The third round of the endurance cup took place at the Circuit Zolder and it did not disappoint with the pressure beginning to build as the season reached its midway point. The race had it all with; overtakes, surprise results and big names climbing through the field. In the end, the victory was taken by the #149 YAS HEAT Mercedes after a number of dramatic events shuffling the podium spots around from start to end. The climatic finish led to a shakeup in the overall standings with the top five overall places being separated by only fifty points, leaving everything to still be played for.
The Podium performers.
The race looked to be won from the beginning with the #149 YAS HEAT Mercedes capitalising on their pole position and gapping the field in the early stages of the race. However, as the sun began to rise over the circuit, an uncharacteristic spin from the #149 YAS HEAT Mercedes handed the lead to the #157 GTWR Simulator Giantruck Lamborghini with the #191 Racingline motorsport Ferrari close behind in second. This minor set back did not break the spirit of the YAS HEAT team with an aggressive drive from that point onwards allowing them to climb back to first with just under two hours to go. The difficulties did not end there for the #149 Yas heat Mercedes, as they entered a heated battle with the #191 Racingline Motorsport Ferrari with an hour to go – ending in a 5-second penalty for the Yas Heat team. Once the penalty had been served in the pits, the #149 Yas heat Mercedes had one hour remaining to regain the eight-second gap to the #191 Racingline Motorsport Ferrari. Once Yas Heat was within striking distance of the #191 Racingline Motorsport Ferrari, disaster struck once again, and an incident occurred for the #191 Racingline Motorsport Ferrari leading to a spin causing them to lose the lead with only nine minutes remaining. This spin became the deciding factor in this gruelling race at Zolder handing the #149 Yas Heat Mercedes the win despite all the setbacks that came their way.
The #191 Racingline Motorsport Ferrari gave us all a show to enjoy throughout the four hours of racing at Zolder. The team started in the fourth position, giving them a second-row start and an opportunity to fight for the lead right from the start. A great jump off the line and a calculated first lap gave the Ferrari third place for the first phase of the race. From here on out the #191 Racingline motorsport Ferrari kept in touching distance with the #157 GTWR Simulator Giantruck Lamborghini and #149 Yas Heat Ferrari waiting for their moment to strike and take the lead. This consistency and patience rewarded the team with a mistake from the #149 Yas Heat Mercedes handing them one more position. With the #191 Racingline Motorsport Ferrari now in second place the team now set their sights on that coveted top spot. It didn’t take long for a battle for first to begin with the #157 GTWR Simulator Giantruck Lamborghini. The heated battle unfortunately ended in contact during the turn eight braking zone sending the Lamborghini into the wall. As the clock began to count down to the final stages of the race they held the lead until the final moments when they were caught up with a backmarker ending in a spin on track and consequently losing the lead to the #149 Yas Heat Mercedes. The #191 Racingline motorsport Ferrari had all the bad luck you could imagine at Zolder but despite this, a brilliant performance allowed them to secure second place bringing their best result of season two.
The final spot on the podium was rounded out by the #888 Coach Dave Academy Lexus that stormed through the field from a starting position of ninth place. The #888 Coach Dave Academy Lexus put on a great show proving the mantra we have all heard, points are only won on race day. The start for the #888 Coach Dave Academy Lexus was one of patience, climbing through the field at a gradual pace whilst staying out of trouble and capitalising on others’ mistakes. The battle for fourth place allowed the #888 Lexus to creep up behind the pack and the start of the second hour saw the Lexus finally claim the battle for fourth. The pressure they put onto the #39 Food Critics Mercedes in the final hour led to track limits being breached and a drive-through being handed #39 Food Critics Mercedes – giving the #888 Coach Dave Academy Lexus the final spot on the podium with just fifteen minutes remaining. The #888 Coach Dave Academy Lexus showed that consistency and patience was the game to play at Zolder coming out of round 3 with their best result of the season yet.
