A week on from round two of The Sim Grid x VCO World Cup, we’re still getting over all of the drama from the 24 hours of Spa. It was billed as one of the biggest Assetto Corsa Competizione events of the year, and what unfolded throughout the weekend certainly lived up to the hype.
After such an enthralling race, there was plenty to talk about in the immediate aftermath. Of course, LADA Sport Rosneft stole the headlines by taking a surprise victory, but as is the case with any 24-hour race, the stories weren’t contained to the winner’s circle.
Beyond the podium places, the #22 Rocket Simsport entry also won plaudits for finishing as the best-placed non-Aston Martin team in ninth. However, if you watched our stream of the race, you would know all of that already. So, in this article, we’ll be going behind the scenes to talk to some of the other top performers who might not have caught your attention.
Kevin Siclari – Racing Line Motorsport #191
Ok, Kevin Siclari and the Racing Line Motorsport team did finish on the podium, but their race is still definitely worth covering in more detail. After all, who doesn’t like a good comeback story?
Things began well for the team as Siclari made good progress in the early stages. From eighth position on the grid, the #191 entry was soon latched onto the bumpers of the leading pack. However, ninety minutes into his first stint, the Italian pushed a little bit too hard…
“The start was good, but I made a mistake at the start of the second sector,” he explained. This led to an early and unplanned trip into the pits, but the team didn’t let that deter them.
“After that, we were pushing, pushing, pushing – and we had a good strategy as well,” Siclari said. “We made a good choice on tyres, and after two or three hours we were already back in the top six or seven. We lost two minutes from my mistake but we recovered very well.”
Two minutes feels like a lifetime in motorsport, so to regain all of that lost ground took some brave driving from the Racing Line Motorsport team.
“I remember one overtake from the first stint,” Siclari recalled. “It started at Eau Rouge and I had a very good exit, then I was able to get the overtake done on the Kemmel straight. It was mad, but it was a really fun move!”
As the hours ticked by, the #191 crew continued to creep up the order, until they entered battle with the #14 Unicorns of Love car for the final step on the podium. Things had been going well up to this point, but after one of the last rounds of pit stops, the Unicorns of Love car came out ahead.
“Our pace was pretty similar,” Siclari said. “We tried the undercut, but on the exit lap we had either a blue flag or lapped car – I can’t quite remember – so we lost time. Then when the Unicorns of Love car stopped, they came out in front.”
“It wasn’t very easy [to catch and re-pass them]. I tried but Jura Petritchenko is very fast. I did my best to try and catch him, but it wasn’t easy. It’s fine though, it’s fine, in the end we got a podium!”
Indeed, after the race-leading #211 entry did their best impression of Toyota at the 2016 edition of Le Mans, Racing Line Motorsport were elevated back up into the podium places. However, in Siclari’s eyes, things could have been even better for the team:
“It’s a big shame though because if it wasn’t for my mistake at the beginning, victory was possible, but err… stuff happens!”
Michael Romagnoli & Andrea Miatto – GTWR R8G Academy #164
In endurance racing, the constant twists of fate mean that there tends to be many different race leaders before the chequered flag finally waves.
At Spa, the #164 GTWR entry began their new alliance with Romain Grosjean’s R8G Academy in style, as they somewhat unexpectedly became one of those race leaders.
The team had qualified very well – second place on the grid to be exact – but as the crew had very little experience of 24-hour races, they weren’t necessarily considered to be one of the favourites for victory.
Nevertheless, the team put in an absolutely superb display in the opening hours, and for a long while had a stranglehold of first position. However, spectators and commentators alike were left in awe as the team opted to switch over to slick tyres amidst the heavy rain.
“It is true, we were the first to ride slick tyres when it was still raining,” Andrea Miatto said. “When we made that decision I was driving and the trajectory was starting to be dry enough to directly attempt the slicks tyres. The most important thing was to have the correct pressures because it is very easy to find yourself with very low pressures in rainy conditions with slicks.
“We had prepared well and tried these changes several times before the race, and we weren’t worried because we knew that the car would still be fast if we managed all the phases well, and so it was.”
As Miatto said, the team’s somewhat risky move paid off, and they were able to not only maintain their 48-second lead, but extend it.
However, endurance racing’s inevitable twist of fate soon struck, and sadly for the #164 crew, the lead of the race was lost overnight.
“Unfortunately during the night we misjudged the [tyre] pressures of two dry stints, which was the worst condition for our set-up and therefore they closed the gap.” Michael Romagnoli explained. “During the morning, a stop-go penalty definitively removed us from the podium.”
But, despite the initial disappointment, the GTWR Racing crew didn’t let misfortune get them down and went on to achieve a very respectable sixth place finish.
“We were very excited because it was our first 24 hour race, and we definitely didn’t expect to be there fighting for the leadership,” Romagnoli beamed. “There was a bit of regret in those moments, but we tried to focus and take home as many points as possible.”
Michael Mund – SimRC Endurance Team #76
Now, if you thought the end of the main race was dramatic, wait until you hear about Split 2.
With more than ninety cars entered for The Sim Grid x VCO World Cup, the teams are split into two divisions based on qualifying pace. However, given the quality of drivers involved in this tournament, the second split is still jam-packed full of talent – and that really came to the fore in the final laps of their event.
With twelve minutes to go the two leaders were bumper to bumper. The #81 entry of Black Hawk Racing was leading the way, but the #76 car of SimRC Endurance Team was within striking range.
After running side by side on the exit of La Source, the #76 scythed in front of the #81 just before Eau Rouge. But then, the unthinkable happened. The pace differential between the two cars through Raidillon resulted in front-to-rear contact, sending the #76 spinning into the barriers.
Fortunately, both cars were able to continue, albeit with the #76 sporting some damage. In a show of good sportsmanship, Black Hawk Racing let the SimRC crew back into the lead of the race at Les Combes, and from then on the order remained the same until the chequered flag was waved.
As far as stories go, this alone would have been a pretty spectacular one. However, it was made all the better by the fact that the SimRC Endurance Team had won the race despite starting dead last!
“We had technical issues – I had no audio, so I couldn’t make the start,” explained Michael Mund. “However, I could fix it during the formation lap, and then we rushed through the field.
“We nailed nearly every tyre pressure so we didn’t lose a lot of time in the pits [when the weather conditions changed], but towards the end the #81 was still way ahead.
“In the last two hours, their pace dropped a little bit and we could catch them. In the last fifteen minutes, it was a tight fight – they hit us, we hit them – and then in the end, we won. Unbelievable!”
Unbelievable for sure. For more top quality sim racing action, make sure to tune into round three of The Sim Grid x VCO World Cup, live from Donington Park on Saturday the 26th of June!
