RES - Round 5 is upon us!

Tensions rose as the last round of the Raceroom Endurance Series approached last Sunday. The final round challenged the drivers and their teams to a 2 hour dash to the finish line as all 4 titles were up for grabs! The battles were underway as the competitors entered the Qualifying session at Spa. In lmp2 it was Georg Ortner who stole pole position from John Dalton and J.Schelstaete by 0.0970 seconds! The battle for pole position in GT3 was also close, with R.Arella taking the front row by just 0.05 seconds from the Ford GT of Jeremy Mook! The lights turned green and the 2 Hours of Spa had begun. A good start from John Dalton in the No.07 Radical would see him take the lead at turn 1 with Georg Ortner close behind. In GT3 however chaos would strike Jeremy Mook as the car fails to move off the start line, causing contact with a few of the cars behind. As John Dalton Climbed Eal rouge for the first time in his lmp2 the rest of the GT3 field was already fighting fiercly for track position. After a hectic start the GT3 field was thrown into disarray with drivers taking advantage of the front rows trying to avoid a collision. Several laps into the race the fighting continued, with M.Sanderson, D.Boon, C.Mathieson, C.Durselen and K.Sulkiewicz fighting for 5th in class! Not 1 second further up the road was the battle for 3rd in class between J.Forsberg and J.Mitcheel who had an amazing start to the race. In lmp2 the pole man Gorge Ortner would go off track on the run down to Eal Rouge as his Radical SR9 struggled for grip, he would fall down to 4th in class a result, allowing J.Dalton to retain the lead. In GT3 M.Sanderson was able to catch up to J.Mitchell. The two fought for x2 laps for 4th in class, however M.Sanderson was able to take the position while going into Eal Rouge on the inside line. We saw a Valiant attempt to take the position back by J.Mitchell through La Combe but good defending from the Garage 59 driver would see him hold the position. On the very same lap. C.Mathieson went wide while entering turn 14 (Campus) allowing D.Boon in the other Garage 59 Mclaren to move into 6th. Meanwhile at the front of the pack, R.Arella and R.Indyka were using this time wisely, putting down fast and consistent lap times to gain a comfortable lead. The first pit stops began to take place and the two categories started to come across one another. Leading the charge into the GT3 traffic was J.Dalton, weaving in and out of the field he collided with J.Forsberg as they both entered the bus stop. Both would be able to continue the race. Half way into the race and the fight for the top spot in LMP2 had not changed, J.Dalton still led the way with G.Ortner right on his tail. Also in on the fight was the #26 driven by Goerges Deurwaerder for R2GT motorsport, who had made an amazing recovery drive after the start. In GT3 Jeremy Mook took the inside line of turn 1, stealing 4th in class from the Audi driver of C.Mathieson. Also battleing for position was L.Bitala and the Mercedes of Dirk Bachmann. Dirk would eventually pass the BMW driver to take 12th in class which would turn out to be a fatal blow for BMW team. Back in LMP2 there was another change in the lead as J.Schelstraete chose a different tactic from the front runners! However he would make a mistake coming out of turn 1, allowing both J.dalton and G.Ortner to retake the lead. As the race came to an end the GT3 field appeared to spread out, tired and fatigued from constant fighting, gaps began to emerge between the cars. R.Arella had once again used the battles behind him to expand his lead to take a comfortable lead. However it would be Garage 59 who would be smiling as they finished 2nd and 3rd which would be enough to guarentee the Constructors title in GT3. In lmp2 the fighting continued, Sven Jansen and G.Deurwaerder even went two wide going through the mighty Eal Rouge. Panels bashed and a bit of body paint was exchanged as they both wrestled to get to the top of the famous hill before having a drag race down towards La Combe. However it would be J.Schestraete who would take 3rd in class as he got a brilliant exit onto the long straight, taking both of the postions in one move! Further up the order was J.Dalton and G.Ortner who had been 1 second apart for at least an hour. Nothing could seperate the two drivers as they put everything on the line for the final victory of the season. The Last lap was announced, J.Dalton was looking for every opportunity to pass as they entered La Combe. Good defending by Georg meant he was able to hold off the #07 Car by the skin of his teeth. Both cars crossed the line with just 0.0790 seconds between them! John dalton would steal the Drivers championship by just 4 points! This has once again displayed just how competitive the competition is here at RES. The final round meant that drivers put everything on the line, all four titles were up for grabs here and the drivers knew it was do or die that sunday. RES will return in January for a mini season and much much more action. Dont forget to keep an eye out, and if your new to CFEG, dont hesistate to join in on the action. Thanks for reading, i will see you all after Xmas for the next De-brief :) OTL

