Donington Park, Leicestershire, England
Round 6 of the NLRL Sunday League Season 7 saw the grid head to a fan favourite, Donington Park, in its 3rd consecutive appearance to the Sunday League Calendar, hopes and anticipations were high following the mid-season break.
Conditions ahead of Round 6 showed typical British weather, a mixture of dry and wet conditions appeared likely to throw a fork in the road for many in lieu of Round 6, as the grid descended on Donington for Free Practice, they were met with persistent rainfall, conditions that proved highly promising for Declan Anderson and Reuben Lewis, who topped the timing charts in PRO and AM respectively, Lewis, one of the rare few users of the Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT3, saw an incredibly competitive run in the wet, thanks to solid car control and a myriad of control options in the highly modular engine map, it makes the Vantage a surprisingly sturdy offering to wet racing conditions, sadly for Lewis, these conditions would not last.
Round 6 saw a number of debuting drives on the Sunday League grid, among them was Jaden Johnson-Ward and Jonny Matteagi.
Heading toward Qualifying, the grid breathed a collective sigh of relief as the rain subsided in favour of drier conditions, one that would allow Ford to take early advantage, as 5Star Esports' Patrick Leger led into the first half of Qualifying, flanked by Monumental Motorsports' Kieron Macmillan and Taylor Wane, Ford's command of the top 3 would soon be interrupted by McLaren and Ferrari courtesy of 5Star's Declan Anderson and Euro Titans' Carlos Diesch, the latter of which would charge to 2nd by the end of Qualifying, with Leger presiding over Pole Position, in AM, it was another knockout qualifying for Adrian Mittemeyer, the German talent has been talk of the Sunday League paddock for the last month since his debut in Round 4, coming into Donington he had secured 3 consecutive class victories, with his chances looking at a fourth.
QUALIFYING SUMMARY (TOP 5)
- Patrick LEGER (NED) - Ford - 1:26.060
- Carlos DIESCH (SUI) - Ferrari - 1:26.400
- Kieron MACMILLAN - Ford - 1:26.500
- Taylor WANE - Ford - 1:26.559
- Declan ANDERSON (GBR) - McLaren - 1:26.642
RACE 1:
Race 1 kicked off in dry conditions to a meteoric charge into Redgate by Carlos Diesch, who from around the outside snatched away an early lead from Patrick Leger, behind, Macmillan and Wane formed a defensive stance ahead of Anderson, trouble came early to defending champion Tylor Vermaak, as at Turn 7 he was rear ended by returning driver Martijn Van Maanen. At Turn 11 on lap 1, Declan Anderson engaged the fight for 3rd following a break in Monumental's defensive line, he would be ran wide at Goddard's (Turn 12) by Macmillan, and their fight would continue into the next lap.
Lap 2 offered trouble in the same corner, as once again at Turn 7 did accidents occur, Sam Angel was barged wide by Alan Alexander, and in efforts to catch his Aston Martin, would enter an uncontrolled spin back onto the track surface, being collected first by Pedro Lopo, then in the immediate domino effect would be collected by Vermaak, sending the Bentley into another spin, 2 laps, 2 spins and 2 major position drops made for a disasterous start for Vermaak.
Anderson's campaign for P3 fell flat into lap 3, where in which he returned to the back of the top 5, the Brit would nonetheless remain determined to continue fighting through the first half of Race 1.
In AM, Mittemeyer stormed away to the division lead, with Charlie Smith in 2nd past the first 2 laps, and Luca Tamborini 3rd.
Up Front, fighting would continue between Diesch and Leger, with Macmillan joining the frey only some 6 laps in, this 3-way split for the lead was short lived, as a lap later, Leger entered the pits.
Throughout Race 1, Fake Galaxy, the current championship leader into Round 6, struggled for form compared to his collected and resolute charge to a win in the Nordschleife last round, the heights of his battles in Race 1 surmounted to 11th against two already pitted drivers - Martijn Van Maanen and Nur Fahrer.
