Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan
Round 8 of Sunday League Season 7 took the grid to the home of the Japanese GP, at a dark and cloudy Suzuka International Racing Course for the second and last Enduro of the season.
Heading through Free Practice, Carlos Diesch made his way back into the field after an absence in Kyalami, he, alongside teammate Fake Galaxy, led through Practice 1-2 ahead of Zsolt Beefgartner of NotLastRacing Lexus. In AM, Adrian Mittemeyer led ahead of Pedro Lopo and Grant Moyer.
As Qualifying got underway, it became an early lead for Fake Galaxy in PRO, and Adrian Mittemeyer in AM, in the case of both, their times proved for the most part inpenetrable as both held class poles at the end of Qualifying, Fake Galaxy took pole position overall ahead of Tylor Vermaak in 2nd, and Patrick Leger in 3rd. 5Star took a majority stake in the Top 5 against ETE, at 60% / 40%
QUALIFYING SUMMARY (TOP 5)
- Fake GALAXY (AUT) - Ferrari - 1:59.155
- Tylor VERMAAK (RSA) - Bentley - 1:59.252
- Patrick LEGER (NED) - Ford - 1:59.282
- Declan ANDERSON (GBR) - McLaren - 1:59.767
- Carlos DIESCH (SUI) - Ferrari - 1:59.852
RACE:
29 Cars braced for impact for the last 90m Enduro of the season, and as the lights went green, action immediately followed at the front row, as Vermaak and Galaxy went side-by-side into turn 1-2, with Galaxy defending the lead. Trouble would also follow toward the end of the opening lap as Pedro Lopo entered a half-spin out of 130R, narrowly avoiding contact with oncoming drivers.
The pressure would remain between the leading Ferrari of Fake Galaxy and the attacking Bentley of Tylor Vermaak, all up until Lap 3, where at the heavy braking zone into the Casio Triangle (T16-18) Vermaak would collide with Galaxy, sending the #55 off track, Vermaak would proceed ahead to the lead, in a controversial change of the lead, Leger would snap up 2nd, with Galaxy rejoining in 3rd, behind, Anderson and Diesch fought for 4th. At the same time as this, Adrian Mittemeyer ran into trouble in the same section, and would drop the lead to Gabriel Rivera, Mittemeyer would ultimately retire from the race a few laps later.
On Lap 5, Diesch would launch his assault for 4th on Anderson, a move that resulted in contact at turns 1-2, with Anderson saving a slide into turn 2, ultimately dropping to 5th, where he would go on the defensive against Beefgartner, Beefgartner would take 5th 3 laps later.
Disaster struck in the AM Category on Lap 10, where newcomer Mikael Qvarnstrom would collide with Pedro Lopo at 130R (T15), Lopo would rejoin with damages.
On Lap 13, Beefgartner caught up to and intercepted Carlos Diesch for 4th. 6 Laps later, Julian Acquati fought Eric Flatt for the AM Division 3rd place spot, a move that would come undone after completion as on exit of turn 2, Acquati's Mercedes would violently lose control and enter a spin.
Troubles across the grid would persist well past the halfway, as Declan Anderson span at turn 7 on Lap 23, colliding with the nearside wall at speed, collecting severe damages.
Vermaak and Leger would remain inseperable throughout the race, representing one of the longest fights we had ever seen in Sunday League history.
On Lap 37, disaster unfolded on the run to 130R, as an initial contact that saw newcomer William Keating spin Sam Angel would be collected by an oncoming pack of fighting cars, unable to dodge in time, Eric Flatt would collide with the stranded Aston Martin at well over 120mph, ending his race instantly.
In the closing 15 minutes of the race, Carlos Diesch (for reasons presently unknown) was found stranded at the Casio Triangle, sundering the hopes for a strong result in the race.
Vermaak and Leger's fighting would continue into the closing laps of the race, where it became increasingly obvious that Leger had the pace to intercept the race lead over Vermaak.
As the chequered flag rose, it met Tylor Vermaak first among the frey to an ultra close finish to Patrick Leger, securing Vermaak's 17th career victory in the Sunday League. Zsolt Beefgartner would finish 3rd to round out the PRO Podium. In AM, Rivera saw an early lead out to another class victory, ahead of Julian Acquati and newcomer Sean Phillips.
RACE SUMMARY (TOP 5):
PRO:
- Tylor VERMAAK (RSA) - Bentley - 5Star Esports
- Patrick LEGER (NED) - Ford - 5Star Esports
- Zsolt BEEFGARTNER (HUN) - Lexus - NotLastRacing
- Fake GALAXY (AUT) - Ferrari - Euro Titans Endurance
- Jonny MATTEAGI (LUX) - McLaren - Privateer
AM:
- Gabriel RIVERA (ESP) - Lamborghini - 5Star Esports
- Julian ACQUATI (NOR) - Mercedes-AMG - 5Star Esports
- Sean PHILLIPS (GBR) - Ferrari - Privateer
- Rúben PINHO (POR) - Porsche - INVICTUS RT by Pipioqui
- Mikael QVARNSTROM (SWE) - Ferrari - Privateer
DRIVER'S VIEW:
We spoke with Patrick Leger on his close finish with teammate Vermaak.
Leger: "Vermaak got very lucky today - I think today I was confident I was the fastest guy" "I'm proud of my pace today"
When asked if there had been one more lap, that we could have been speaking to the race winner: "(laughing) maybe so, maybe so-."
Fighting words from a strong fighter on the Sunday League grid, we look forward to where fighting takes them next.
Round 9 takes the grid to the jewel of the British Motorsporting crown at Silverstone, in a round that could very well decide the fate of the championship, 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"