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Round 5 Nissan Speedway Review
LMP1
There was a lot of news surrounding snmf1 before the start of this unique 2 part race. Stephen unveiled a brand new Pescarolo livery for his Peugeot 908 HDi FAP which certainly looks the part. There's also a chance for him to clinch the P1 championship which he is currently leading here so he will be looking to take this opportunity.
As it turned out, the Northern Irishman was the only LMP1 driver to compete at the Speedway. As a result, Stephen dominated both 75 lap races ahead of the GT2 drivers. It was the drive of a champion, with 2 utterly flawless races.
So, snmf1 crossed the line to win the LMP1 Championship in convincing style. He is thoroughly deserving of this victory, with his win here at the Nissan Speedway taking his win tally this season up to 4. He has been consistent, and reliability has been good apart from the unfortunate incident at Mugello. However, will he be able to defend his title next year on the brand new Forza 3?
GT2
With Slappia missing the previous race at Road America due to serious technical problems, Jam 13UN now has a clear lead in the GT2 Championship. It now seems certain that the Risi driver has it in the bag, but Slappia will be looking to pick up the win here none-the-less.
In a surprising pre-race announcement, the 2 rivals agreed to work together during the race by slipstreaming off each other in order to try and beat the LMP1 Peugeot 908 of snmf1. As it turned out, the attempt was futile. Stephen had the legs on the GT2s on both raw pace and also pit-stop strategy, despite the Porsche and Ferrari reaching in excess of 190mph with their slick swapping system.
Race 1 of this unusual 2 part race saw the slipstreaming work well for the first 10 laps. However, a momentary lapse in concentration by Jonny in the Flying Lizard when coming onto the main straight meant that he slid wide and into the infamous outside wall - often dubbed the "Wall of Champions". The damage he picked up, whilst it wasn't severe, was enough to affect the aerodynamics of the car and restrict his top speed by a few miles per hour. From this point on, Jam in the Ferrari edged away to win the opening part.
Part 2 of 2 started out better. The slipstreaming system adopted by the 2 drivers seemed to be was working well for the pair and the first pit-stop went smoothly. However, on lap 23, Jam misjudged where Jonny's GT3 RSR was and clipped his rear bumper, sending him spinning out of control into the barriers. With terminal damage to the Porsche, it was agreed that the race should be restarted with 50 laps to go so that the damage could be repaired.
The restart saw a similar pattern to the previous 2 starts. The 2 rivals slipstreamed off each other until another incident saw them collide with the Northern Irishman once again spinning off and colliding with the barriers. The damage this time led to Jonny's retirement from the race. The remainder of the race was therefore a procession, with Jam crossing the line to (eventually) win.
With another victory for Jam, the GT2 Title seems to be all but his to lose. And with only 2 races left, he must now be more confident than ever.
There was a lot of news surrounding snmf1 before the start of this unique 2 part race. Stephen unveiled a brand new Pescarolo livery for his Peugeot 908 HDi FAP which certainly looks the part. There's also a chance for him to clinch the P1 championship which he is currently leading here so he will be looking to take this opportunity.
As it turned out, the Northern Irishman was the only LMP1 driver to compete at the Speedway. As a result, Stephen dominated both 75 lap races ahead of the GT2 drivers. It was the drive of a champion, with 2 utterly flawless races.
So, snmf1 crossed the line to win the LMP1 Championship in convincing style. He is thoroughly deserving of this victory, with his win here at the Nissan Speedway taking his win tally this season up to 4. He has been consistent, and reliability has been good apart from the unfortunate incident at Mugello. However, will he be able to defend his title next year on the brand new Forza 3?
GT2
With Slappia missing the previous race at Road America due to serious technical problems, Jam 13UN now has a clear lead in the GT2 Championship. It now seems certain that the Risi driver has it in the bag, but Slappia will be looking to pick up the win here none-the-less.
In a surprising pre-race announcement, the 2 rivals agreed to work together during the race by slipstreaming off each other in order to try and beat the LMP1 Peugeot 908 of snmf1. As it turned out, the attempt was futile. Stephen had the legs on the GT2s on both raw pace and also pit-stop strategy, despite the Porsche and Ferrari reaching in excess of 190mph with their slick swapping system.
Race 1 of this unusual 2 part race saw the slipstreaming work well for the first 10 laps. However, a momentary lapse in concentration by Jonny in the Flying Lizard when coming onto the main straight meant that he slid wide and into the infamous outside wall - often dubbed the "Wall of Champions". The damage he picked up, whilst it wasn't severe, was enough to affect the aerodynamics of the car and restrict his top speed by a few miles per hour. From this point on, Jam in the Ferrari edged away to win the opening part.
Part 2 of 2 started out better. The slipstreaming system adopted by the 2 drivers seemed to be was working well for the pair and the first pit-stop went smoothly. However, on lap 23, Jam misjudged where Jonny's GT3 RSR was and clipped his rear bumper, sending him spinning out of control into the barriers. With terminal damage to the Porsche, it was agreed that the race should be restarted with 50 laps to go so that the damage could be repaired.
The restart saw a similar pattern to the previous 2 starts. The 2 rivals slipstreamed off each other until another incident saw them collide with the Northern Irishman once again spinning off and colliding with the barriers. The damage this time led to Jonny's retirement from the race. The remainder of the race was therefore a procession, with Jam crossing the line to (eventually) win.
With another victory for Jam, the GT2 Title seems to be all but his to lose. And with only 2 races left, he must now be more confident than ever.