Round 4 of the Raceroom Endurance Series saw the competitors go to the Slovakia Ring circuit in (you guessed it) Slovakia. We had an amazing race at Silverstone which saw G.Ortner and J.Dalton go across the line with 0.3 seconds between them, along with close battles for the top position in GTR3. Drivers had to push that bit harder for this round if they wanted to keep their championship hopes alive. Slovakia Ring is a very flexible, dynamic circuit. In my opinion is it very underated, offering a clever and challenging mix of high speed corners in the likes of sectors 1 and 3, followed by the tight hairpins that can be found in sector 2. Deep gravel traps surround the circuit at key high speed points, meaning room for error is limited and the racing action becomes very intense. This became apparent as we went into the qualifying session. Both classes went flat out in order to obtain the front row of the grid respectively. It would once again be G.Ortner who took the pole position in the LMP2 class, with J.Schelstraete Behind with a gap of 0.247. A bad session for our class leader J.Dalton would see him start on the second row, with his qualifying time 0.610 seconds off the fastest lap. GT3's leader R.Arella put on a show at round 4, siezing the top spot in Qualifying with an amazing time, however right behind him was M.Sanderson with only 0.073 seperating them! Mattew's team-mate D.Boon, also put in a good time, stealing P3 in class for the Audi driven by C.Mathieson. Re-joining the grid was also L.Mook, who was unable to attend the race at Silverstone. He started from 5th in class in his Red Bull Ford GT. The flag dropped and the race to conquer Slovakia Ring had begun. It felt like an age as the cars all piled down into turn 1. An amazing start from J.Dalton saw him take the lead from G.Ortner by going around the outside of turn 1, his team-mate S.Jansen also gained a position, going up to 4th place. Also making a good start was newcomer A.Bonaparte, the Brazilian started 8th in class, but had made his way up to 5th place by the end of lap after some minor panel contact. In GT3 A.Arella made a good start off the line, holidng his pole position as they entered the second sector. Behind him was the Audi of C.Mathieson and J.Mook as both the Mclarens of Garage 59 got off to a bad start, resulting in them losing 2nd and 3rd place before turn 1. The top 4 in both classes showed true pace for the next 20 minutes or so as no one was able to pull away from the rest of the grid. In fighting and skirmishes took place as the drivers settled down for the long drive, probing for weaknesses and opportunities. One very eager driver was M.Sanderson in his Mclaren 650's who was bitter about having lost the positions at the start of the race. Despite having superior pace in the second sector and going 2 wide in certain places, the Mclaren just didnt have the speed to finish the job to overtake the very powerful Ford GT of J.Mook. D.Boon in the other Garage 59 car took the helm and lined himself up for a go as M.Sanderson went wide into turn 8 the next lap. J.Mook was doing a great job at holding off the two drivers, however sadly made an error going into the long right hand turn in sector 2 (turn 7) which would see him spin into the barrier and damaging his engine, forcing a retirement. In LMP2, J.Dalton found himself in a troublesome position as he tried to fight his way through traffic along with the rest of the front runners. Making minor contact with the GT3 of L.Bitala, allowing S.Jansen, G.Deurwaerder and G.Ortner passed. The next few minutes would see John go on a frenzied charge, as he was able to fight his way back up 2nd place with a bold move against G.Ortner into turn 3. The first round of pitstops occur, with different fuel loads and strategies being implemented across the field. G.Ortner was able to retake the lead at this stage of the race as he exited the pits, with J.Dalton only 1 second behind. In GT3 M.sanderson's progress was hindered as C.Mathieson drove past having only taken fuel for his next stint. The Audi driver decided to stretch his tires after having a moment in turn 7, collecting D.Boon in the process. M.Sanderson