Post by Haribo on Mar 21, 2014 0:51:14 GMT 2
The inaugural season of ShadowracingRSA GT Challenge was one that will leave everyone thinking what will happen for the following season. Overall, RaZoR put in performances throughout the season which were able to see him clinch his first ever championship.
The season kicked-off with round one at Road America, which was plagued with multiple technical issues. Participants were not able to see other cars on track, and although this caused some dissatisfaction, most of the participants turned up for the re-run of Road America. Bad luck struck the organizers twice with the same issues, and this time, the races at Road America were postponed to a later date, but cancelled ultimately.
The grid moved to Zolder for round two. Car choices were still in the process of being finalized, with more participants flocking in from all around the world to join the grid. Liaan Van Der Merwe drove his McLaren MP4-12C GT3 to a pole position time of 1:30.516. In the first race, several shuffles went down the field as RaZoR took the lead after three laps, with Gert Snyman in second. Marius Schoeman completed the podium while three retirements, which included the pole sitter, occurred due to various reasons. In the second race, Luis Lopes took the lead for the race after a reverse grid. The first lap saw the major incident in which Haribo clipped Kevin Pheiffer at turn four, causing Kevin Pheiffer to spin, and it resulted in a pile-up on the straight leading to turn five. As such, the grid was pretty much out of shape in terms of pace as almost everyone got caught in the pile-up. Despite that, everyone managed to finish the race, bar Luis Lopes who had a suspension failure. Several participants, such as KyuKyu, managed to swerve clear of the pile-up and gain important positions. Zolder showed the grid what RaZoR and Gert Snyman had in their pockets as they set the pace throughout the two races at Zolder.
Round three saw the first time the field ran on a low downforce, high speed track. Fuji Speedway included long straights and very limited braking points. Despite that, the pace of each individual participant was still important and it affected the final positions. In race one, KyuKyu led from start to finish, with RaZoR finishing in second, a close five seconds gap despite starting from fifth. Liaan Van Der Merwe came in third, a further twenty-two seconds back. Race one was also filled with six retirements, a record high for the season. Shadow led the field away for race two. The race was eventually won by RaZoR, who put in a dominant display of pace, flying clear with a fastest lap of 1:17.495 in the race, some six tenths clear of the nearest competitor. The podium was filled with the 'usual few', namely RaZoR, Liaan Van Der Merwe and Gert Snyman. Marius Schoeman and Luis Lopes finished a credible and consistent fourth and fifth respectively for the two races. After round three, there was little or no doubt who was the fastest in the field; the eventual champion.
Imola 1994 was the location for round four. The race starting time was shifted half an hour earlier, and this caused some absences and lateness. In general, the grid was guilty of not putting in enough practice, and this round was considered one of the worst rounds of the season. Participants were ill-prepared for the races. Gert Snyman, a championship contender at that round, was absent from race one. Race one saw KyuKyu winning it from Michal Klisch, a guest participant, as well as Liaan Van Der Merwe. With the reverse grid in effect for race two, RaZoR took the lead for the start, but was unable to convert it into a race victory. Liaan Van Der Merwe took a well-deserved victory, with Steve Jones a surprise second and KyuKyu completing a good round in third. Gert Snyman and RaZoR were both out of race two, closing up the gaps in the point standings.
Sad news struck the league for round five as Gert Snyman announced his exit from the season. Gert Snyman was one of the championship contenders up till that round. Much more practice was put into this 3.9 kilometers track. 'Technical' was the main word to describe Eastern Creek. Liaan Van Der Merwe put his McLaren MP4-12C GT3 on pole for the first time since round two at Zolder. Despite that, Eastern Creek did not seem too straightforward for the pole sitter to perform a lights-to-flag victory as RaZoR took the honour of winning the race. He finished eighteen seconds ahead of second-placed KyuKyu, and twenty-five seconds ahead of third-placed Liaan Van Der Merwe, with the rest of field struggling to match the pace of the leaders. Race two saw Paul Todd surprise the field by claiming his only victory for the season. His victory was no fluke as the Englishman finished an impressive eleven seconds ahead of second-placed Liaan Van Der Merwe. KyuKyu completed the podium as Luis Lopes and Kevin Pheiffer score points in fourth and fifth respectively. Thanks to the consistent performances by KyuKyu, he leaves Eastern Creek leading the championship, with RaZoR just nine points behind, and Liaan Van Der Merwe, an addition twenty-two points back.
Round six at Dubai welcomed several new participants, most notably the McColl family. The family wasted no time in impressing the field with their pace, with Morgan McColl claiming a grand chelem for race one. RaZoR and Liaan Van Der Merwe start their championship fight-back by finishing second and third respectively. For race two, RaZoR continued his form, finishing third. The main focus was on the first two, who were battling it out lap after lap, which saw Liaan Van Der Merwe edge Morgan McColl by just 0.049. No doubt, the championship leaders still had lots of fight in them at this stage. Luis Lopes and Kevin Pheiffer continue their points-scoring form. Could Morgan McColl have added extra challenge for the championship leaders? With his pace, he could definitely mess things up for the eventual champion by taking lots of points off him.
