A broken win streak, but it does not matter. Following Round 4 at Watkins Glen, Aenore Rose was crowned champion of More Female Racers Season 6 – Powered by Mercedes-AMG. The second title in a row for the Queens’ Design racer comes at the end of a perfect championship. With one race still on the calendar, Alexa Gates cannot mathematically reach Rose anymore with the drop-round rule in place.
Rose dominates race 1 at Watkins Glen
With six wins in six races, Aenore Rose started the Watkins Glen racing weekend with a clear idea in mind: bring home the title as soon as possible. Fastest in qualifying, Rose was then able to pull away from the rest of the field in Race 1 with strong pace and with special help coming from teammate Mia Rose.
Title runner Alexa Gates, starting from P3, aggressively dived down the inside of Mia Rose at the start, intending to chase down Aenore. Unfortunately for Gates, Mia Rose had other plans in mind and immediately started to push to gain the position back, making it difficult for Gates to keep her at bay.
Gates and Mia Rose never backed out from the battle and they made contact multiple times. Both racers had to make spectacular saves. An entertaining battle for the public, not so much for the involved drivers. Gates was later hit by a 5 seconds penalty, while Mia Rose made a costly mistake at the chicane. Later on, Race Direction handed her a 10 seconds time penalty for an incident with Sara Dove.
The busy race favoured Aenore Rose, who was able to take the chequered flag in first with a comfortable margin, ahead of Gates and Mia Rose, who were both able to keep the podium positions.
Gates’ defensive masterclass ends Rose’s winning streak
Seeing your rival winning every single race may discourage many, but not Alexa Gates. In Race 2, she made another brilliant start, overtaking Aenore Rose and taking the lead. Both Aenore and Mia Rose tried to gain the position back for the following 30 minutes, but they fell short as Gates was able to keep them at bay.
“Around Watkins Glen, it is very difficult to make a move around the outside of any corner, so it was just about sticking to the inside line”, Gates explained at the end of the race. “It’s crucial to optimise your run as much as you can, or impact your rival’s run as much as you can by going ever so slightly slower through the corner”.
A risky strategy, but a very highly rewarding one as well.
Despite being a bit slower on pure pace, Gates was able to resist for the whole 30 minutes, ending Rose’s winning streak and taking her first win in this championship – a deserved success.
Louise takes crucial double win in the AM championship fight
The AM field might have had less track action at Watkins Glen, but it still has a lot to say when we take a look at the standings.
Lisa Louise clearly had a pace advantage on American soil. Starting from P2, she was overtaken by Eris Aphelion at the start. But this was then deemed an illegal move, as Aphelion was later hit by a Drive Through penalty for speeding at the start. The latter had to settle for P3, while Louise and Maryn Edwards claimed the first two steps of the podium.
Louise then went on to claim the second win of the evening in Race 2 – a crucial result that puts her in the lead of the standings heading into the final round. Coming home in second was Maya Laferla, bouncing back after finishing race 1 down in P5. Laferla showcased a strong pace and the right dose of opportunism. In fact, some midfield chaos at the start slowed down some AM racers, helping Laferla in her comeback drive. Eris Aphelion took the final podium spot for the second time in a row, keeping the title fight alive.
On Monday the 29th of May, we will be heading to Kyalami for the final round of this sixth edition of More Female Racers. Aenore Rose has already secured the Pro title, but nothing is decided yet in AM. Louise, Laferla, Aphelion and Edwards: who will be crowned champion? Make sure to tune in on the SimGrid YouTube for one last time!
