WV8GT Race Reviews
By Olivia Hellström
The Virtual Endurance Series kicked off what could potentially be their loudest series ever, the World V8 GT Championship (WV8GT)!
The brainchild of our very own Scott Frank, owner of HatchSport.de, and the newly founded HatchSport Venturi Racing Esports Team, the concepts of NASCAR and Supercars we merged together in a monthly series, featuring different race formats.
The opening race took place at Blue Moon Bay, a tri-oval sitauted near the Californian coast in the USA, and what better way to start a series inspired by NASCAR by hitting the oval?
Fans flocked from all over the globe to see the preparations, with testing and practice taknig place in the week leading up to the race, which kicked off at 18:00 local time.
With none of the competitors giving anythignaway during the practice days, and the randomised grid for this first event, everything was on the table for all the competitors.
Unfortunately, a number of entrats had to withdraw moments before the grid was announces, which didn't go down well with fans, but the hardcore V8 lovers toughed it out. Race control took the decidsion to shorted the length of the race owing to the circumstances, but still would award full points, giving full advantage to the teams that took to the track.
As the green flag dropped and the engines roared, Josh Frank took control early on in the #625 Blaupunkt HatchSportVR (HVR) BMW M6, with Adam Mattox-Connelly in hot pursuit in his #66 AMR Penske Pennzoil Corvette.
Part time entrant Paul Frank (#118 118 Motorsport Corvette) had a moment early on trying to overtake Misa Black in her #217 Zodiac Motorsport Jaguar, finding the barriers and bringing out the first caution of the race. It was too early to hit Pit Road, so once the green dropped again, it was business as usual throughout the field.
Mid-way through the race, Misa was making moves on the #457 Blaupunkt HatchSport VR BMW M6 of Scott Frank (who'd made the last minute decisiong to switch the HVR cars from the original FedEx Mustangs), with the latter ending up being pinned against the wall, suffering major structural damage, losing a couple of laps in the process.
Paul was cruising out in front, but Adam was keeping him honest throughout, with the gap in front staying at a steady 3-4 seconds.
As darkness fell, and concentration playing a huge part in the latter stage of the race, Misa, Scott and Paul came together again in Turn 3, bringing out a late caution on Lap 67. With 3 laps to go, was anyone going to take the win away from Josh?
On the restart on Lap 69, Scott got the jump on Mattox-Connelly in the #66, but overcooked the entry into Turn 1, meaning he had to get out of the throttle, and potentially throwing away a 1-2 finish for HVR. Scott pushed on, but in the end, the momentum lost was too much of an ask to get back.
Josh took the chequered flag, with the #66 Corvette in 2nd, Scott coming home in 3rd. Misafinished 4th in the #217, with Paul finishing off the places in 5th, a lap down owing to mechanical issues following the big crash.
While it wasn't the most spectatcular of races, the crowd loved it, with rumours circulating that fans travelling to Watkins Glen for the Sprint double-header in July will have to be quick if they want tickets!
Jevaun and Phoebe will be taking control of the reporting from The Glen, meanwhile Hans will be heading to Brazil to watch the 5th round of the VES IGTC championship, and I will be off to Road Atlanta for the Yokohama Radicals Championship final.
See you all there!
The Virtual Endurance Series kicked off what could potentially be their loudest series ever, the World V8 GT Championship (WV8GT)!
The brainchild of our very own Scott Frank, owner of HatchSport.de, and the newly founded HatchSport Venturi Racing Esports Team, the concepts of NASCAR and Supercars we merged together in a monthly series, featuring different race formats.
The opening race took place at Blue Moon Bay, a tri-oval sitauted near the Californian coast in the USA, and what better way to start a series inspired by NASCAR by hitting the oval?
Fans flocked from all over the globe to see the preparations, with testing and practice taknig place in the week leading up to the race, which kicked off at 18:00 local time.
With none of the competitors giving anythignaway during the practice days, and the randomised grid for this first event, everything was on the table for all the competitors.
Unfortunately, a number of entrats had to withdraw moments before the grid was announces, which didn't go down well with fans, but the hardcore V8 lovers toughed it out. Race control took the decidsion to shorted the length of the race owing to the circumstances, but still would award full points, giving full advantage to the teams that took to the track.
As the green flag dropped and the engines roared, Josh Frank took control early on in the #625 Blaupunkt HatchSportVR (HVR) BMW M6, with Adam Mattox-Connelly in hot pursuit in his #66 AMR Penske Pennzoil Corvette.
Part time entrant Paul Frank (#118 118 Motorsport Corvette) had a moment early on trying to overtake Misa Black in her #217 Zodiac Motorsport Jaguar, finding the barriers and bringing out the first caution of the race. It was too early to hit Pit Road, so once the green dropped again, it was business as usual throughout the field.
Mid-way through the race, Misa was making moves on the #457 Blaupunkt HatchSport VR BMW M6 of Scott Frank (who'd made the last minute decisiong to switch the HVR cars from the original FedEx Mustangs), with the latter ending up being pinned against the wall, suffering major structural damage, losing a couple of laps in the process.
Paul was cruising out in front, but Adam was keeping him honest throughout, with the gap in front staying at a steady 3-4 seconds.
As darkness fell, and concentration playing a huge part in the latter stage of the race, Misa, Scott and Paul came together again in Turn 3, bringing out a late caution on Lap 67. With 3 laps to go, was anyone going to take the win away from Josh?
On the restart on Lap 69, Scott got the jump on Mattox-Connelly in the #66, but overcooked the entry into Turn 1, meaning he had to get out of the throttle, and potentially throwing away a 1-2 finish for HVR. Scott pushed on, but in the end, the momentum lost was too much of an ask to get back.
Josh took the chequered flag, with the #66 Corvette in 2nd, Scott coming home in 3rd. Misafinished 4th in the #217, with Paul finishing off the places in 5th, a lap down owing to mechanical issues following the big crash.
While it wasn't the most spectatcular of races, the crowd loved it, with rumours circulating that fans travelling to Watkins Glen for the Sprint double-header in July will have to be quick if they want tickets!
Jevaun and Phoebe will be taking control of the reporting from The Glen, meanwhile Hans will be heading to Brazil to watch the 5th round of the VES IGTC championship, and I will be off to Road Atlanta for the Yokohama Radicals Championship final.
See you all there!