Montmeló, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Round 4 of the NLRL Sunday League took the grid to north-eastern Spain, in the autonomous community of Catalonia at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, and would play host to the second Standard Format race weekend of the season, of which would be dominated by 5Star Esports' Patrick Leger.
Leger, who previously clashed heads with Tylor Vermaak last season at the Barcelona Sprint, told TRTN he was "really looking forward to Barcelona" and that "I feel like I'm the fastest driver there" - fighting words from last season's Rookies' Champion, words that as the grid set off into free practice would not be so quickly forgotten.
As Free Practice got underway, curious developments for Leger began in the paddock, specifically was a near complete absence from practice, this, coupled with the withdrawal of both Fake Galaxy and Carlos Diesch from Round 4, left the throne vacant for the likelihood of a new fastest driver, many eyes fixed to Tylor Vermaak, as the winner last season in Barcelona, there was a high expectation of the new championship leader after his maiden victory of Season 7 would continue 5Star Esports' streak of solid performances. However, the fastest time of Free Practice came from an unlikely source; Kieron Macmillan of Monumental Motorsport would go fastest at the end of Free Practice, an oddity when given this was among his first sightings this season. A familiar face returned to the Sunday League grid for S7 R4 in the form of Martijn Van Maanen, who was the first ever driver to secure a race win with Ford, all the way back in Season 1 Round 5 in Indianapolis, Van Maanen returned to the grid now racing for BoA Esports and Ferrari.
Into Qualifying, Brooklyn Donkin set the pace as the first onto the timing charts, closely behind was Declan Anderson, who stood 0.045s separate to Donkin in their first laps, Kieron Macmillan soon after took pole position before a returning volley by Anderson, during this time, a new driver to AM was securing leading times whilst in the overall top 10, Adrian Mittemeyer of ISR Motorsport, ISR's last appearance was a few seasons prior with Gabriel Lawugger with Lamborghini. Mittemeyer led the AMs in the early stage of qualifying ahead of Vojtěch Pytlík of Bohemia Motorsport, and Gabriel Rivera of 5Star Esports.
Qualifying saw the first on-track appearance of the round for Patrick Leger, who would shortly thereafter storm into the top 3 at the halfway mark of the session, this would float between pole and third as continuing efforts by both Macmillan and Anderson would see Leger be juggled around the podium, it would not be until the final moments of the session where Leger would claim a definitive pole postion, leading over Macmillan by 0.105s, Declan Anderson rounded out the podium in Qualifying. In the AM division, it was Adrian Mittemeyer of ISR Motorsport to take division pole, placing overall 7th ahead of division podium sitters Vojtěch Pytlík and Julian Acquati.
QUALIFYING SUMMARY (TOP 5):
- Patrick LEGER (NED) - Ford - 1:43.025
- Kieron MACMILLAN - Ford - 1:43.130
- Declan ANDERSON (GBR) - McLaren - 1:43.235
- Brooklyn DONKIN (GBR) - Ford - 1:43.677
- Tylor VERMAAK (RSA) - Bentley - 1:43.892
SPRINT RACE:
33 cars braced for impact into the Sprint, and shortly after the lights went green, the flags would go yellow, as contact between Van Maanen and Vermaak caused a near instant pileup behind the top 4, the ensuing aftermath left 3 drivers immediately out of action and several more damaged, peeling away to the lead was Leger ahead of Macmillan and Anderson. In AM, Mittemeyer would survive the opening onslaught, and taking 2nd would be Gabriel Rivera, Jason Sargeant would collect 3rd in the opening lap.
On the following lap, Macmillan would commit to a heroic move for the lead around the outside of Leger at the Elf Chicane (T1-3), in the same lap, Brooklyn Donkin fought Anderson for 3rd. Anderson had made his disposition known to TRTN in the days leading up to Round 4, citing frustrations when racing with the Fords due to the McLaren's disadvantage on the straights.
Leger's charge back to the lead would reignite in the closing 6 minutes of the Sprint, as Macmillan came in to the pits with 3 laps left to go, Leger appeared to be dead set on a repeat of his last second approach to pit strategy, one that was used last season in a myriad of close finishes against Vermaak at the Barcelona Sprint, and where last season this strategy proved ineffective in securing a win, time had only sharpened Leger's initiative, and this time, his risky strategy would pay off.
