The new format didn’t seem to phase Maniti Racing and their driver Max Riedmuller one bit in the opening round at the Nurburgring, as they won Round 1 of the IVRA GT Sprint Series powered by Heusinkveld. It was a day for runaway wins, as the closest winning margin across the three divisions was 14 seconds.
It started with an important yet tricky qualifying session, as upwards of 50 drivers tried to find space around the 5.1km circuit. Eventually, it would be GermanSimRacing’s Massimo Locatello who took pole with a lap on the halfway mark of the session. In Divisions 2 and 3, there would be poles from Delta V Racing and Prestanda NOMAD respectively.
The big talking point pre-race was the notoriously difficult Turn 1, but it would be the corner immediately after that caused trouble. Ricardo Rico spun his Ingersoll Rand Mercedes before getting hit by multiple cars, causing race-ending damage to many.
The final chicane would see most incidents throughout the day, starting on Lap 1 when a couple of RSR by Buttkicker Porsches collided, sending Oscar T Koper into the grass, and eventually the pitlane. He would soldier on for 15th.
Back up front, Max Riedmuller had only missed out on pole by 5 thousandths of a second for reigning champions Maniti Racing, and it only took him two laps to return the team to their familiar position. The other leaders, in Divisions 2 and 3, both nursed fairly comfortable leads early on as Qualifying sorted positions overall instead of by class, giving them a few car lengths buffer before the race even began.
That would change 20 minutes in, as Division 3 leaders Prestanda NOMAD spun at Turn 3, reducing their lead to 5 seconds. The final chicane would continue to be a problem for many, first Valourous Motorsport’s Emil Winbo spun from 3rd in Division 2, then GermanSimRacing lost their 2nd overall in similar fashion.
RSR by Buttkicker didn’t have the greatest start, but they did have Sean Campbell, and soon he would be marching through the field. He was eventually stopped in his tracks by GSE Racing by ACI, and would have to settle for 4th before the pit stops.
There would be significant drama in Division 3 before pit stops even began, as the top 2 were both given Drive Through Penalties. A three car fight for the win emerged, but after a messy incident involving traffic and brief leaders MAG Performance Junior, it was Precision Racing Esports who would head the field into the stops.
Massimo Locatello’s race went from bad to worse, first spinning on entry to pitlane due to a late decision, and secondly with even more contact after the pit stop phase. The pole sitters would retire from the race.
Sean Campbell wasn’t able to work any pit stop magic, and so came out in 4th, while Division 3 leader Nick McLaughlin increased his lead due to good pit work, and a penalty for second-placed Element Simracing. At this point, all three division leaders looked secure in their positions despite 45 minutes on the clock.
The next 20 minutes saw a slow developing battle for 2nd in Division 3, which would eventually end with a Rusty Spatulas mistake at the final chicane. They would drop to 5th, while Sean Campbell did make the pass for 3rd with still 20 minutes to go, but would run out of time to overtake Team Fordzilla for that position.
However, that was all happening over 20 seconds behind the leaders, as Maniti Racing picked up where they left off last season. In Division 2, it was complete domination for Johann Martin-Meyer as he even finished in 5th overall. And finally, Nick McLaughlin would take the opening day win for Precision Racing Esports.
The new-look IVRA GT Sprint Series by Heusinkveld is off to a promising start. It won’t get any easier for the drivers though, in two weeks they will be off to Imola for Round 2.