First win of the season for #41 at VIR ahead of Wave Freem, who comes back on top of LMGTE. Tomelli RT’s Porsche gets a third place overall, coming home in first in the AM class
Despite its characteristics, the challenging Virginia International Raceway provided 6 hours of overall clean racing, if we don’t count the first lap in. A collision involving ARMS Cyrba #41 and MUGEN Simrascing #49 in a blind corner ended up in disaster, as drivers coming from behind could not avoid the spinning cars in front. The result has been an accident putting an end to the race of the two Ground Effect prototypes and to HG Esports Blue Bolt #92, which started the race in P2. From that point on, though, no major accidents happened and the race was determined by pure pace and strategy, as you would expect from an endurance event.
ARMS Cyrba wins ahead of Wave Freem keeping LMP2 title’s fight alive
Haziq and Soave battling on track
With MUGEN Simracing navigating at the back of the LMP2 field due to the opening lap’s accident, it was time for other teams to step up. #49 had won all three previous races, but it has been clear from the first laps that it would require a miracle for them to do it again in round 4. Wave Freem took the lead thanks to an outstanding first stint by Kikko Galbiati, closely followed by the Blue Steel Racing #22 and ARMS Cyrba #41. Despite the absence of Mika Hakimi, Aiman Haziq and Gijs Sonneveld did a good job in keeping #22 in the top spots, until the mid-way point at least. A slight touch in the pits with another prototype first, and then a massive collision with sister car #23 prevented Blue Steel from stepping on the podium and having to settle for a P4.
With just Wave Freem and ARMS Cyrba left in contention for the win, it was the latter coming home victorious. Both crews had to overcome issues that could have compromised the final result. ARMS was hit by a drive through penalty for speeding in pitlane, while Wave Freem had a shared pit stall. A first win of the race, which opens new scenarios for the remainder of the season, especially with MUGEN Simracing down in P6.
First podium of the season for the Hyperion Esports #44, here driven by the new entry Mateusz Ziubinski
Behind the first two teams, Hyperion Esports #44 got their first podium of the season. «We thought that beating the result from COTA will be hard… And then VIR happened. After that mess in lap 1 it was fairly status quo for us – started P6, stayed P6. Maybe our pace was not as good as the leading cars but we were definitely making up for losses by making no mistakes. And it payed off!» told us Pawel Andrzejewski. «The race at VIR proves we are still making progress and this is crucial as we are fulfilling our goals for this season. We can’t wait competing at Sebring now – this is going to be a banger!».
Wave Freem on top of LMGTE, Panica Gaming returns with a bang ending in P2
Panica Gaming chasing down HG Esports Blue Bolt in the early stages of the race
Pole position and a win with a 2-laps advantage. After escaping from that scary accident in lap 1, Wave Freem #99 drivers gifted themselves the perfect weekend in Virginia. A strong pace, which could not be matched by anyone else, not even by Panica Gaming, ending in P2 and setting the fastest lap of the class with Viktor Schenel in the final stint.
«We knew that race at Virginia is always fight to survive and in multiclass is it twice harder not to get involved in something bad. At start we managed to stay alive after massive accident. Arkadiusz stayed calm and didnt hit 3 wheels across track. After end of FCY we were at P3» told us Viktor’s teammate, Petr Lichnovsky. He then talked about his rivals on track, and getting the best out of their unlucky events. «Adam Serege had really strong pace so we couldnt keep up with him. But with different strategy we were in fight for second place. But in the middle of the race Serege was involved in crash with slower GTE and lost wheel. Also HG Bluebolt behind was unlucky and lost 2 laps. So our target was to bring it home on P2. After the win at Road America we were unlucky at Indianapolis and Austin, so this is our second podium in season and we can still fight for top 5 positions in championship what we didnt expected before the season».
P3 in LMGTE overall, P1 in AM – not bad for Tomelli RT
Rounding up the podium was Tomelli RT. An AM team, which is proving to be a threat for PRO teams as well. An important result coming after a difficult outing in the mixed conditions at COTA, that allows them to stretch their lead in the AM class, and at the same time to climb the overall GTE standings.
It has not been quite the day for the two HG Esports Blue Bolt teams. Despite their strong pace, luck has never been on their side in this season. Stefano Zanrosso could do absolutely nothing to avoid the accident at the start. In the impact, his Corvette C8R lost a wheel, forcing him to retire. The sister car, #93, ended in P5, just behind Wave Freem Junior #126.
Tomelli RT gets redemption after tough round 3, extends the lead over contenders
Lodi Rizzini and Ceredani going wheel-to-wheel through the final sector
As we already mentioned, it was Tomelli RT getting the most points in the AM class, with a comfortable margin over the Carloni Racing Red of Lodi Rizzini and Giardinetto, involved in the accident at the start and forced to face some hardware issues. After a long comeback, they could claim P2 right in the final part of the race, with an outstanding wheel-to-wheel fight at the end of the long backstraight on the MR Motorsport driven by Guido Ceredani, getting the chequered flag in P3. The situation in the AM class has been described very well by Francesco Giardinetto, driving the Carloni Racing Red.
«Many cars retired in that first lap mess, and I have been lucky enough to get out with a broken suspension and 3 minutes repairs. Then, buttons configuration decided that it wasn’t gonna be our day anyway, 3 laps lost trying to get out, reset the buttons to then rejoin and make the driver swap. Patience was pushed quite far I must say. Still, I believe we produced a good drive, a good pace and a good strategy the get back in contention for P2! Marco delivered with a great move too and that saved the day. Our friends in the 82 weren’t lucky either, they deserved more than what their final position says. But the fight is on in the Am class and we’re gonna fight! And well done to Tomelli RT for the victory!».
HK Racing ended in P4 in GTE AM
Best result of the season for HK Racing, ending in P4 ahead of the unlucky Carloni Racing Black. The all-Turkish lineup started off strong, staying away from troubles and finding themselves in the top spots of the LMGTE class. A couple of accidents prevented them from getting an even better result, but they can still take some positives from this round for sure.
Big one next – the 12 Hours of Sebring
MUGEN will try to forget the 6 Hours of VIR as soon as possible – will they bounce back in Sebring?
The eSport Endurance Series will head to Florida for the next round, the 12 Hours of Sebring. This will be the longest race of the season – and we hope one of the most exciting as well! The fifth round will officially mark the start of the second half of the season as well, so we are getting closer and closer to an interesting point. The event is scheduled on the 19th of February, while qualifying will be the evening before, on Friday the 18th.
The 6 Hours of VIR