Maniti Racing have become double GSI Endurance Series champions in a single season after the Fuji finale that saw the longest green flag run of the entire season, lasting around 10 hours. This was coupled with Urano Esports sealing the GT3 Pro championship at the halfway mark after Impulse Racing were running behind them at that stage.
In Qualifying, the already-crowned GT3 champions Maniti Racing pulled out due to illness for one of their drivers, leaving reigning champions Archer Brothers to take the final pole of the season. Puresims Esports and Urano Esports took the remaining pole positions in GT3 Pro and GTP respectively.
All of those leaders held position at the start, with the only spin at Turn 1 befalling GermanSimRacing’s GTP. As we edged close to the first round of pitstops, Deltasport’s GTP would have a big crash at the Coca-Coca turn, bringing out the first Safety Car of the race.
Maniti Racing’s #79, Satellite Racing, and Private Label Team Hype were all able to pit just before the yellow came out, so that when everyone else pitted under caution, they would fill out the top 3 places. Only 3 GT3 Pro/GT3 cars stayed out, and in GT3 Pro, Sim City Racing held their lead until they pitted for the first time with 75 minutes gone.
Prestanda NOMAD went even further as leaders of GT3, but were spun by Ross Macfarlane’s Porsche before they could come in from the lead. Around 15 minutes later, Dylan Scrivens had a spin for Urano, and so dropped down to 7th.
SRC Mivano Corse would take a shorter second stop, vaulting them into the lead, and they would be rewarded with another Safety Car that wasn’t great timing for any of the GTPs. In GT3 Pro and GT3, the same cars stayed out for a second time, giving Prestanda NOMAD a second chance to execute their strategy.
On the restart, the championship-contending Impulse Racing GT3 Pro car was hit at 100R, sending them into a spin that put them down in 18th with a lot of work to do, as they would have to beat Urano Esports at halfway to keep the championship alive. Deutsche Payment Esports had made a shorter stop under yellow, and would soon take the GT3 Pro lead.
Satellite Racing would retake the overall lead at Mivano’s short stop would catch up with them around 160 minutes into the race. Only a moment later, Puresims Esports took the lead of GT3 Pro.
The class would then see its first green flag stops of the race, coming around 3 hours into the race, allowing Obsidian Racing to lead GT3 Pro and Torque Freak Racing to lead GT3, although Prestanda NOMAD would get back past them pretty soon. Championship leaders Maniti Racing would take the overall lead with 8 and a half hours to go, but had a challenge from Urano.
However, the Urano car would get a 5 second penalty for contact with Puresims Esports, and when they failed to serve this correctly, they were given an additional 10 second penalty. In GT3 Pro, Obsidian Racing would lose time in the pitstops, and with 7 hours to go, they would be almost out of contention entirely.
At the halfway mark, Urano were running in front of Impulse Racing in GT3 Pro, and so would be crowned champions with still 6 hours to go. Urano would not beat Maniti Racing in GTP, though, meaning they would have to win the race, and half an hour later they did take the lead.
Half an hour later, Rusty Spatulas caught Torque Freak Racing and would overtake them to take the GT3 lead. With 3 and a half hours to go, Yoep de Ligt was being caught in the lead of GTP, however Vlad Khimichev would take over the car before any battle could materialise.
The gap between the leading pair in GTP would get close again an hour later, but they failed to battle once more. Dylan Scrivens would then get behind the wheel for the final time, and the gap would grow for the remainder of the race.
The GT3 category provided the entertainment in the final 2 hours, with Rusty Spatulas being caught by Torque Freak Racing. With just over an hour to go, Jukka Tainio spin at the Coca-Cola turn, handing his opposition an 8 second lead that would not close.
In fact, the gap grew so much that Satellite Racing would jump into second, ahead of Rusty Spatulas in 3rd. In GT3 Pro, Puresims Esports would be untouched, and take the win ahead of Maniti Racing and Impulse Racing rounding out the podium.
Overall, it would be Urano Esports to win, but with Maniti Racing finishing 3rd, they couldn’t score enough points to take the title. Satellite Racing would split them in 2nd.
In the end, only Maniti Racing and Urano Esports took titles, with the former clinching two this season. Unfortunately, the championship battles themselves were settled quickly, and the finale was relatively calm, but there were many reasons why this GSI Endurance Series season will go down as a memorable one.