Circuit of the Americas, Austin, TX, USA
Fabio Travaglioli takes another victory in the Fatch GT GT3 Championship as it returns to its 11th season after the summer break. The series returned to its first endurance race of the season, and with it, came several changes.
On the run-up towards Round 5, the Joker System saw multiple uses during the summer break, with Julian Plantaz moving to Mercedes-AMG, Tylor Vermaak moving to Bentley, and Bas Delsman moving to BMW, on top of this saw the return of a driver last sighted months prior at Fatch GT S10's opening round in Silverstone, 2-Time NLRL Sunday League champion Melvin Milasten, this marked the first time since his acquisition by 5Star Esports that Milasten had taken to sprint racing on our screens, with radio silence from 5Star on his status or whereabouts, the shock return of Milasten left things uncertain for the run into Round 5.
Heading into Round 5, Free Practice yielded strong results for both Milasten and Travaglioli, with Milasten 0.035s faster than the current championship lead at the end of the session. As Qualifying dawned, troubles followed for Milasten, owing to issues with vehicle stability and strict track limits, the latter was a burden shared by many on the grid, it would not be until 5 minutes into the qualifying session - a third of its total length - before times could be logged as valid, Euro Titans Endurance's Brooklyn Donkin set the first valid lap, but would be immediately usurped for the fastest time by Ken Thomas, Travaglioli soon followed, initially placing 1.479s faster than Thomas, that gap would grow to 1.504s to Thomas by the end of the session, with Ford's Chris Harris placing between the 2 Ferraris. Vermaak and Delsman would forfeit qualifying due to playing their Joker for R5.
QUALIFYING SUMMARY (TOP 5)
- 1st: Fabio TRAVAGLIOLI - Ferrari - 2:05.057
- 2nd: Chris HARRIS - Ford - 2:06.085
- 3rd: Ken THOMAS - Ferrari - 2:06.561
- 4th: Melvin MILASTEN - McLaren - 2:06.561
- 5th: Brooklyn DONKIN - Ford - 2:06.587
As the grid formed for the start of the formation lap, disaster struck for Melvin Milasten, who suffered a disconnect on the opening grid, forcing him from 4th in quali to 26th for the race start.
As the lights went green, Travaglioli wasted little time storming ahead of the field, with Chris Harris defending 2nd, Ken Thomas fell under seige by the Fords of Brooklyn Donkin and 3-time Fatch GT Champion, Matthew Williams.
From further back on the grid, Milasten and Vermaak began to carve away at the field, following them was XCLusive Esports' own Will Friedmann, who struggled in the midfield to make ground, once lasered in on the Bentley and McLaren, Friedmann gave pursuit, forming one of the best fights of the race within the first 30m. A drive through penalty beset Matthew Williams shortly thereafter, shifting the trio up a position, with Vermaak into the top 5.
Away from the fight between Milasten, Vermaak and Friedmann, Brooklyn Donkin fought with Othman El Fidaoui for a newfound podium spot.
More trouble emerged for Melvin Milasten as a second disconnect would force him from the race, ultimately ending a very short-lived sighting of the illusive 2-time Sunday League champion
Later in the race, a strong strategy allowed Ken Thomas to maintain a strong position on the field, one that placed him above a new fight between ETE's Brooklyn Donkin, 5Star's Tylor Vermaak, and XCLusive's Will Friedmann, the 4 would battle through Laps 22-25, where trouble arose for Will Friedmann, who collected a drive through penalty.
During that time, Fabio Travaglioli also collected a drive through penalty, which did little to stem the tide on the Italian's dominant command of the field.
At the end of the race, Travaglioli triumphed to what stands as his 3rd win of the season so far. Slowing to allow for a formation finish alongside teammate Othman El Fiaoui, Ferrari claimed a 1-2 victory in COTA, behind them, the Bentley of Tylor Vermaak, who delivered a MVP performance after achieving a podium off of a back-row start.
RACE SUMMARY (TOP 5)
- 1st: Fabio TRAVAGLIOLI - Ferrari
- 2nd: Othman EL FIDAOUI - Ferrari
- 3rd: Tylor VERMAAK - Bentley
- 4th: Brooklyn DONKIN - Ford
- 5th: Ken THOMAS - Ferrari
Action from S11 of the Fatch GT GT3 Championship can be found on both the TRTN Twitch channel and on demand via the TRTN YouTube Channel.