Spa-Francorchamps, a circuit most people know about. It was supposed to be a night race, but was changed to a day race in the end. It didn't seem to affect RaZoR and Liaan Van Der Merwe, who took full advantage of Morgan McColl's absence for round seven. The championship leaders finished first and second respectively for both races. KyuKyu was starting to lose the advantage he had in the point standings. To make things worse, he failed to finish for the first race. Paul Todd completed the podium for the second time in the season, while new-comer Andreas Benek completed the race in fourth. In race two, KyuKyu did damage limitation by finishing third. Paul Todd and Andreas Benek continue to score points. With KyuKyu retiring in the first race, RaZoR heads to Miller Motorsports Park leading the championship.
Morgan McColl returned for this race, joined by Ratang McColl. Morgan McColl once again dominated round eight. The latter almost claimed a second grand chelem, but the championship leader denied his fastest lap by just two tenths of a second. Liaan Van Der Merwe kept his championship hopes alive by finishing ahead of RaZoR in second, with KyuKyu down in fourth. Race two was won by Morgan McColl again, with RaZoR in second. This time, however, KyuKyu takes third place ahead of Liaan Van Der Merwe. It all boils down to the final round of the season, albeit Liaan Van Der Merwe needs to have RaZoR retire for both races in order for him to win the championship.
Round ten, the final round of the season; and the championship decider. The endurance race at Silverstone was cancelled. Watkin Glens is the place. Morgan McColl turns up for the round and collects his second grand chelem of the season. Ratang McColl completes a McColl one-two by finishing second, with Liaan Van Der Merwe in third. RaZoR retired in race one, giving a glimpse of hope to Liaan Van Der Merwe. In race two, where all is decided, Morgan McColl was effectively collecting his third grand chelem of the season, but because of a reverse grid, no pole position was awarded, denying him the chance of a hat trick of grand chelems in one season. Ratang McColl once again completes the McColl one-two, and Liaan Van Der Merwe gave it his all in the championship by finishing third. Unfortunately, RaZoR finished in fourth, which was sufficient for him to clinch the first ever championship. KyuKyu, despite not starting in the second race, managed a third in the championship.
So, that was how the very first season turned out. Check out the final point standings.Congratulations to the first ever champion, RaZoR, and all of you! Of course, in racing, there are no 'ifs' and 'buts'. Still, some questions for your thinking.
What could Gert Snyman have done if he did not have an early exit from the season? Could Morgan McColl have clinched the championship if he starting racing since round one? Would Liaan Van Der Merwe have gained enough points to nudge RaZoR off first place with the cancelled rounds in effect?
My answers to them? Bring on season two!
The season kicked-off with round one at Road America, which was plagued with multiple technical issues. Participants were not able to see other cars on track, and although this caused some dissatisfaction, most of the participants turned up for the re-run of Road America. Bad luck struck the organizers twice with the same issues, and this time, the races at Road America were postponed to a later date, but cancelled ultimately.
The grid moved to Zolder for round two. Car choices were still in the process of being finalized, with more participants flocking in from all around the world to join the grid. Liaan Van Der Merwe drove his McLaren MP4-12C GT3 to a pole position time of 1:30.516. In the first race, several shuffles went down the field as RaZoR took the lead after three laps, with Gert Snyman in second. Marius Schoeman completed the podium while three retirements, which included the pole sitter, occurred due to various reasons. In the second race, Luis Lopes took the lead for the race after a reverse grid. The first lap saw the major incident in which Haribo clipped Kevin Pheiffer at turn four, causing Kevin Pheiffer to spin, and it resulted in a pile-up on the straight leading to turn five. As such, the grid was pretty much out of shape in terms of pace as almost everyone got caught in the pile-up. Despite that, everyone managed to finish the race, bar Luis Lopes who had a suspension failure. Several participants, such as KyuKyu, managed to swerve clear of the pile-up and gain important positions. Zolder showed the grid what RaZoR and Gert Snyman had in their pockets as they set the pace throughout the two races at Zolder.
Round three saw the first time the field ran on a low downforce, high speed track. Fuji Speedway included long straights and very limited braking points. Despite that, the pace of each individual participant was still important and it affected the final positions. In race one, KyuKyu led from start to finish, with RaZoR finishing in second, a close five seconds gap despite starting from fifth. Liaan Van Der Merwe came in third, a further twenty-two seconds back. Race one was also filled with six retirements, a record high for the season. Shadow led the field away for race two. The race was eventually won by RaZoR, who put in a dominant display of pace, flying clear with a fastest lap of 1:17.495 in the race, some six tenths clear of the nearest competitor. The podium was filled with the 'usual few', namely RaZoR, Liaan Van Der Merwe and Gert Snyman. Marius Schoeman and Luis Lopes finished a credible and consistent fourth and fifth respectively for the two races. After round three, there was little or no doubt who was the fastest in the field; the eventual champion.
