The championship leaders of the HyperX Clubsport Series by IVRA took control at the halfway stage of the season after 700km of racing at Imola. Impulse Racing, winning overall, were the only winners not leading their championship at the start of the day, as Alpinestars Geodesic Racing and Team Heusinkveld both clinched a third win in three.
It started with TCR Qualifying that Brabham Esports took, soon followed by reigning champions Fiercely Forward grasping pole in Sport. In the most drama-filled session, Asetek Simsports Visceral used the momentum of a double podium at Interlagos to clinch a 1-2 in the dying seconds of Qualifying, a dream start for a team in form.
It would prove not to last long, however, as the #97 dropped to 4th on the start in a tense three-wide moment into Turn 1, but otherwise it was an uneventful opening lap, with all three pole sitters holding their leads. The first caution would come only 10 laps in as Ingersoll Rand’s TCR was flung metres into the air by Big One Club, who had an apparent technical problem.
The ensuing pitstops for both Visceral Cup cars allowed Impulse Racing to take the lead for the restart. The lead didn’t last long, as championship leaders Maniti Racing soon got into first when racing resumed.
Unfortunately, the recovering Visceral cars weren’t having things their own way. In a bizarre incident at Rivazza, both the #96 and #97 made contact with each other resulting in damage. The latter was able to get back into the Top 5 within 5 laps of the restart, though.
30 laps in, those that hadn’t stopped yet needed to make their first of the day while 10 laps later the rest of the field came in. The second caution came seconds after this phase had been completed, but some teams still took the opportunity to stop, leaving Kairos Esports in the overall lead with the other class leaders still unchanged.
They held this until 5 laps before the halfway stage were awarded, and it seemed as if Orion Race Team, the new leaders, would take the full 50 points. However, those that didn’t pit under the last caution couldn’t quite make the distance, leaving Visceral to lead at the all-important Lap 72.
The same process happened in Sport and TCR too, with Hugh Jass and Tedline by Impulse leading those categories respectively. Soon after, Maniti Racing would retake the lead in Cup while German Sim Racing took the initiative in Sport.
Maniti Racing’s lead was shortlived, as Pedro Burger soon lost it to Sabelt Esports. Behind in TCR, Team Heusinkveld had caught and passed Brabham Esports with a level of conviction and confidence that they had gained from winning all the races so far this season.
Impulse Racing really came to the fore during the penultimate stops of the race, taking both Cup and Sport class leads, although all three classes had less than 10 seconds between first and second. One uneventful stint later, and Impulse Racing’s Cup team were only extending their lead, a trend which would continue for the rest of the race.
Team Heusinkveld did the same in TCR, but things weren’t so simple in Sport. Fuel was the big concern for the GT4s, and while Impulse held a good lead here, they couldn’t quite make it to the end of the race.
Their splash and dash left Alpinestars Geodesic Racing, the championship leaders who had stayed quietest throughout the day, to take a third win of the season. Impulse Racing would console themselves with an overall win, while Team Heusinkveld matched Geodesic’s feat in TCR.
With Maniti Racing finishing 2nd overall, all three championship leaders would extend their championship leads at Imola as we now hit the halfway stage in this season. The next round coming up at Mid-Ohio in late February will be crucial for anyone looking to catch them.