The first race of season two of The Sim Grid Endurance Cup was one full of action, but GTWR Simulator Giantruck led the field for nearly the entirety of the race as they showed their class at the front. Meanwhile, behind them, the podium places were wide open as the drivers battled to get the early championship jump.
The Podium Performers
Adding yet another victory under their Sim Grid belt was GTWR Simulator Giantruck Lamborghini, who won by an impressive forty-three seconds. After claiming pole position it was their race to lose, but they kept their cool and held off the charging pack as they stormed to the checkered flag. In keeping their lead, they raced within half a second of their challengers for almost the entirety of their first stint, but as the drivers behind tripped, they showed no such fault.
Taking second place at Barcelona was the #14 Odox Motorsport Mercedes, who drove well after looking to be out of podium contention in the middle sector of the race. They started the race right on the tail of the leading Lamborghini and were challenging for the lead on multiple occasions, but as they entered the second stint their pace dropped, in unity with their position as they fell to sixth. However, into the fourth hour, they looked to have regained their lost pace. They made multiple moves to climb the order, but most importantly kept their nose clean whilst the drivers around them suffered from penalties as they took second place.
Rounding out the podium was the #149 Lamborghini from YAS HEAT. They had quite the rollercoaster of a race, suffering from multiple penalties but scything through the field at the same time. Throughout the first hour of racing, they charged through the pack, entering the first round of stops right up behind the top three, but here they served a fifteen second time penalty which dropped them back down the order. This would often hurt the team mentally, but they picked themselves back up brilliantly and carried on their charge. It was once more success as their pace was impeccable and by the final hour they were in P2, but yet another fifteen second time penalty dropped them back down to third as the Odox Motorsport Mercedes took full advantage of their misfortune. Despite the penalties, they showed great pace, and the ability to make passing opportunities become realities.
The stand out teams
One of the best drives from the pack of top tier teams was from the #56 Like and Subscribe team, Mercedes. They qualified relatively well but had a pretty uneventful first portion of the race, however, later into the four-hour endurance the race played into their hands. Their pace was good and they kept clean throughout, with the only exception being a first-hour spin that gave them work to do later on. They showed their class and weren’t afraid to make moves, a key skill in endurance racing.
Another of the best but this time most consistent performances were from the Coach Dave Academy #888 Lexus, who gained seven positions throughout the course of the race. They had a great start as they moved up three positions, and from then on, they were clean and consistent as they surged up through the field. They endured multiple battles and played strategy well, all factors that are very important over longer length races.
Despite these great races, one of the most fascinating drives to watch had to have been from the #101 Silver Racing Team Lamborghini. They were one of the teams to watch even from the very beginning as they jumped a whopping ten positions on lap one alone. They continued to show that they weren’t a team that would hold back when it comes to battles, so provided us with some great action. Despite finishing twelfth, their result is still more than credible, especially when paired with the racecraft they showed.
The teams who missed out
Although Barcelona bought us some incredible drives, with it being the first round of a new season, there was always going to be some teams that didn’t quite perform as they would have hoped.
One of the teams who missed out on a great result and a big handful of points at Barcelona was the Jean Alesi Esports Academy Aston Martin machine. They drove to near perfection throughout the early hours of the race as they excelled under the pressure of fighting for the lead and looked to be on for a faultless podium finish, but in the last stint, they were penalised hard after an unsafe rejoin. Because of this, they were now fourth and were carrying a ten-second stop and go penalty. This demoted them to eighth at the final results, a disappointing finish compared to where they deserved.
Another of the teams who didn’t get the result they wanted was the #39 FOOD CRITICS Mercedes. They qualified just inside the top ten, but this quickly improved in the first stint as they got into their rhythm much faster than those around them. Not only that but they showed a consistently strong pace throughout the later stints as they looked to be on the road for a podium finish. However, their race took a turn for the worst whilst they tried to keep the #149 YAS HEAT car behind them in a bid to keep third. They made contact, sending the FOOD CRITICS Mercedes into the turn two gravel trap, allowing the #14 Odox Motorsport team to pass too. They could have had a spot on the podium, but it didn’t go their way.
What to expect at Imola
The next round of the Endurance Cup is at Imola, a historic circuit that’s adored by Sim Racers from all parts of the Assetto Corsa Competizione community. After being a recent addition to the game, the teams haven’t had the usual length of time to practice, meaning that the race could be more eventful than ever, especially considering how tough it can be to overtake at Imola.
As well as Imola being released, one of The Sim Grid’s sponsors, Coach Dave Academy, has just recently released its high-quality setups for the Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo and Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo, so make sure to head to the CDA Store to get your hands on them.