Imola 1994 was the location for round four. The race starting time was shifted half an hour earlier, and this caused some absences and lateness. In general, the grid was guilty of not putting in enough practice, and this round was considered one of the worst rounds of the season. Participants were ill-prepared for the races. Gert Snyman, a championship contender at that round, was absent from race one. Race one saw KyuKyu winning it from Michal Klisch, a guest participant, as well as Liaan Van Der Merwe. With the reverse grid in effect for race two, RaZoR took the lead for the start, but was unable to convert it into a race victory. Liaan Van Der Merwe took a well-deserved victory, with Steve Jones a surprise second and KyuKyu completing a good round in third. Gert Snyman and RaZoR were both out of race two, closing up the gaps in the point standings.
Sad news struck the league for round five as Gert Snyman announced his exit from the season. Gert Snyman was one of the championship contenders up till that round. Much more practice was put into this 3.9 kilometers track. 'Technical' was the main word to describe Eastern Creek. Liaan Van Der Merwe put his McLaren MP4-12C GT3 on pole for the first time since round two at Zolder. Despite that, Eastern Creek did not seem too straightforward for the pole sitter to perform a lights-to-flag victory as RaZoR took the honour of winning the race. He finished eighteen seconds ahead of second-placed KyuKyu, and twenty-five seconds ahead of third-placed Liaan Van Der Merwe, with the rest of field struggling to match the pace of the leaders. Race two saw Paul Todd surprise the field by claiming his only victory for the season. His victory was no fluke as the Englishman finished an impressive eleven seconds ahead of second-placed Liaan Van Der Merwe. KyuKyu completed the podium as Luis Lopes and Kevin Pheiffer score points in fourth and fifth respectively. Thanks to the consistent performances by KyuKyu, he leaves Eastern Creek leading the championship, with RaZoR just nine points behind, and Liaan Van Der Merwe, an addition twenty-two points back.
Round six at Dubai welcomed several new participants, most notably the McColl family. The family wasted no time in impressing the field with their pace, with Morgan McColl claiming a grand chelem for race one. RaZoR and Liaan Van Der Merwe start their championship fight-back by finishing second and third respectively. For race two, RaZoR continued his form, finishing third. The main focus was on the first two, who were battling it out lap after lap, which saw Liaan Van Der Merwe edge Morgan McColl by just 0.049. No doubt, the championship leaders still had lots of fight in them at this stage. Luis Lopes and Kevin Pheiffer continue their points-scoring form. Could Morgan McColl have added extra challenge for the championship leaders? With his pace, he could definitely mess things up for the eventual champion by taking lots of points off him.
Spa-Francorchamps, a circuit most people know about. It was supposed to be a night race, but was changed to a day race in the end. It didn't seem to affect RaZoR and Liaan Van Der Merwe, who took full advantage of Morgan McColl's absence for round seven. The championship leaders finished first and second respectively for both races. KyuKyu was starting to lose the advantage he had in the point standings. To make things worse, he failed to finish for the first race. Paul Todd completed the podium for the second time in the season, while new-comer Andreas Benek completed the race in fourth. In race two, KyuKyu did damage limitation by finishing third. Paul Todd and Andreas Benek continue to score points. With KyuKyu retiring in the first race, RaZoR heads to Miller Motorsports Park leading the championship.
Morgan McColl returned for this race, joined by Ratang McColl. Morgan McColl once again dominated round eight. The latter almost claimed a second grand chelem, but the championship leader denied his fastest lap by just two tenths of a second. Liaan Van Der Merwe kept his championship hopes alive by finishing ahead of RaZoR in second, with KyuKyu down in fourth. Race two was won by Morgan McColl again, with RaZoR in second. This time, however, KyuKyu takes third place ahead of Liaan Van Der Merwe. It all boils down to the final round of the season, albeit Liaan Van Der Merwe needs to have RaZoR retire for both races in order for him to win the championship.
Round ten, the final round of the season; and the championship decider. The endurance race at Silverstone was cancelled. Watkin Glens is the place. Morgan McColl turns up for the round and collects his second grand chelem of the season. Ratang McColl completes a McColl one-two by finishing second, with Liaan Van Der Merwe in third. RaZoR retired in race one, giving a glimpse of hope to Liaan Van Der Merwe. In race two, where all is decided, Morgan McColl was effectively collecting his third grand chelem of the season, but because of a reverse grid, no pole position was awarded, denying him the chance of a hat trick of grand chelems in one season. Ratang McColl once again completes the McColl one-two, and Liaan Van Der Merwe gave it his all in the championship by finishing third. Unfortunately, RaZoR finished in fourth, which was sufficient for him to clinch the first ever championship. KyuKyu, despite not starting in the second race, managed a third in the championship.
So, that was how the very first season turned out. Check out the final point standings.Congratulations to the first ever champion, RaZoR, and all of you! Of course, in racing, there are no 'ifs' and 'buts'. Still, some questions for your thinking.
What could Gert Snyman have done if he did not have an early exit from the season? Could Morgan McColl have clinched the championship if he starting racing since round one? Would Liaan Van Der Merwe have gained enough points to nudge RaZoR off first place with the cancelled rounds in effect?
My answers to them? Bring on season two!
