As the More Female Racers by Thrustmaster grid prepared themselves for the final time this season, it was all eyes on the skies as the finale at Imola was set to be in wet conditions. It was this factor that acted as a catalyst to the action as everyone tried to fight through the conditions to secure their final championship positions. With both championships still to play for, it was an eventful hour of racing that produced many surprises.
Pro Class’ final podium
Taking their fourth win of the season and with it sealing the championship crown in Pro Class, was Jean Alesi Esports Academy drivers Mia and Aenore Rose. Mia Rose took her fourth pole position, as she blitzed the pack despite the treacherous conditions. As the lights went green, she was unchallenged off the line since Aloo Gobi from Map1 Racing was forced to start from the pitlane, but this was the last the pack saw of the Mercedes, as both Mia and Aenore disappeared into the distant gloom, eventually finishing an incredible sixty-three seconds ahead of second-place; a true champions’ drive.
In second place for the third time this series was Triple A Esports from Timea Bencsik and Adam Pinczes. Despite the conditions, they both also had a relatively lonely race, although they had some overtaking to do after losing out in the drag race to turn one. Once Bencsik was handed second place after Jemma Moore in the Team J Bentley made a mistake, it was all about consistency for the duo, as one small slip-up would see their potential podium slide out of their grasp. However, they had no such troubles as they rounded out the season matching their highest finish and securing second place in the championship.
Stepping up onto the podium for the first time this season was Sarah Johnson and Jyri Turkia from the Pineapple Pizza team. After a solid qualifying from Johnson, it was all to play for. As other teams tripped up, neither Johnson nor Turkia put a foot wrong. This consistency paired with good pit strategy and a few smooth overtakes saw them lying within reach of the final podium spot. However, Turkia had the task of defending from Oskar Sandberg in the Turn1 Bentley, but he managed to hang on, ending their season on a high and leaving them with strong momentum ahead of a possible third season of racing. This finish brought them within just three points of GTWR Female Racing 1, but it wasn’t quite meant to be.
Here are the top five finishers in the Pro class standings after round five:
- Jean Alesi Esports Academy – 170 points
- Triple A Esports – 129 points
- GTWR Female Racing 3 – 104 points
- Map1 Racing – 103 points
- GTWR Female Racing 1 – 96 points
Pro-AM’s podium and title contenders
Unlike the Pro class, Pro-AM’s champion was still undecided heading to Imola. The fight for the win was still wide open, but after qualifying looked to realistically be between BSKIT Motorsport MFR and Star Girl Racing. This was a fight that had been raging on all season long, but only one could emerge from the rain victorious.
Taking class win number three of the season and the Pro-AM championship was BSKIT Motorsport MFR from Jenny Camugli, Declan Bowler and Imola stand-in, Daniel Andrews. With the team entering Imola slightly ahead of Star Girl Racing, their sole objective was to keep ahead of them, as this would secure them the championship honours. After qualifying ahead of them and second place in class, it was advantage to Camugli who took the Nissan’s seat first. She had a great stint, nibbling at the overall podium for a while as she “just tried to build a gap to the cars behind” for when Andrews took over, but as he came home first in class thirty minutes later to secure the championship win, it was pure elation for all of the team.
In second place in class was Verena Mei and Gregor Schill from Star Girl Racing. They were in the hunt for championship honours right until the dying moments of the race, but they just fell short of BSKIT Motorsport MFR. Their race wasn’t as smooth as they would have liked, as Mei got caught up in incidents during her stint, hindering, but not eliminating, their hopes of the championship win. As Schill jumped into the car, he threw everything at it to try and catch Daniel Andrews ahead but saw his chance fall away as he was handed a fifteen-second time penalty from the stewards for an earlier incident. Although he managed to catch Andrews, he had no chance of taking the win, placing them second on track and in the final championship standings.
After the final round, here’s how the top of Pro-AM’s standings lie:
- BSKIT Motorsport MFR – 150
- Star Girl Racing – 140
- Team Edison – 127
- NSN MFR – 98
- Moore Freaky Racing – 96
Imola’s stand-out drive
Imola saw the heavens open for the first time this season, throwing a spanner in the works and setting us up for one of the best races of the series. However, amongst the spins, slides and mistakes, there was one team who stood out as having one of the best comeback drives to date. This was from the Map1 Racing McLaren of Aloo Gobi and Jens Kaiser.
After qualifying second, they were ready to take the fight to Jean Alesi Esports Academy at the front, but it all went south for them after a mishap on the grid forced a pitlane start onto their shoulders. As they now lied at the back of the pack, it was game time for them. As they roared past their competitors, they were on a mission to take a strong finish to round out their season. It was certainly a strong finish for them, as both Gobi and Kaiser stormed forwards, finishing an incredible sixth place by the flag, fourteen places higher than at the end of the first lap.
Reflecting on the season
After an action-packed five-race series, More Female Racers by Thrustmaster has become one of fans’ favorite series’ to watch as the rapidly improving grid produced incredible action week in, week out. Both champions saw their ups and downs, but eventually, it was Jean Alesi Esports Academy and BSKIT Motorsport MFR who became the stars of the season. For the best sim racing gear, check out title sponsor, Thrustmaster, and for more high-octane racing, head to The Sim Grid’s YouTube channel.