In the closing moments of Race 1, Taylor Wane delivered a successful overcut strategy to snatch 2nd away from Leger, who now stood to battle with Declan Anderson for the remnants of the podium, as the chequered flag signalled the end of Race 1, Carlos Diesch secured their 11th career victory with Taylor Wane finishing 2nd, and Patrick Leger finishing 3rd, In AM, it was a 4th consecutive class victory for ISR Motorsports' Adrian Mittemeyer.
RACE 2:
Race 2 traded dry, sunny weather for slippery wet conditions as rain shrouded Donington Park, this gave a boost of confidence to Leger in lieu of the race start, a bizarre incident occured right as the grid lined the opening straight in formation for the start as Luca Tamborini spun at Turn 12, as the racing got underway, a confident Leger stormed away into Turn 1 with Diesch reluctantly behind, trouble beset multiple drivers behind at turn 1 as a collision saw both Ben Cheesman, Martijn Van Maanen and Nick Lamming among several others wayward of Redgate's exit. Vermaak would once again find himself on the short end of the stick as heading through turn 11, a lunge from behind courtesy of a fight between Zsolt Beefgartner and Declan Anderson saw Beefgartner collide with the rear-right quarter of Vermaak's Bentley, spinning it 180 degrees, Beefgartner would return the position on the opening straight. Trouble would follow shortly into the next lap as Samuel Lynton-Bell - one of the latest acquisitions by INVICTUS RT - was rear ended and subsequently spun at T12 by Gabriel Rivera.
On Lap 3, Diesch went on the offensive against Leger, storming up the inside of the leading Ford at Turn 7, the two would tangle through Sector 2 and 3 until uiltimately Diesch began to storm away with a newfound lead, Leger's troubles would persist as he soon after dropped to 3rd behind Wane in the opening half of Race 2.
Heading past the first half, action began to build in the lead of AM, as Mittemeyer failed to shake off an advance by Rivera, and heading towards lap 8 would run wide at T12, allowing Rivera to assume the division lead.
Heading past the halfway mark of Race 2, the wet weather that had presided over the race start had began to retreat, ushering in dryer conditions toward the end, this pivotal weather change placed pressure on the front runners who had yet to pit, as remaining on the wet tyres would see their tyre temperature, and subsequently the risk of a puncture, dramatically rise, this played a large role on deciding the win in AM, as Rivera and Mittemeyer opted for seperate strategies when it came to tyres.
In the closing laps, 5Star and Monumental went head to head for podium positions in PRO, with Taylor Wane passing Declan Anderson as the front runners came to the pits on the penultimate lap, this would come to a head at turn 12 as Wane would run incredibly wide, with Anderson still on his right hand side, both drivers went into the grass, allowing Leger to return to the podium, entering 2nd. Ahead, Diesch played a perfect overcut to retain the lead into the final lap.
At the chequered flag for Race 2, Carlos Diesch converted an uneasy start into another confident win, in what stands at the time of writing as his career 12th, stepping closer to the two highest number of career wins from Tylor Vermaak at 15 wins and 2-time Sunday League Champion Melvin Milasten at 18 wins. Leger would finish 2nd and Anderson defended from Wane to take 3rd. In AM, Gabriel Rivera's strategic gamble paid off, granting the Spaniard his first win since the grid reshuffle earlier in Season 7, a historic moment for one of 5Star's most promising developing AMs, Mittemeyer's winning streak came to an end with a 2nd place finish for Race 2, Luca Tamborini rounded out the podium in AM.
RACE 3:
Race 3 kicked off back to dry conditions, one that proved to be the perfect balance for Patrick Leger, with lessons learned from Races 1 and 2, Leger wasn't going to leave anything to chance, and as racing got underway he stormed ahead of Carlos Diesch after an ultra-thin battle through turns 1-4, behind, trouble found its way to Ben Cheesman, who after coming off track and into the nearside walls at Turn 7, retired from the round. Behind the leaders, Declan Anderson went on an early attack for 3rd against Taylor Wane, a foiled overtake attempt at turn 11 backed Anderson onto the Bentleys of Euro Titan's Alan Alexander and 5Star's Tylor Vermaak.
