Author: altusesports

The GT Leagues Australia Epiroc Sprint Series Australia kicked off last night with Round 1 taking place at Sonoma. We’ve not raced the BMW M8 much at all since its release, but with Zachary Hanlin being the BMW man that he is, there was no other choice for him.

It was a return to the series that he’s contested strongly in the past, and with some challenging times in recent days he did an exceptional job of adapting to the BMW and extracting pace despite limited running. He would qualify in P6 in the bumper field and get off to a strong start, avoiding some interesting driving in front to keep his nose clean and take the battle to those around him.

Despite numerous attempts to pass the Exsto Gaming car driven by Ferraris in front and not sticking in what was an enthralling race, he was able to get the pass done in the pit stops and carry the car home to a memorable podium, holding off the challenge from those close behind. Congratulations to Trick Simsports’ Alex Bird on his debut victory.

The series moves onto Mid Ohio in two weeks time where we expect to have a few more cars. “Warrening” signs unleashed.

The V8 SCOPS Premier Series made its way to Watkins Glen International for the next round of the series. With brothers Dayne Warren and Ethan Warren out for the week and karting in Gippsland (more on that later), this left Altus to be represented by new recruit Jackson Souslin Harlow and Sam Blacklock to fly the flag.

Race 1 would be a case of two tales, with the pair sitting alongside on the grid just outside the top 10 however Sam was just tagged and caught out in a major crash heading up the hill for the first time. It’s been a dreadful run of luck for Sam who has been caught out in many incidents this season, several of them as the innocent bystander.

For JSH however, he would escape the accident unharmed and have a very strong race indeed, expertly slicing through the field and with a solid strategy, was able to hold onto 8th place with last year’s race winner Jake Burton hot on his heels at the line.

Race 2 was as though the fortunes were reversed. JSH was caught out on a first lap incident which would drop him to last place and a slightly damaged car, whereas Sam would have a clean run, opting for a major overcutting strategy with a short run on new tyres to finish the race on. Both drivers did an excellent job of keeping pace and moving up the order, and after Sam’s stop after leading for several laps, he would come out in 10th place and on fresh tyres. The pursuit of those in front of him would commence however a similar strategy was employed by a pair of fast ERT cars. Unfortunately for Sam, he was the innocent party in not one but two small incidents that had big consequences, spearing Sam into the inside wall with one lap to go. Both parties received penalties, however was little consolation for Sam, a Top 10 ended in DNF. For Jackson, he was able to drag his wounded Falcon from last place to 20th place in an excellent comeback under trying circumstances.

Jackson Souslin Harlow and Adam Zeitinger made a last minute call to pair up for the Silverstone 4 Hour Endurance round of the AOSC. With Jackson making his debut and Adam making a return to the cockpit after a lengthy span away, it was an opportunity to get acquainted and to enjoy a competitive race together for the first time.

It turned out very well indeed with JSH putting the Altus Ford on Pole Position, and Adam running very strong opening stints and handing over to Jackson who did a great job of moving up the order in what was a tense final hour with the Mach-1 Esports Holden driven by Harley Haber. A few unfortunate slow downs would curtail the run to the flag, however a podium finish was above expectations heading into the race. Congratulations to Xero Esports on taking the win. 👍

After Simone Maria Marcenò set a brilliant Pole Position lap in the DP class, we had a very strong opening, leading the first stint of the race and having a great battle with CoRe SimRacing. However we would both gather damage with the strong racing at the front, and would lose some time repairing the front in the opening stop, and losing the lead.

The damage would not end there however, with Simone escaping with not one but two near race ending moments with one being a car stricken across the circuit and the other being from a dangerous rejoin from a GTE car, with us having no choice but to hit the outside wall firmly costing time but more importantly damage that would not be able to be repaired. This damage we carried through into Zachary Hanlin’s triple stint, which was a welcome return to the Special Event scene after a long time away. He performed fantastically well, pumping out consistent fast laps and keeping the cars in front honest throughout.

Simone then had one final stint to bring the car home, however it would have to be an extra long stint to avoid a splash and dash. Simone saved the required 2 Litres across the stint to finish in 2nd place, behind race winners Evolution Racing Team.

For our ASTRO Gaming Ferrari GTE team, Marin Čolak did a wonderful job in putting the Ferrari right amongst the favoured BMWs in P3 on the grid. The performance however would be tough in the race, with the pace drifting away after 30 minutes in the stint. The team would have some computer problems also which would curtail the team’s performance, however they did well to bounce back from dropping as low as P8, to finish in P5 for the race and the fastest Ferrari, with Vedran also making a welcome return after a long time away from the track.

Another special event has finished, and our last for our first year in competition. Stay tuned for a celebration next week of Altus Esports’ first year in competition. It has certainly been a successful one!