This past weekend marked the opening of the RaceDepartment GT1 World Championship. The series spans four races over one month, one round every Sunday. Week one saw the championship coincide with the FIA GT1’s round at Brno, which allowed virtual racers to not only watch some great GT1 action, but to also get on the ‘virtual’ track to mix it up a bit themselves. On the virtual side of things—which, let’s be fair, is what us sim-racers care about the most—drivers competed in an intense test of both patients and skill. Here on the GT Blog, we’ll take a closer look at the action.
Going into the weekend, odds makers had an easy time choosing the favorite, and that was anything associated with Aston Martin. The Martin team not only had what many consider the superior car for Brno, but they housed a driver lineup that made even the most seasoned sim-racers shudder. Leading Aston Martin’s team of speedsters was none other then superstar driver, Marcin Skrzypczak. In practice Marcin showed just why he’s feared as he was over 2 seconds clear of any other driver, and in qualifying it was much of the same, as he took pole in a walk.
A surprise performance in quali was just how well the Corvettes placed. Christopher Aponte along with ‘car-mate’ James Johnson took up 2 podium spots, taking the fight to Aston Martin early. Unfortunately, the last of the Vettes clocked in on P20, which left Corvette supporters leaving something to be desired.
A little further down the grid it was team Lister that surprised the crowd at Brno, clocking in two machines for top ten slots. It would appear that the cobination of David Garcia, Martin Vrba and Xose Estrada work well together, and it paid off big time for the Lister Storm organization, which had this to say after watching the quali effort. “We’re absolutely thrilled. Those lads killed it out there. We knew we picked the right men for the job, and they proved it today.”
Other notes from qualifying were Dodges’ grand effort to also get two of their cars inside the top ten, despite the car not being particularly fast at Brno, a circuit known for its long, sweeping corners and not so long straights.
Moving onto the race, it was Mr. Speed, Marcin Skrzypczak, who easily walked away with the contest, lapping all but four cars. Meanwhile it was Corvette’s woes that took major attention during round one. James Johnson and Christopher Aponte finished 3rd and 9th, respectively. But that result is a far cry from their 2nd and 3rd quali effort. In fact, Johnson had to make a rather remarkable recovery drive to regain his 3rd spot, falling out of the top 10 running order at one point.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the weekend was Hugo Hekkenberg, the only driver to have any major success in the Gampert Apollo. The Netherlands’ driver qualified on p15, but during the race was able to take the Gampert all the way to 5th. Gampert Apollo were to the moon with the result, and had this to say following the race. “With a week filled of mediocrity by us, we are very happy to have a star performance for our side.”
Audi also put in a good day at the track, getting a car inside the top 5, driven by none other then the Polish man with the hardest name to say, but not so difficult to cut and paste, Krzysztof Babij. Babij led a charge by Audi to put them inside the top 3 in the manufacturers’ cup, and thus right inside the title chase. After a great performance in RDGTC in season one, odds makers pegged Audi as one of the favorites going into the manufacturers’ cup, and this first round result surely doesn’t disappoint.
Losers over the weekend were obviously Saleen. The American based manufacturer put together a very solid lineup of drivers, led by Bram Hengeveld, who ran the fastest Saleen times throughout the week. Still, Saleen couldn’t quite seal the deal during the race, as Bram finished on p10, earning the manufacturer their only significant points for the weekend. The manufacturer’s #2 driver, Yoeri Gijsen, also put in a nice effort, but unfortunately for Saleen, it wasn’t enough to get them cleared of 7th place in the manufacurers’ cup. This has led Saleen supporters to already cast doubts on not only the Saleen drivers, but also the car itself. Does it have the grit to finish a race strong? And can young driver Freddie Besems put in a good enough result to bolt Saleen up the order? Time will only tell.
Finally there is Koenigsegg and their lackluster performance. Spectators were absolutely baffled by ‘the eggs’ inability to factor into the contest. In fact, Koenigsegg put in such a nonchalant effort, that their highest placed car finished on p16, driven by race veteran Neil Gault, who was followed closely by car-mate Yves Larose. Koenigsegg’s P.R. man made a terse, ominous statement to the media following the disastrous opening leg of the championship. “Heads will roll if this doesn’t turn around. Heads will roll!”
Next weekend the series stops over at Belgium for its second leg, hosted on none other than the legendary Spa Francorchamps GP. With the championship still in its early stages, manufacturers still have time to turn their operation around, and for those who had a good round one, now is the time to put the hammer down. Some of the main questions focus on the Lister and its ability to duplicate its performance from last round. And can Corvette keep their noses clean for 60 minutes and put in a result good enough to overtake Aston Martin. One is only left to wonder until the flag drops and the racers get racing this Sunday at Spa. What we can leave you with is the current team and driver standings after round one.
That’s all for the GT Pro blog for now, but don’t forget to check in for special team updates, driver interviews, and, of course, more weekend reports. Happy racing!
