Sean Campbell has an opportunity not to be missed this weekend as the Round of Road America commences for the IVRA GT Sprint Series powered by Heusinkveld. It comes after Campbell lost 9 points to Team Heusinkveld at Monza, but did eliminate all other contenders from mathematically taking the title away from him.
Similarly, in Division 2, GermanSimRacing have more than 100 points advantage over the rest coming into the final two rounds, but there are still 4 teams able to outscore them. The most exciting championship, Division 3, is incredibly unlikely to be settled at Road America as the twists and turns continue to come.
At Monza, it would be a return to winning ways for the defending champions Maniti Racing, taking their first win since the season opener. Max Riedmuller was chasing down Campbell after the Safety Car restart that came with 90 minutes to go, and was able to jump him in the pitstops as well.
However, Dominic Ollivierre jumped them both for Precision Racing Esports, although the reason why became clear soon after as they were given a penalty for a pit lane rule violation. Riedmuller had been overtaken by Campbell during the battle, but his pace shone through eventually, taking the lead with 25 minutes to go.
The fighting allowing Jan Sentkowski to catch up as well, and the German made a late but important pass to take points away from his championship rival. While all of that was going on in Division 1, the second half of the race was quiet in Divisions 2 and 3, with GermanSimRacing and Prestanda NOMAD taking wins.
This sets up an interesting prospect at Road America. If Sean Campbell finishes inside the Top 5, then he will be crowned champion no matter where Team Heusinkveld finishes, and since 3rd is his worst finishing position yet, things are looking good for him.
Things are also looking good for GermanSimRacing, as the pressure is on Deutsche Payment Esports and Prestanda NOMAD to take points away from them to keep it alive. In Division 3, the Top 3 are only covered by 34 points, so it likely won’t be settled this weekend.
Road America will be an interesting challenge, and an exciting watch, as there are numerous overtaking opportunities around. Turns 1 and 5 will probably be the best chances, but the downhill braking zone into Turn 5 has already created anomalies, and those fighting for a championship cannot afford those.
It’ll be the usual format of just under 2 hours worth of racing, and could be a historic day for some.