Strong Races earn P6 & P7 at Imola
The V8 SCOPS Premier Series moved onto the second leg of the Endurance Cup, to the Imola 500 at the weekend. All three cars looked strong entering the race so hopes were high of a good result.
The ASTRO boys got off to a great start with James qualifying strongly towards the front of the field, and quickly moving into P2. Across the duration of the race they would run in P2 for the vast majority of the race and hot on the wheel tracks of P1 by mid race, and had pulled a significant lead over P3 before a late safety car came to reduce the gap. An unfortunate and rare error with the compressed field caused them to drop back to 6th with no time left to recover. Certainly a race of what might have been, however it was an excellent showing from James & Cooper who look very strong heading to Mount Panorama for the big one.
Brady Meyers returned to the Logitech G car to pair with Sam Blacklock, who had a strong run throughout the race, keeping a clean car and running well in the latter end of the Top 10. The safety car brought the field together once more and despite the challenges in front and behind, they would hold strong for 7th place, behind the ASTRO car at the flag.
It was a bit of a race to forget for the TrueForce Mustang, having had a sensational run at Phillip Island, it was from the same clean run at Imola. It was an improved qualifying performance within the Top 20, and having opted for an alternate long-long-long strategy thinking a safety car may come, disaster struck as the hope for a safety car came only when they had just committed to the pit entry, causing them to drop down a lap. At the restart, Zac made contact with another competitor resulting in a justified penalty for our car, with the pair coming home in 30th.
We move onto the biggest iRacing race in ANZ next, the Bathurst 1000. We feel confident in the fact that throughout both races we have been strong throughout, with five Top 10s out of six. It is however the win that we crave, and what we will be targeting in the great race.