Midrand, South Africa
The Sunday League grid returned to Kyalami last weekend for the first time in 3 seasons, with it came a magnetic sense of intrigue for it would be in the case of many their first Sunday League Race in South Africa, for veterans Tylor Vermaak and Alan Alexander, however, this was simply another visit to the historic home of the former South African Grand Prix.
Alexander, having spent his entire Sunday League Career with Euro Titans Endurance, was the last driver before last weekend to have secured a win in Kyalami, doing so with Porsche in his rookie season, becoming the 4th British driver ever to win in the Sunday League, and the first Rookie to claim victory overall, with accolades like these, coupled with the guarantee of wet weather, a sizeable weight rode his shoulders to return to winning form after 27 races since his last win, that which came in wet conditions at the closing race of the Indianapolis Sprint last season.
Vermaak, being the longest competing South African on the grid, was eager to secure a victory at home, as it laid as an accolade he had yet to secure, despite 15 career victories and 1 championship title, Kyalami had eluded him for long enough.
As free practice came to a close, it would be neither Vermaak nor Alexander that stood fastest on the grid; it would be claimed by a returning name after his last appearance at the end of Season 5, Haydan Prodger went fastest with Aston Martin, with Alan Alexander 2nd and Zsolt Beefgartner 3rd.
As Qualifying began in dark and rainy conditions, Declan Anderson led the charge in towards the first flying laps, and along with him for an opening volley of times was Tylor Vermaak and Fake Galaxy, with the latter taking an early lead in qualifying, Alan Alexander would soon thereafter snatch pole position by half a second, Vermaak would fire back with a 0.130s faster time. Anderson would add to the pile as he shortly after went faster than Vermaak, and then the first time by Haydan Prodger reeled in for 2nd, Kieran Rodd entered the ring onto pole ahead of Anderson and Prodger, but even this time proved ineffective in tapering the newfound stride of Haydan Prodger, who returned to the fastest time by 0.080s into the session's midway.
By the end of an already hectic qualifying, Prodger and Anderson stood at EXACTLY THE SAME TIME, by nature of having set said time first, Prodger retained pole, it stands presently as the closest battle for pole ever sighted on the Sunday League grid. Less than a tenth of a second behind the two was Tylor Vermaak, off by 0.077s, Rodd was 0.003s away from Vermaak, giving the grid an inconceivably small grid in the first two rows.
In AM, a new face on the grid topped division rankings, as the AM pole position went to new driver Eric Flatt, the American talent made his debut in Kyalami with McLaren.
QUALIFYING SUMMARY (TOP 5):
- Haydan PRODGER (GBR) - Aston Martin - 1:47.600
- Declan ANDERSON (GBR) - McLaren - 1:47.600
- Tylor VERMAAK (RSA) - Bentley - 1:47.677
- Kieran RODD (GBR) - Ferrari - 1:47.680
- Fake GALAXY (AUT) - Ferrari - 1:48.040
SPRINT RACE:
The sprint race kicked off to almost immediate drama, as the top 3 went 3-wide through turn 2 at Crowthornes, where Tylor Vermaak ran wide away from Anderson and Prodger, the remaining two would clash up through the Jukskei Sweep, sending both drivers out wide, and forfeiting the lead away to Kieran Rodd of ETE, Fake Galaxy would be collected in the aftermath of Prodger and Anderson's crash, ultimately seeing him out of the Sprint in a heartbeat, along with Declan Anderson himself, also affected by the Lap 1 chaos was Eric Flatt, forcing an early pit stop by the new division polesitter, this pit stop would later open the doors for the division lead for Reuben Lewis of Invictus RT by Pipioqui.
Kieran Rodd would leap to the lead, with Tylor Vermaak in 2nd, and Zsolt Beefgartner in 3rd, Alan Alexander made 4th ahead of Kieron Macmillan for the top 5 after lap 1, 3 minutes into the Sprint, trouble would strike again, as Samuel Lynton-Bell would spin out of turn 6, colliding with the nearside barriers at turn 7. Elsewhere, Alan Alexander went on the offensive for 3rd against Beefgartner, securing the position away from the Hungarian talent with Lexus.