Patrick Leger would secure his 3rd career victory, Declan Anderson would successfully snatch away 2nd from Macmillan, as the #37 would spin on the last lap into turns 1-3, Zsolt Beefgartner of NotLastRacing would take 3rd ahead of Martijn Van Maanen, as the Hungarian talent played another cunning early pit strategy, a move that is quickly becoming his trademark move on the Sunday League Grid.
In AM, Adrian Mittemeyer would secure their first win in division on debut to the Sunday League, with Jason Sargeant making 2nd and Gabriel Rivera 3rd.
SPRINT RACE SUMMARY (TOP 5):
PRO:
- Patrick LEGER (NED) - Ford - 5Star Esports
- Declan ANDERSON (GBR) - McLaren - 5Star Esports
- Zsolt BEEFGARTNER (HUN) - Lexus - NotLastRacing
- Brooklyn DONKIN (GBR) - Ford - Euro Titans Endurance
- Sam ANGEL (GBR) - Aston Martin - NotLastRacing
AM:
- Adrian MITTEMEYER (GER) - Ford - ISR Motorsport (1)
- Jason SARGEANT (GBR) - BMW - Privateer
- Gabriel RIVERA (ESP) - Lamborghini - 5Star Esports
- Rúben PINHO (POR) - Porsche - Invictus RT by Pipioqui
- Kaleb TAIT (USA) - Audi - Privateer
(1) = Mittemeyer is currently classified as a reserve on SimGrid (as of 12/09/2026), hence why the results are yet to formally classify his finish in AM
FEATURE RACE:
Trouble started earlier than expected for some on the run to the Feature, as Tylor Vermaak suffered a disconnect in lieu of the starting grid, relegating him to the back row for the Feature, this would only become worse for him as he became one of 4 cars to collect a DT penalty for starting infractions into the race start.
As the smoke cleared from the Sprint, the Feature would start even stronger for Macmillan, going on the offensive against Leger down into Turns 1-3 and securing an early lead into the Feature, Anderson came under siege for the podium as an early onslaught from both Martijn Van Maanen and Brooklyn Donkin forced Anderson to play defensively, losing him vital ground from the front row.
Traffic was at its most formidable in the top 10, as a skirmish played out for 4th between Van Maanen, Donkin, Rodd, Beefgartner, Angel, Mittemeyer and Fahrer, the latter of which, Nur Fahrer, would get a fantastic charge through turn 9 to go side by side with Donkin as Kieran Rodd would sneak ahead into 5th, this would spell disaster shortly thereafter as contact between Fahrer and Donkin set the 17 in a spin at La Caixa (T10), this would only be worsened when Zsolt Beefgartner, with nowhere to evade to, would collide with the out of control #17, leaving Donkin outside the top 10 in the early part of the Feature, a single corner later, Vojtěch Pytlík would be spun into T11.
As the first 10 minutes subsided, Zsolt Beefgartner would once again commit to his now signature early pit strategy, settling in from the back end of the field, up front, it became readily apparent that moreso than the Sprint there was a noticeable performance difference between the two leading Fords of Macmillan and Leger, analysis of data would reveal that Macmillan was running a significantly lower fuel load, one that would need to be replenished over the course of the session's single mandatory open strategy pit stop. Whereas Leger had fuelled the car up for the full 40 minute race, meaning his pit stop would theoretically be a fraction of the length of Macmillans, where refuelling would take upwards of 15-20 seconds, Leger's stop would take only 3 as all he'd need to do is stop in his pit box, engage the jack, disengage the jack and leave.
Heading toward the halfway, Pedro Lopo and Gabriel Rivera would fight for division 2nd in the AM category, alongside their fight was one further up the order between Ben Cheesman and David Kolařík, the latter of whom had recently moved up to PRO following Round 3, this would be short lived as Kolařík would pit earlier than Cheesman.
Lopo and Rivera's fight for division 2nd would continue past the halfway mark, which saw Pytlik and Sargeant pit, disaster would follow the two into Turn 5 at SEAT as Lopo would spin Rivera after a send from far back onto the inside of the Lamborghini, this foiled overtake saw Julian Acquati swoop in for division 2nd, and recently demoted former PRO driver Kaleb Tait would follow into 3rd.
