Tusting clinches a chaotic Hungarian GP
British driver Ben Tusting guided his GT Omega Racing car through a frantic and controversial race in Budapest to take 50 points in the Formula SimRacing World Trophy, whilst Championship Leader Ivar Kalamees' podium hopes were dashed in a penultimate lap incident.
It was, however, a race to forget for a number of the drivers, with the chaos starting before the red lights had even gone out; on the formation lap. Numerous drivers have complained of unsporting brake testing, and it was clear for all to see that alot of the cars suffered heavily with overheating on the grid due to the long wait for the light sequence to begin.
"Lapped cars did a bad job today"
"Tyres were cold because cars were braking hard and bunching up too much, then on the grid the car was overheating" said the Team Principle of Knight Racing, Chris Knight, and the direct effect of these problems was immediately seen as the back of the grid arrived at turn one, where carnage unfolded in a matter of seconds.
"Chaos"
Once the lead-lap cars were able to clear the trouble, however, they found themselves with the problem of badly damaged backmarkers scampering around the circuit, and a number of drivers have expressed their concern regarding the slower cars. "You really need to be aware of your surroundings" warned GS Pro Engineering driver Joona Lappaenen as he added his voice to the myriad of those discontented.
An unexpected engine blowout causes chaos for
the lead lap vehicles.
"Controversy"
Another incident (pictured above) involving blue-flag conditions occured on lap 51 when Danny Van Der Niet's engine gave way in front of 2nd place man Ivar Kalamees, ending his race in dramatic fashion when the two cars collided heavily.
The incident overshadowed what had been a constantly evolving three-way battle for 1st position between Tusting, Kalamees and Aalberts that was set to give the fans a nail-biting climax to the 53 lap race which had provided some admirable driving. Throughout the closing stages of the race Tusting's lead was consistently challenged by drivers on the absolute limit, providing excellent spectacle.
Carnage unfolds at Turn One.
Despite this fantastic racing at the front of the field, Sunday's race must no doubt raise a number of concerns within the World Trophy, with similar accidents inevitable in the remainder of this season which will see 26-car grids battling it out at the likes of Spa-Francorchamps and Yas-Marina.
Tusting's victory leaves GT Omega Racing at the top of the Constructors Championship by just one point, and Kalamees leading Mallorqui by just 14 points. With 250 points still on offer for the drivers, the Championship is all to play for!
The Formula SimRacng World Trophy meets again in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium on the 4th September.