Another season of More Female Racers – Powered by Mercedes-AMG has drawn to a close! With Aenore Rose securing the Pro title at the end of Round 4, all eyes were on the AM class at Kyalami — where the title fight was still ongoing — with three contenders giving their all to bring home the final win.
Aenore Rose adds two more wins to the tally
With the announced absence of Alexa Gates (who SimGrid wishes a speedy recovery!), we missed the chance to see her and Aenore Rose going wheel to wheel for one last time in this season. Even though Rose already claimed the Season 6 Pro class title, she did not seem to be willing to leave anything on the table coming into the final round.
Pole position, two race wins and two fastest laps came from two races perfectly managed, as Rose avoided any possible accidents at the start and built a comfortable lead over her teammate Mia Rose through her consistency.
The final round has been a perfect summary of the fight at the top of the Pro class during this season of More Female Racers, in which Aenore Rose won nine races out of ten. And she’s looking for more in the future. “I felt really good about the season as a whole. I will definitely be coming back for the next one, if there is a next one”.
Lisa Louise claims AM title despite scary moment
The AM class had not determined a winner yet heading into the season finale. Following a crucial double win at Watkins Glen, Lisa Louise entered the final round with the lead of the standings, but with Tiodora Kasonavic and Maya Laferla close behind. Louise had already used her drop round by missing the first two races of the season, meaning that she had no margin for error.
Kasonavic went fastest in the AM qualifying, with Maya Laferla and Lisa Louise close behind. In Race 1, championship leader Louise managed to stay clear of any type of trouble with smart race management. On the contrary, Laferla was involved in a Turn 1 incident, receiving a five-second time penalty which left Kasonavic and Louise alone to fight for the race win. Kasonavic seemed to have a slight pace advantage over Louise, but she found herself stuck behind Josie Austen.
With Kasonavic unable to make a move on Austen, Louise closed the gap. The winding nature of the Kyalami circuit never really gave her the chance to make a move, resulting in a P2 finish.
In Race 2, things quickly took a different twist. Kasonavic got caught up in an accident on Lap 1 and reported severe damage and she had to settle for P4. With no one in front of her, Louise looked in control, but she had a scary moment when her wheel disconnected during the second lap. Luckily for Louise, force feedback returned a few corners later and she could claim the race and championship win. Laferla took the chequered flag in second, with Maryn Edwards ending in P3.
Taking a look back at Season 6
Looking back at the overall results, it is pretty clear that Aenore Rose had the edge over the rest of the Pro field.
Alexa Gates always tried to put up a fight and definitely deserved to win a race for her efforts, even if she was often at a pace deficit to the dominant Aenore Rose. Nevertheless, the enlarged Pro class always guaranteed entertaining midfield battles and, as a result, we have seen a lot of different names stepping onto the podium throughout the season.
While we often tend to focus on the front of the Pro field, the AM class has been just as entertaining to watch. Coming into Kyalami, Louise, Kasonavic and Laferla all had a shot at winning the championship and Maryn Edwards wasn’t far behind. Uncertainty was always present in AM class this season — something signified by the five different race winners from the five rounds.
Season 6 went by quickly, but we already cannot wait to see everyone back on track at The SimGrid. In the meantime, you can rewatch every round from Season 6 on the SimGrid YouTube channel.
