauling the My3id car back up through the pack to as high as 5th before handing the car off to Nogiec. Unfortunately, the Polish driver would soon experience technical issues that left the team as the race's only DNF. PlayerZone, meanwhile, spent nearly the entire race in close battles. The team of Meniucci and Mangano eventually climbed to 6th in GT300, securing their spot in Round 2.
The series heads next to the much more intimate confines of Blackwood Reversed on November 20th. Round 2 sees the introduction of the Qualifying Heat Race format, where drivers outside the top 10 in points compete for the remaining spots on the grid for the feature race. It's guaranteed excitement, and we hope to see you all there!
Race Results
Series Points
On-Demand Race Broadcast