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The rSeat 90 minutes of Spa Francorchamps, which took place on the 30th of May, was the fifth round of the SimRacing Teams Challenge Blue Cup for 2013.
The Circuit de Spa Francorchamps is one of the most iconic tracks in the world, with the extremely fast 7 kilometre circuit weaving through the Belgian Ardennes countryside. It is famous for unpredictable weather conditions, stunning scenery and exceptionally dangerous sections, though most have been revamped in recent times for greater safety. The most iconic complex of the Spa Francorchamps circuit is referred to as Eau Rouge, which entails an uphill left-right-left flick under full power, and is absolutely vital to achieving a competitive lap time. For the second straight race, it was an all-ineX Racing front row of the grid. Laurent Beteille qualified on pole ahead of team-mate Jason Lovett. Roaring Pipes Maniacs’ pilot Kevin Ascher rounded out the top 3 on the grid.
[caption id="attachment_31068" align="alignleft" width="100"]Round 5 @ Spa Results[/caption]
Laurent Beteille went on to take an absolutely scintillating lights to flag victory for ineX Racing. The pole-sitter led 38 of the 39 laps, and set the fastest lap of the race with a 2.18.7 on lap 28. Beteille, with the advantage of controlling the field throughout the rolling start, managed to create a 29 second advantage over his closest rival, Kevin Ascher, at the finish. It was the second consecutive race that an ineX Racing pilot has achieved pole position, the fastest lap and the race win over a single round. Kevin Ascher navigated his Roaring Pipes Maniacs’ entry to an impressive second position, a further 5 seconds ahead of Jason Lovett in the second ineX Racing McLaren. Ascher managed to overtake Lovett up the inside at La Source on the opening lap, and never looked back even after struggling with tyre temperature issues in the early stages. In a great result for ABRacing, Joao Cardoso managed 4th position ahead of JB Massida, who rounded out the top 5 for Falcon GP.
Blake Townend cruised to 6th position for Radicals Online, 1.8 seconds in front of Fredrik Tackman for Danielsson Motorsports Virtual in 7th, but Blake Townend was dealt a five second penalty after the race as a result of contact with Frederik Tackman at Les Combes during the last lap, losing his 6th position in favour of the Swedish driver. Team GT’s Luigi Nespolino led home Ludvig Andersson and 10th placed Ales Papler for Danielsson Motorsports Virtual and Radicals Online respectively. Throughout the 90 minute race, many exciting battles transpired around the frighteningly fast 7 kilometre circuit. Kevin Ascher, Jason Lovett and Joao Cardoso engaged in an exciting battle for podium positions, with the three separated by only 6 seconds at the finish after 90 minutes of racing. ABRacing’s Ricardo Meirinhos became involved in a close tussle with James Chesters for The Black Rebels and Carlos Casas for Spain SimRacing Club. The trio finished 18th, 19th and 20th respectively. Torque Freak Racing’s Mark Bird and Andres Quintana for Positive Sim Racing were also involved in a rousing contest, before Quintana succumbed to a spectacular incident at Eau Rouge which caused him cross the line 6 laps behind the leader. Carlos Casas and Daniel Andres were both reprimanded with drive through penalties for their involvement in respective collisions.
Laurent Beteille- ineX Racing (Qualified 1st, Finished 1st)
Starting from pole, the run to La Source was pretty easy since I had the huge advantage of deciding when to start. I was worried about the draft though as it's usually very hard to break it due to the very long straights. However after a few laps I had a 2s gap to Kevin which made me feel more confident for the rest of the race. There is not much more to say as it was a quite uneventful race for me, apart from 2 back-markers crashing after Eau Rouge right ahead of me with 2 laps to go, that was pretty scary but in the end I didn't get involved so it was fine.
Kevin Ascher – Roaring Pipes Maniacs (Qualified 3rd, Finished 2nd)
In the middle of the first stint my tires came back into a better temperature range and I could continue to go quicker and build a 5 second gap towards my competitors as I headed to the pit stop. My pit stop worked out perfectly. As I was back on track, I had an advantage of about 9 seconds to the guys behind me. In communication with my team, I decided to take it easy in the second stint and not risk a big temperature build-up again. I then focused on not making a mistake and bringing it home safely which is what I did. Happy with the result!
Joao Cardoso- ABRacing (Qualified 4th, Finished 4th)
Had a fun fight with JB the second stint, trying to catch Jason for third again but in the end I came up a second short. Honestly I was amazed I didn't get a warning for ignoring track limits on the second stint, as I was losing control of the car all over the road and off it every lap. It just had no traction after the impact and previously flat-out turns became like riding a mechanical bull. Overall quite fun but I have to admit I'm quite disappointed with myself. Second place was there and I really should've taken it.
JB Massida – Falcon GP (Qualified 12th, Finished 5th)
Very quiet start, happy to see that everyone (around me at least) got through cleanly. I managed to gain three or four positions in the first corner, and then a couple more after two cars tangled at the final chicane, and I'm lying 7th. Then the action starts, with the two team mates Ludvig Andersson in front and Fredrik Tackman behind, short but intense and I overtake Ludvig after he makes a mistake. At that moment I'm 5 seconds behind the group in front and slowly pulling away from Fredrik. Pretty much nothing happens before Blake and João spin together and give me the opportunity to get in front of them after the pits sequence. Unfortunately João is a bit faster than me and I can't even fight for my position the way I wanted to as my slide through Eau Rouge gifts him 4th position. I can't keep up with his rhythm after that, making tiny mistake after tiny mistake. Well done to you, nice battle again.
After the fifth round of the Blue Cup for 2013, ineX Racing have achieved an un-assailable, 138 point lead in the championship with just one round remaining in the season. The team has put in a stunning display throughout the Blue Cup, picking up four of the five possible race wins and consistently planting two cars on the podium. Danielsson Motorsports Virtual retain second place in the standings, 33 points ahead of Team GT in third. Roaring Pipes Maniacs and Radicals Online retain their 4th and 5th positions in the championship standings respectively. You can view the full standings for the 2013 Blue Cup here. The final round of the season sees the teams travel back to North America for the rSeat 45 Minutes of Homestead Miami. Be sure to follow all of the action in the lead up to the next round, and partake in discussion with the competitors in our dedicated STC forums. Next stop, Miami!
