Round three of the SimGrid Endurance Cup was just about some of the best racing you can get in the suburbs of Monterey, California at the tight and distinctly American circuit of Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca. 8 manufactures took the top 10 positions at the checkered flag Being notoriously difficult to overtake here, there was certainly no shortage of drama throughout the 3-hour race…
LADA Sport ROSNEFT dominate Laguna Seca unchallenged
Taking advantage of a mistake made on the first lap by polesitter Michael Romagnoli in the GTWR R8G Academy #28 Ferrari, Yaroslav Shevyrtalov in the LADA Sport ROSNEFT #41 Aston Martin quickly took the lead with a clean pass down the inside into the treacherous turn 6 and took control of the race as they began pulling away from the field.
While the rest of the race was relatively uneventful for the Russian duo as no one had the pace to catch them, Egor Ogorodnikov certainly did what he could to give us a show with a mesmerizing dive between battling blue flagged cars coming into the corkscrew.
After finishing with an enormous 59 second lead over 2nd place, Egor said in a post-race interview “That was one of our best races, every time we are surprised at our result.” He went on to comment on their championship lead with optimism, “Our difference in standings is now not so weak.” LADA Sport ROSNEFT now leads the championship ahead of YAS HEAT Richard Mille by 10 points.
Monster drive by YAS HEAT Richard Mille, starting 18th and finishing 2nd
While the LADA squad was running away with the lead, Jaroslav Honzik in the #149 YAS HEAT Richard Mille Ferrari, starting in 18th, was charging through the field, gaining 9 positions by the time he handed it over to Eamonn Murphy. Murphy then brought them up to a net P2, as the SFR Italia #446 Lexus in front made a driver swap error that required them to make an extra stop before the end of the race.
Right behind the Lexus and with a 12-second gap to the car behind, Honzik took no chances on overtaking a car that was going to pit eventually anyway, so he sat behind them and maintained the gap to the car behind, ultimately scoring their third 2nd place finish in a row, with a healthy gap to the Team Fordzilla Lexus #66 car in 3rd.
Laguna Seca is a fairly narrow track with limited options for racing lines, making overtaking notoriously difficult. Taking 16 positions in 3 hours on Laguna Seca in such a competitive grid is nothing short of remarkable, and truly highlights the pace and racecraft of the YAS HEAT team.
A new podium finisher
In the prior two races, only 3 teams finished on the podium in either of them: LADA Sport ROSNEFT, YAS HEAT Richard Mille, and Odox Motorsport. As Team Fordzilla Lexus finished in 3rd after nothing short of an incredible display of great racecraft, Saturday that changed.
In what was arguably the best battle of the race, Fabian Piffet in the Team Fordzilla Lexus put relentless pressure onto Jarno Kausch in the GTRC Endurance Team #911 Porsche in a fight for net P3. Kausch put up an extremely strong defence and seemed almost unphased by the pressure of the hungry Lexus breathing down his neck. Nevertheless, Piffet made his way past with a spectacular move, making it stick on the outside coming into the corkscrew.
Once past the GTRC Porsche, Team Fordzilla Lexus settled comfortably into 3rd place, bagging their first podium after a strong showing at the northern Californian race track.
What’s coming next for the Endurance Cup?
With three races in the bag and two to go, LADA Sport ROSNEFT leads by 10 points going into the 9H of Paul Ricard. While they’ve extended their gap, they are still very much under threat by YAS HEAT Richard Mille, who has been very consistent throughout the series, scoring three consecutive 2nd place finishes. With only two races to go and the championship race being so close, mistakes will be punished heavily, making the stakes as high as ever. Join us on Saturday, July 3rd, for the 9 Hours of Paul Ricard for what will surely be an exciting race on the wide and flowing track in southern France.