The stand out teams
The #872 ACR – TX3 Bentley started the race outside of the top ten down in 14th place, which if this was their final position in the race would have still become their best result to date. However, the #872 ACR – TX3 team did not stop there, showing they had a hunger for more right from the start. After the first hour of the race, the #872 ACR – TX3 Bentley began to find its ultimate pace putting in some of the best laps on track while in a close battle with the Rocket Esports Mclaren’s. The battle with the #23 Zansho Rocket Esports Mclaren and the #22 Rocket Zansho Esports Mclaren became one that was seen throughout the race. There was not a moment where these three cars were separated by any more than two places. However, it was the #872 ACR – TX3 Bentley that finally came out on top taking that fifth-place spot from the #22 Mclaren with less than an hour to go. Soon after this due to the penalty dished out to the #39 Mercedes the #872 ACR – TX3 Bentley finished the race in a season-best of fourth place. The #872 ACR – TX3 Bentley put on a great show for all at Zolder showing they can fight with the top teams on their day.
Once again the #27 Jean Alesi Esports Academy Aston Martin put in a stellar performance during the race. The #27 Aston started the race down in twentieth position and rose through the field to a mighty sixth place. The first hour of the race was one of overtaking for the #27 Jean Alesi Esports Academy Aston, as they began to enter the fringes of the top ten positions before the first round of pitstops. Their relentless pace didn’t end there with the next three hours seeing them slowly climb through the field showing us all that they can overtake on track when it counts. The #27 Jean Alesi Esports Academy Aston Marton’s rise up the field ended with sixth position but in relation to their twentieth place starting position the team could not have asked for anything better. It can safely be said if the seam can improve their one lap place in qualifying they are capable of battling for those top spots.
The teams who missed out
As with every race comes bad luck for some and Zolder was no exception with two of the biggest names in the series being hit with their lowest positions of the season so far.
The #157 GTWR Simulator Giantruck Lamborghini right from the start looked to be in with a chance for victory. The team led the way for the first hour and half of the race keeping both the #191 Racingline motorsport 191 Ferrari and the #149 Yas Heat Mercedes in check. Everything was looking great until it all began to go wrong for the #157 GTWR Simulator Giantruck Lamborghini when there was contact with the #191 Racingline motorsport Ferrari sending the Lamborghini into the wall. With this, the team dropped to fourth and pushed to regain the last of the podium positions. Despite a damaged car the #157 GTWR Simulator Giantruck Lamborghini put on a great show defending hard and eventually regaining third place. The team took an early pitstop to try and gain some time on the leaders but the hammer was brought down and they were handed a fifteen second time penalty undoing all the work they had done to get back into contention. Despite all this, the team came home to finish tenth overall just clinching onto the overall season lead as we move into the final two rounds.
Looking to the #999 Ambassadors for Rennwelten Mercedes who came out last round at Imola and dominated. However, this race was not so kind to them and unfortunately, they were unable to finish the race. The start was not bad for the team with them gaining a few places in the opening stint. The #999 Ambassadors for Rennwelten Mercedes continued to climb through the field reaching tenth place and showing great defending skills against the #23 Rocket Esports Mclaren. From this point on the race began to get away from the #999 Ambassadors for Rennwelten Mercedes entering into the turn five chicane too hot going on the grass and losing several places. Further, into the race, the team was given a drive-through penalty sending them down even further in the field. The pain did not end there with more time penalties being dished out in the final hour and contact spinning them round to end it all. Unfortunately, the #999 Ambassadors for Rennwelten Mercedes was struck with every piece of bad luck imaginable and ended their race with a DNF.
What to expect at Paul Ricard
The next round will see another four-hour race at the Circuit Paul Ricard bringing a new set of challenges for the competitors to overcome. Not only that but the championship battle is far from over with the top three within twenty-two points, so it really is all still to play for. Racing gets underway on the 6th of February and is not one to be missed, as this will play a key role in deciding the series champions.
As always if you want to test your racing skills against some of the best drivers in ACC get yourself signed up to The Sim Grid and try your hand out at some competitive ACC racing leagues. Not only this but if you want to stay one step ahead and get yourself a tried and tested setup created by Zolders podium finishers then head over to the Coach Dave Academy and purchase a setup for your favourite GT3 or GT4 car.