With 14 minutes left to go in the Feature, Macmillan came into the pits for refuelling, immediately promoting Leger to the lead, as Macmillan left, it became readily apparant to the #37 that his strategy proved ineffective, as Leger would once again wait until the last moment to pit with significantly less downtime.
Patrick Leger would claim his 4th career win in the feature race, on what stood at the end of Round 4 as his second in a row for wins in Season 7, Anderson saw it to another 5Star 1-2, as he claimed 2nd, Macmillan would ultimately regain a podium, finishing 3rd. In AM, Mittemeyer would claim another division win, with Acquati 2nd and Sargeant 3rd.
FEATURE RACE SUMMARY (TOP 5)
PRO:
- Patrick LEGER (NED) - Ford - 5Star Esports
- Declan ANDERSON (GBR) - McLaren - 5Star Esports
- Kieron MACMILLAN - Ford - Monumental Motorsport
- Martijn VAN MAANEN (NED) - Ferrari - BoA eSports (2)
- Kieran RODD (GBR) - Ferrari - Euro Titans Endurance
(2) = Martijn Van Maanen is currently classified as a reserve on SimGrid (as of 12/09/2026), hence why the results are yet to formally classify his finish in PRO
AM:
- Adrian MITTEMEYER (GER) - Ford - ISR Motorsport (1)
- Julian ACQUATI (NOR) - Mercedes-AMG - 5Star Esports
- Kaleb TAIT (USA) - Audi - Privateer
- Gabriel RIVERA (ESP) - Lamborghini - 5Star Esports
- Pedro LOPO (POR) - McLaren - Invictus RT by Pipioqui
(1) = Mittemeyer is currently classified as a reserve on SimGrid (as of 12/09/2026), hence why the results are yet to formally classify his finish in AM
DRIVER'S VIEW:
In the interviews post-race, Patrick Leger reflected on his progress during the round and it's buildup from last week
Leger: "I put a little unnecessary pressure on myself, but I'm happy I was able to manage it"
He noted before that "Macmillan does scare me a little with his pace"
Ultimately rounding out his thoughts on Round 4's double win, Leger stated "I couldn't be more happy with it"
Speaking with Declan Anderson, he spoke calmly on his performance, reflecting a sentiment of happiness for his and the team's results:
Anderson: "Me and Leger did what we could, worked with eachother to keep the pace up, and yeah, we're happy with the results"
When asked over his thoughts for the rest of the season, he stated "Anything can really happen in a race - if I had to put my bets on any race it would probably be Donington or Silverstone"
Speaking with Martijn Van Maanen, we caught up with him in his time since his last appearance back toward Season 1-2
When asked on his thoughts toward the Nordscheife as the next destination for the season, he had the following to say:
"I don't practice often, I can be quick - overtaking around there is an issue, so I will have to focus on quali, that's the only part I'm worried about"
When asked about his return to the Sunday League, he expressed joy in his return:
Van Maanen:* "It's been great, I like the racing here, I believe it's one of the fastest leagues I'm driving in, so it's always good to compete with some of the fastest drivers"*
Lastly, speaking with Adrian Mittemeyer following their double division win on debut:
"I'm feeling pretty good right now, because I didn't (think) I would be in a position to win, cos I saw the last races and the field is pretty good, to be honest, so I thought I would've been in the midfield, but to win both races is absolutely great"
When asked on his thoughts on a possible promotion to PRO, he added:
"Yeah, I think it would be cool to be in the PROs, cos I could get up to the really good guys like (Vermaak) and the other guys and I think it would be cool to be in a position to race with them - It would be cool to be in the PROs next season"
Round 5 takes the Sunday League Grid to the Green Hell for the series' second ever visit to the Nurburgring Nordschleife, action for the series can be found LIVE EXCLUSIVELY on the TRTN Twitch Channel or on-demand via the TRTN YouTube Channel.
All reports for Season 7 can be found here on the Xclusive Racing website, and results and standings are available via SimGrid under "NLRL Sunday League Season 7 - Brought to you by TRTN"