Toward the midway of the Sprint, Prodger had managed a way back toward the top 10, while Kieran Rodd led PRO, and Reuben Lewis continued to lead AM.
Action for the lead would not pick back up until the closing moments of the sprint, where it became readily apparent the front running drivers were attempting to pit at the last possible moment.
Kieran Rodd believed they had pit at the last possible point, but what came into the final lap would shock both media and the grid alike.
Both Tylor Vermaak and Kieron Macmillan came into the pits on the last lap of the race, with Vermaak still in the lead, normally, this would have been a clear penalty, but that only technically applies once the driver crosses the finish line, and that was the catch - neither Vermaak or Macmillan's pit boxes were after the finish line, subequently, where Kieran Rodd rounded turn 16 expecting a win, he found himself robbed of his first ever win by 3.6s as Tylor Vermaak won from inside the pit lane.
This was an outcome so controversial there were immediate calls for the win to be revoked, ultimately, Race Control came to the decision that while Vermaak's win would not be revoked, citing the absence of a rule in the NLRL Rulebook stating such a move to be illegal, any further attempts of this bizarre strategy were banned, marking the first time where the regulations were forced to change in the middle of an event.
As it stood, Tylor Vermaak stole away a win at home for the Sprint, behind him, a confused and understandably furious Kieran Rodd in 2nd and Kieron Macmillan secured 3rd (also from within the pits).
In AM, Reuben Lewis secured their first class win with Aston Martin and Invictus RT by Pipioqui ahead of Gabriel Rivera and Rúben Pinho for the class podium.
FEATURE RACE:
Confusion brewed on the grid heading toward the Feature as due to a disconnect during the Sprint, Declan Anderson was forced to start from the back, in the pit lane, Kieron Macmillan and teammate Taylor Wane both would start their race from the paddock, in Macmillan's case, it would not become a start at all, as he remained in the pits well after the lights went green.
As the grid rocketed away to turn 2, it was an astronomical start for Vermaak, immediately seizing P1 from Prodger, Alexander and Rodd made the 2nd row behind, both incredibly close to the leading fight, in AM, Eric Flatt led the charge from an overall 7th, with the nearest AM being 4 positions behind in the form of Reuben Lewis.
Drama ensued on lap 1, only this time it wasnt the PROs in trouble; it was the AMs. On the exit of turns 10-11, Pedro Lopo locked bumpers with Adrian Mittemeyer - who had only just been able to participate after technical difficulties left him out of the Sprint - sending the German driver to the grass, the ensuing wake of the incident caused another, as Nick Lamming accidentally ran new driver Alex Pratilas to the wall, leaving 3 cars damaged in the wake of one spin.
Pressure would continue to build at the head of the field, and into Lap 2 following a better exit at turn 16 on lap 1, Alan Alexander went on the attack against Haydan Prodger for P2, going side-by-side all the way through turns 1-4, Alexander completed the move for 2nd at turn 5, this shuffled Prodger to 3rd where he was immediately met by Kieran Rodd, toward the end of lap 2, Prodger would clip the inside kerb at Cheetah curve (turn 15) and was flung toward the gravel pit, allowing Rodd to snatch away 3rd, this brought Prodger to pit early as a precaution.
As the first 10 minutes of the Feature passed, more trouble found its way to Adrian Mittemeyer, as he ran into hardware failure at turn 10, leaving him once again out of the charge, at the same time, Declan Anderson ran off track at turn 15, the same affliction that plighted Prodger had befell Anderson twice during the feature, the #28 returned to the pits.
Past the halfway mark, fighting in the top 5 reached a boiling point as Fake Galaxy fought with Zsolt Beefgartner for 4th, after a wobbly exit to turn 9 by Beefgartner, Galaxy took the opportunity to leap for the inside at Turns 10-11, seizing away the position, Beefgartner retaliated with a late run on the brakes at Turn 13 to put the two back into side-by-side racing, a move that ultimately proved deadly as the two would collide at turn 15, with the #55 of Fake Galaxy retiring from the round after being spun by Beefgartner, this promoted Eric Flatt - still leading the AM division - to the overall top 5 before any pit stops.
