Asetek Simsports Visceral have become the first team in the HyperX Clubsport Series by IVRA to clinch a title with a round to spare after accumulating an unassailable lead over Impulse Racing, and Maniti Racing. It comes after a troubled race for the latter two contenders, which included contact between them at Turn 13.
Elsewhere, Hugh Jass reduced the championship lead of HydroRace Geodesic Racing in Sport, despite neither of them finishing on the podium for the first time this season. In TCR, Team Heusinkveld won their 5th race in five, but didn’t quite do enough to put the title out of reach for Impulse Racing.
In fact, Heusinkveld’s early qualifying performance was a little worrying, but Roman Paerschke did eventually do enough for 7th, with rivals Impulse directly ahead in 5th. Sport championship leaders Geodesic left it similarly late, ending up 6th, while Asetek Simsports Visceral could only manage 8th, a long way behind Impulse Racing on the pole.
Pascal Costa’s pole was converted into a lead that survived a few challenges from Daniel Libront in 2nd, before the race became about survival in traffic. With 52 cars, and lap times below 90 seconds, it allowed Costa to build a lead of 5 seconds, take an off-track excursion to avoid an incident, and still hold the lead at the first Safety Car.
Coming after 25 laps, most teams pitted apart from all three ATRS cars in Cup, while most front-runners came in from the other categories. A similar pattern emerged on the restart before ATRS had to pit their cars, and unfortunately for them, the second Safety Car came out before everyone else was forced to make their first green flag stops of the race.
Not everyone took the chance in Cup though. Impulse Racing stayed out from the lead, while Visceral and Maniti both came in, dropping outside of the Top 10, although they had the advantage of not needing another stop before the halfway mark.
The top nine cars had all stayed out, while in Sport, Team Heusinkveld and GermanSimRacing were left to fight for the lead. It wouldn’t be long until the latter got through, and got away from the rest of the pack.
Within 20 laps of halfway, things stepping up a notch as Maniti Racing attempted to pass Visceral for 6th place at the time, which would turn into 1st after some pit stops. However, all of their battling, and Pascal Costa’s pace out front, meant that Impulse Racing rejoined the race after their stop right in the battle.
Only a lap later, Tim Matzke was stuck in an awkward position as he tried to find a way past the SRP Racing Team TCR car. He looked left and right, and as he did so, came into contact with Impulse Racing. Both contenders found the wall, and Visceral would pick up the full 50 points uncontested.
In Sport, a badly timed stop for Hugh Jass would lose them 17 points to rivals Geodesic at halfway, although they were better set up for the end of the race. In TCR, being set up for halfway points meant that you’d be in a good place at the end too, and Team Heusinkveld were once again up at the front when it mattered most.
From there, a long green flag run would decide the race. Vince Peeters would make way for Santeri Martikainen, and the Finish driver would lead most of his laps for Asetek Simsports Visceral, becoming the first team to take 150 points in one Cup class race. The best strategy seemed to be the one employed by ATRS Esports, and they positioned their cars in 2nd, 3rd and 4th.
It couldn’t make up for the pace of Visceral though, and as news of Maniti Racing’s suspension from the final round at Suzuka came through, they knew the title could be clinched on the day. Impulse Racing became the only ones who could stop them, but after a spin at Turn 4 on the penultimate lap they dropped to 11th, and confirmed that Asetek Simsports Visceral would be champions of the Cup category with a round to spare.
The only category where championship contenders were never involved in the fight for the race win was Sport. After the third pitstops of the race, GermanSimRacing came out with a lead that they were able to hold for the remainder of the race, winning by 25 seconds, while Hugh Jass narrowly missed out on a podium in 4th.
They would reduce the championship lead of Geodesic by just 3 points on the day, leaving them 56 points to gain back during the final race. TCR had a story of an unchanged race in the second half too.
Team Heusinkveld took maximum points at halfway for the first time this season, and like in Sport, this put them in the best position for the end of the race too. This, alongside superior pace, was enough for them to beat Wave Italy Racing Team by 18 seconds, with Impulse Racing in third.
Despite achieving their best realistic result, Impulse still have 129 points to gain on Team Heusinkveld in the finale at Suzuka. The reigning champions only need a 9th place at halfway to clinch the title.
It was a day that the championship leaders relished, and many others fell by the wayside. But with the Sport category still to be decided, the racing at Suzuka will be as intense as ever in the HyperX Clubsport Series.