was able to attach himself to the gearbox of the audi as they entered the second stint. However going into turn 1 Connor braked early as he allowed 2 LMP2 drivers down the inside, catching the Mclaren driver off guard, who had to take the gravel trap as an escape route or risk making contact. Further back in GT3, a fight ensued between N.Relvas and K.Sulkiewicz, with the two drivers going neck and neck as they entered sector 1. Krystian was able to make his way past as the two drivers exchanged a bit of paintwork before settling back down in their respective positions. The drivers entered the last stint of the race as the strategies came to a head. G.Ortner was leading the race but suffered a drive through penalty, destroying his chances of taking home a victory at Slovakia Ring. J.Dalton took the lead as a result, followed closely by J.Schelstraete who had made his way up the grid, with only 1.2 seconds seperating the two drivers. R.Arella continued to extend his lead in GT3, as the rest of the front runners suffering mistakes and fighting with one another. M.Sanderson was able to take back 2nd place from Connor while exiting the pits, however once again he was caught out by lapping LMP2's, which forced him to take a line that offered a lack of traction, resulting in a small off track moment. With only 6 laps remaining in the session, C.Mathieson was unable to hold on to 2nd place as his tyres succumbed to attrition, allowing the Mclaren to one again go back into 2nd place in class. In LMP2 J.Dalton struggled to hold onto the lead of the race, with the German driver of J.Schelstraete right on his tail, who was showing very good pace at this stage of the race. We also saw action further down the pack in GT3, with J.Mitchell in his Grey Mclaren 650's fighting off the charging #84 Bentley of K.Sulkiewicz with only 2 laps remaining! The Bentley, using every ounce of horsepower made its move going over the hill in sector 1. However it was not to be as the Mclaren slammed the door shut, making contact with their respective panels, both continued the race however, lucky not to be sent flying off track as a result of the collision. A few corners later it turned into a three way battle, as L.Bitala in his BMW went off circuit and into the gravel. J.Mitchell was right on his tail, once again making contact but this time with the BMW's rear bumper. Both drivers departed from the tarmac, allowing the fiery red bentley driver to pass through (by the skin of his teeth), taking P5 as a result. Then disaster struck J.Dalton, who had to dive into the pits in order to top up for fuel, allowing J.Schelstraete to take a comfortable lead. Also having to take extra fuel was the Garage 59 driver D.boon, along with C.Mathieson, both drivers would still come out in their respective positions. Slovakia ring has once again shown just how competitive RES is. This circuit offered its own unique challenges for our drivers to overcome, some fairing better than others. R.Arella extended his championship lead, however it was Garage 59 who closed the gap in the constructors championship and they both finish the event in good positions. J.Schelstraete stated after the event that he didnt expect to win against the like of J.dalton and G.Ortner. Good pace and strategy however meant he was able to take the overall win here for round 4. That concludes this round of the Raceroom Endurance Series. Let us know what you thought, who was your favourite driver? what was your favourite part of the race? Thanks for reading, we will see you at Suzuka Standings (Coming soon: incident under investigation) Thanks Matt

Silverstone offered us some good close fights in both classes, once again demonstrating just how quick and compact the competition is in RES. We saw G.Ortner and J.Dalton go toe-to-toe for the whole 90 minutes! If that wasnt close enough then GT3 had a fight for P1 in the first and last stints as well. However, now that silverstone is behind us we must look forward to the next round which takes us to Slovakia Ring. This track is all about good balance and consistency, with the first and last sectors offering high speed cornering, mixed with the tight hairpins of Sector 2. LMP2's will have to be careful navigating traffic in order to maintain the lead for this event as the track becomes very narrow at certain points. Who will come out on top at Slovakia Ring? Only time will tell, however with the championship points so close in both classes, no one can really afford to trip up at this stage of the championship. As usual the password will be announced on our discord channel - if you have not registered then i suggest you do so before next sunday. See you all on track