The final round of the CMS NARS DTM virtual championship comes to a close at Spa in rFactor 2. All acknowledgements and respect from simrace247.com to the great people over at CMS.
It was 21 drivers and crews that arrived at the historic location of Spa-Francorchamps to contest the final round of the CMS NARS Virtual DTM Championship. Anticipation was running high with a number of teams determined to show true racing colours and close out the season on a high note. It also marked the return to NARS racing for Guilherme Bencke and the first race of the season for Pedro Crulas Gomes – perhaps heralding a more regular attendance?
A glorious weekend, more like early summer than spring, provided for some excellent racing conditions, even with bands of clouds regularly passing overhead. The final practice provided hints of the close racing that was in store and the qualifying session was a great taster of the action to come.
Perennial polesitter Ahmed Aballah showed a clean set of heels to the remainder of the field, setting a benchmark time of 2:06.292 in his Maures, well over a second faster than his closest challenger, Juan Salas Morales also in a Maures. It was much the same story in AM, but this time in Auras, with Danny Corriveau grabbing the pole in class with a 2:08.685, a full second over Matthew Overton. With a track perfectly suited to the use of the DRS system and free use during the qualifying session, a number of PBs were set as the cars flew around the track. At the end of the qualifying, the 9 of the top 10 were covered by a gap of 2 seconds, promising tight racing at the green flag
And so it was in the race. While both pole sitters remained relatively unchallenged within their classes for the win, not so for the remainder of the order.
In PRO, JT Tami managed to keep the leader within striking distance, gaining the race lead for one lap when Abdallah pitted, the action in the PRO class was between Dan Kirby, Juan Morales, Norm Graf, Jon Uyan and Jason Whited. Showing consistent laps as they strove to keep each other insight, it was only through error or differences in pit timings that proved as they battled hard for the entire race. Fresh rubber put the showcase on speed with the PRO class stretching their legs, but no change to the eventual finishing order, which saw Dan Kirby take the final podium position, 10s ahead of the grouping of Gomes, Graf, Uyan and Whited who were covered by barely 5s.
AM winner Corriveau saw plenty of action mixed up in the PRO field, falling only slowly to the drivers of the faster class and then stuck like glue to the Aura of Brian Hall, picking up 10th overall. Series leader Overton was in the hunt through to the pit cycle, battling Hall and then PRO Aura -driver Jerry Chen, but a spin in Stavelot with some heavy nose damage ended his hopes of a strong finish. Bayro-driving Rodger Gabryzsak found himself in a spirited battle with the Aura of Paul Ibbotson, the latter dropping away in the final laps as fuel became an issue. Overton also benefitted from the woes of Ibbotson, managing to pass him in the second-last lap and salvage 3rd in class.
In all, it was a thrilling race to end the season, with the comments of many drivers revealing that Ibbotson was not the only one that needed to keep a close eye on the fuel!
The top mover of the race was AM Rodger Gabryszak (Aura), finishing 11th overall and 2nd in AM from a P17 start on the grid! Well done Rodger!
Broadcast replay (brought to you by Ross “Tnadz” Smith)
With the racing now complete, time to acknowledge the podiums for the PRO and AM championships first, congratulations to all the drivers for their competitive spirit and support throughout the season. The URD T5 2018 was an obvious hit and will be on the list for potential return to NARS in 2022!
FINAL SERIES STANDINGS
A big round of applause to Paul Ibbotson and Jimmy Regan for their tie in being the ‘top mover’ in two races each during the series!
PRO
In a commanding performance, winning six of the nine races, Ahmed Abdallah (Maures), claimed the top step of the podium with 191 points.
34 points back, with three race wins and two 2nd place finishes to his credit, was JT Tami (Maures).
With four 2nd place finishes and two 3rds, the final podium position was claimed by Daniel Kirby (Aura), having amassed 126 points.
AM
With four wins and three 2nd place finishes, Matthew Overton (Aura) took his 173 points to the top of the podium.
Two wins and three 2nd place finishes earned Rodger Gabryszak (Bayro) 115 points and second place for the championship.
A win, two 2nd place finishes and a crucial 2 points in the final race meant that John Maher (Aura) claimed the final podium position, by a mere two points over Ross Smith (Aura).
Next Races
The NARS VMSC continues on 22 April with a race at Spa and the second NARS short series for 2021, featuring the FIA GT1 2010 mod of Outl@w, will get underway with a practice race on 6 May.
Interested? Go to https:\\cmsracing.com for details on not just these series but all the action that can be found at CMS!
To purchase rFactor 2 visit: Studio-397 – Racing Simulation
About rFACTOR 2
rFactor 2 is a realistic, easily extendable racing simulation from Studio 397. It offers the latest in vehicle and race customization, great graphics, outstanding multiplayer and the height of racing realism. rFactor 2 features mixed class road racing with ultra realistic dynamics, an immersive sound environment and stunning graphics, perfect for top-level esports and a rich single-player experience.
Race against a field of AI cars, or in multi-player mode against others. rFactor 2 supports a full day-night cycle as well as dynamically varying weather conditions such as rain which dynamically builds into puddles. Tracks feature “real-road” technology that changes the grip as more cars drive on it. You can run full 24 hour endurance events and in multi-player mode, driver swaps are also supported. Everything can be customized by the community, including adding new tracks and cars, and a wealth of add-ons are available on-line.Working with several partners, rFactor 2 has been used in hundreds of esport championships all over the world – in particular McLaren’s World’s Fastest Gamer and Formula E.
rFactor 2 is also an evolving product, which will be updated and added to for many years, so the list of features will expand!
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