In the closing minutes of the race, Alan Alexander had finally reeled in Tylor Vermaak, and the two Bentleys were locked into a fight for the lead into the closing laps of the Feature, a fight that would carry all the way to a predicted last-second stop, and in a pivotal turn to their fight, Alexander's pit strategy proved superior, a faster stop for the #315 allowed him to overtake Vermaak in the pits, emerging to the track in the lead of the race as the final lap began, Kieran Rodd chased Vermaak out of the pits, seeking out revenge for the end of the Sprint prior.
As the chequered flag waved in a dark and rainy Kyalami, it would be Alan Alexander to be reuinited with a win at Kyalami - for the first time in three seasons. It marked his career 3rd victory after Kyalami and Indianapolis. Tylor Vermaak finished a reluctant 2nd, and Kieran Rodd saw 3rd. In AM, Eric Flatt saw their first division win, with Gabriel Rivera 2nd and Reuben Lewis in 3rd.
RACE SUMMARY:
SPRINT:
PRO:
- Tylor VERMAAK (RSA) - Bentley - 5Star Esports
- Kieran RODD (GBR) - Ferrari - Euro Titans Endurance
- Zsolt BEEFGARTNER (HUN) - Lexus - NotLastRacing
- Kieron MACMILLAN - Ford - Monumental Motorsports
- Alan ALEXANDER (GBR) - Bentley - Euro Titans Endurance
AM:
- Reuben LEWIS - Aston Martin - Invictus RT by Pipioqui
- Gabriel RIVERA (ESP) - Lamborghini - 5Star Esports
- Rúben PINHO (POR) - Porsche - Invictus RT by Pipioqui
- Pedro LOPO (POR) - McLaren - Invictus RT by Pipioqui
- Eric FLATT (USA) - McLaren - Privateer
FEATURE:
PRO:
- Alan ALEXANDER (GBR) - Bentley - Euro Titans Endurance
- Tylor VERMAAK (RSA) - Bentley - 5Star Esports
- Kieran RODD (GBR) - Ferrari - Euro Titans Endurance
- Zsolt BEEFGARTNER (HUN) - Lexus - NotLastRacing
- Ken THOMAS (GBR) - Ferrari - Privateer
AM:
- Eric FLATT (USA) - McLaren - Privateer
- Gabriel RIVERA (ESP) - Lamborghini - 5Star Esports
- Reuben LEWIS - Aston Martin - Invictus RT by Pipioqui
- Pedro LOPO (POR) - McLaren - Invictus RT by Pipioqui
- Rúben PINHO (POR) - Porsche - Invictus RT by Pipioqui
DRIVER'S VIEW:
We spoke with Samuel Lynton-Bell on his struggles in Kyalami:
Lynton-Bell: "Very heartbroken with how that last race ended up, but its just the harsh reality of racing to be honest"
When asked on his thoughts to the road ahead and his motivations:
"Next few tracks looking a bit difficult" "I'm looking to give it my all, try to finish as high as I can and hopefully get better luck"
We also spoke with Reuben Lewis following their first division win of the season:
He spoke of his struggles in the Feature, lamenting how he didnt secure the feature win compared to his sprint victory - "As for the pace in the second race, I didn't have enough to keep up with (Gabriel) Rivera and I made a couple mistakes but the pace was just there in the first race and obviously I got lucky with the start"
When asked on his stance with his Aston Martin given a lively performance by both today:
"I mean there's definitely more pace to be found as shown with the triple-two Aston (Haydan Prodger) but in the AMs it was pretty nice to drive" "The pace today was great"
When asked on the road ahead:
"I think if I have good performance and if it is wet I could perform also well at Suzuka (Round 8)"
Round 8 of the NLRL Sunday League will take the grid to its final Endurance race for the season at the home of the Japanese GP at the Suzuka International Racing Course. All races of the NLRL Sunday League Season 7 can be found on demand on the TRTN YouTube channel and LIVE exclusively via TRTN through either Twitch or the Broadcast portal on XCLusive Racing. Results for the series can be found on SimGrid, under "NLRL Sunday League Season 7 - Brought to you by TRTN".