Patrick Leger would continue to build the lead up throughout the first half, in AM, Adrian Mittemeyer held the lead over Gabriel Rivera and Charlie Smith, as the race progressed, Smith would dive for division 2nd at turn 11, resulting in minor contact with teammate Gabriel Rivera, who still carried the momentum of his first win fresh in mind.
Into the halfway mark of the race, Leger still held the lead from Diesch, while Anderson and Wane clashed for 3rd, in AM, Charlie Smith's charge toward a possible lead became increasingly hard to ignore, Smith, who had been on a part time season tenure with 5Star since as far back as Season 2, had never seen a win in class, it became difficult to gaige exactly what could happen as this was something completely foreign in the making.
Arthur Beake began battling with Mittemeyer for an outright 11th, his withdrawal to an earlier pit strategy would leave nothing in the way of a fight between Mittemeyer and Smith for the lead, as the two made their way though the Esses (turns 9-10) a fight in front between Nick Lamming and Ken Thomas would stall out with a slower exit, inviting in Mittemeyer and Smith to tangle with the PRO class drivers, Mittemeyer leaped ahead into turn 11, but Smith would collide with Ken Thomas under brakes, ultimately forfeiting 2nd and nearly 3rd as the #23 would emerge alongside Pedro Lopo, Smith stormed into the pit lane, and after consideration in the paddock, withdrew from Round 6, a heartbreaking end to what stood before his incident as Smith's most competitive charge so far.
During this, Declan Anderson would secure 3rd away from Taylor Wane, Wane would enter the pits a few laps later.
The remaining top 5 in PRO all had their minds set on a last-second pit stop strategy, one that in theory would lock in their standings in order of appearance, this was a reassuring sign for Leger, who now held north of 2 seconds of a lead over Diesch, however, Vermaak and Anderson would time their strategy one lap later, beating the end of session marker by only a few seconds.
As the chequered flag emerged, it proved third time's the charm for Patrick Leger, who stumped the chances of a hat trick for Diesch as the Dutchman claimed his career 5th win at the end of Round 6, Diesch finished 2nd and Anderson 3rd, in AM, it was back to winning form for Adrian Mittemeyer, having held off both Rivera and Smith over Race 3 to secure his 5th division win, Rivera finished 2nd and Reuben Lewis of INVICTUS RT rounded the AM Podium for 3rd.
RACE SUMMARY (TOP 5):
RACE 1:
PRO:
- Carlos DIESCH (SUI) - Ferrari - Euro Titans Endurance
- Taylor WANE - Ford - Monumental Motorsports
- Patrick LEGER (NED) - Ford - 5Star Esports
- Declan ANDERSON (GBR) - McLaren - 5Star Esports
- Ken THOMAS (GBR) - Ferrari - Privateer
AM:
- Adrian MITTEMEYER (GER) - Ford - ISR Motorsports
- Rúben PINHO (POR) - Porsche - INVICTUS RT by Pipioqui
- Reuben LEWIS - Aston Martin - INVICTUS RT by Pipioqui
- Parth DWIVEDI - Ferrari - Privateer
- Grant MOYER (USA) - BMW - Privateer
RACE 2:
PRO:
- Carlos DIESCH (SUI) - Ferrari - Euro Titans Endurance
- Patrick LEGER (NED) - Ford - 5Star Esports
- Declan ANDERSON (GBR) - McLaren - 5Star Esports
- Taylor WANE - Ford - Monumental Motorsports
- Alan ALEXANDER (GBR) - Bentley - Euro Titans Endurance
AM:
- Gabriel RIVERA (ESP) - Lamborghini - 5Star Esports
- Adrian MITTEMEYER (GER) - Ford - ISR Motorsports
- Luca TAMBORINI (ARG) - Porsche - ITAM Racing
- Pedro LOPO (POR) - McLaren - INVICTUS RT by Pipioqui
- Rúben PINHO (POR) - Porsche - INVICTUS RT by Pipioqui
RACE 3
PRO:
- Patrick LEGER (NED) - Ford - 5Star Esports
- Carlos DIESCH (SUI) - Ferrari - Euro Titans Endurance
- Declan ANDERSON (GBR) - McLaren - 5Star Esports
- Taylor WANE - Ford - Monumental Motorsports
- Alan ALEXANDER (GBR) - Bentley - Euro Titans Endurance
AM:
- Adrian MITTEMEYER (GER) - Ford - ISR Motorsports
- Gabriel RIVERA (ESP) - Lamborghini - 5Star Esports
- Reuben LEWIS - Aston Martin - INVICTUS RT by Pipioqui
- Luca TAMBORINI (ARG) - Porsche - ITAM Racing
- Pedro LOPO (POR) - McLaren - INVICTUS RT by Pipioqui
Driver's View:
We spoke with a few drivers after Race 3, discussing progress and the road ahead into the second half of the season.
Declan Anderson: "- it's been a tough few races, definitely some of the more chaotic races I've had this season"
When asked about his clashes with Monumental Motorsports: "In the heat of the moment, yeah, I think it was just a little bit of rough racing - under the pressure you dont wanna lose your position - you get your elbows out"
When asked about the road ahead: "I definitely need to get more practice in"
We spoke next to Patrick Leger , reflecting on his win in Race 3 and tough fighting throughout:
Leger: "I feel like I was the fastest driver of the day in the dry - I feel like Race 1 for me was a bit of a wasted opportunity - I overshot the pit box" " "Race 3 was how I wanted to execute Race 1"
On the topic of the road ahead: "Kyalami is one of my favourites so I'm looking forward to that one" "As I said with Zandvoort, I'm not looking forward for that, but, I mean you cannot have all the fun tracks as a racing driver, sometimes you have to do the not so fun ones"
When asked if he feels confident after today that he could have the chance to fight for the championship this season: "I got to say this - I'm first trying to have consistency in my season because I feel like in this season I'm not really consistent with my points scoring, one week it's going excellent, the other week it's trash" "So first before I think of a championship I need to have a consistent run of - I think in my abilities - podium places at the minimum."
Speaking with Carlos Diesch on his result today: " Today was a good day, I'm very happy, back on the podium, it's been a while"
On the road ahead: "Silverstone's a bit of a weird one, I'm usually not that good in qualifying but I know my race pace there has always been pretty good, I think I feel pretty good with the Ferrari there" "Kyalami I'll unfortunately be absent"
When asked about the chances of a championship: "I'll need to aim to get a top 5 every single race"
Speaking with Nur Fahrer on the result out of Donington:* "Well, the Honda is a very special car; it killed me a few times but its definitely a joy to drive"*
When asked about the road ahead: "Kyalami could be good, it's a track where the Honda works okay-ish and I like the track so, you know, we'll see"
His further thoughts on his Honda NSX GT3 Evo "With the Honda its always you either do good or you just get Honda'd and you crash"
Lastly, we spoke with Adrian Mittemeyer on his double class victories at Donington: "Yeah it was a great Race 1 and Race 3 but (speaking about Race 2) it was just the tyre pressures were up so high that I had to gamble on the dry tyres, otherwise I could get a puncture, so that's the main reason I landed behind Gabriel (Rivera)" "I'm happy with two victories here"
When asked about what he did to prepare for Donington - a track he was not certain of when we spoke to him in Germany: "I practiced a lot, but the times weren't great - I just tried to learn the track corner by corner and then try to gain some seconds each lap, I think it worked really well - now we can see what I did in the race; P1, P2 and P1, so yeah, I would say it's pretty good."
When asked on if he believes he could challenge for the AM Championship title: "I would say I'm confident, but that's not to say Gabriel (Rivera) is a bad driver or anything - as you saw today he can win, and I spoke to him after our race at the Nordschleife (Sunday League S7 R5) and we both want to decide the championship in the last race"
The Sunday League grid heads to South Africa this weekend at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit for Round 7, in what TRTN is told is highly likely to be an extremely wet race, all action of the NLRL Sunday League Powered By TRTN can be found LIVE via the TRTN Twitch channel, accessible via the Twitch website or alternative the XCLusive Racing website under "Broadcasts", and on-demand via the TRTN YouTube Channel, all race results can be found via the NLRL SimGrid page, under "NLRL Sunday League Season 7 - Brought to you by TRTN"