THORS
TEAM HARD ONLINE RACING SERIES
THORS NEWS FIRST EDITION - SEASON PREVIEW
Wednesday night will see the return of the THORS Touring Car Series at Brands Hatch. The championship has drawn a massive entry and the cars used 3 seasons back, were massively popular when used before. A Few changes have been made to try and equalise the cars this time round. The Mercedes has had a slight boost and this could be the cause of a lot of conversation through the paddock once the racing gets under way. You have to love a bit intrigue. When the entry was first released, the shock of multiple champion Veepz missing from the driver rooster at Team Hard, was felt by many. What had happened, where was he? Rumours are that it came down to sponsorship and a last minute deal with Trade Price Cars sees Veepz back to defend his crown and doing so in a satellite car of Team Hard.
Team Cheetah will be hoping to lead the field this season
TheRacingNova is a massive dark horse for Pro honours
Whilst Veepz will be the favourite once again, his defence will not be an easy one. Bradderstig returns in the VSE Racing BMW M125i, joined by ABigPieKey. These two are a very strong pairing and the rear drive of the German car will give it a great launch. Bradders is also known for his lightning starts and don’t be surprised to see him lead in to the first corner and be hard to pass in many rounds. RML have made a habit of winning the team titles, with a fast driver in both classes, but this season it could be a lot tougher. The Mercedes is new, and although RML claim not to have the pace of its rivals, many in the paddock are not buying that, and claim a bit of sandbagging. NikeMikeRules has been the star of the Thunder Enduro and a driver regularly on the podium of THORS, whilst reigning AM Champion Robraceruk backs him up well. Rob is missing the opening round, which will be his dropped score, he has always been good at making the ground running, so playing catch up for a change will be interesting to watch. Add to that, that the quality of rivals in AM maybe at highest level yet, he may have a real job on his hands to defend his crown.
Team Hard are running Rolec Racing and Team Autobrite Racing this season, alongside the car of Veepz. They have gone for the Audi S3 which proved a well balanced car when used before. The Rolec entry has Diboor and UKOG Cronnie, the former likely to be strong in AM, whilst Cronnie has been one of the most improved drivers in the Pro class over the last two seasons. The Autobrite version sees Basslinejunkieo and RGreenwood, fast winners in AM in the Focus and Touring Car series, the question mark over the pair is whether they can be consistent enough to put in a title challenge, if not though they will play a big part in who does win by taking points off their rivals
Diboor will be hoping to win the AM series this time around
Team & AM Champs RML will find it hard to win both series
Back in Pro, and Cerberus are becoming a strong team in all series. The team is effectively running 3 cars, with the main team being led by Devil lord 13, and alongside him is Kenty76. Devil joined the series in the Porsche Challenge and has improved greatly, whilst Kenty is the experienced wiley old fox who is very quick on his day. The third car is being run as an Independent with K-Class Vapes for Kinkycowboys, and the battle between the 3 will be fascinating to watch, especially as they have gone down the Chevrolet Cruze route. Another Independent is CelticFox in the Quicksilver Racing BMW. Celtic has been a star in the PK Series and Thunder Enduro series, especially in a Dodge Viper, so he is no stranger to rear wheeled drive cars, and will be a strong midfield runner. WMC have a strong line up, Warrender being joined by VTX Gashley, and the sister team running JSBBraley and SC10Raptor. These 4 are a double dose of fast pairings and look set to be running the Audi.
One of the biggest teams in the series for size this season is Hoppers Sport. They have always run team owner Hoppers, and he has improved massively over the past few season. With big sponsors and backing the team has branched out, running Pro racer Seeley, and a Development team with AKA Posh and Daz Chalmers. The latter two are on a very steep learning curve, and the season for them will be about learning and moving up the grid. One of the big darkhorses over in AM, are DART who are back with the Martini BMW’s. DART were quick in the last series, and Major Raver won a couple of rounds, also coming close to the Porsche Championship, a few make him favourite to be the man to beat in AM, and if his testing pace is anything to by he might be. Team mate Wambogini improved greatly from the back of the grid to midfield last time, and between the pair they will be aiming for top 5 in the team championship overall. Another to watch in AM, but also a big tip for team honours as well, is CQR Rob who has joined powerhouse team KRR Racing. Rob was runner up in the Focus Am class last season, so his speed is not in doubt, and joining KRR gives him support that he has not had before. Team leader BMR Sutton is mega fast on his day, but will he have any of those off days that may slow a championship attack in Pro? Don’t be surprised to see KRR giving RML a massive run for their money this season. Also in AM we have UKSM, whose two drivers Boss and Ba11ney ran well in the Focus series, the former in a winner at Silverstone in the wet.
Another team with a driver in both classes is RML Development, with Weebilly and Penfold, both in the Mercedes. WeeBilly is one of the fastest Pro drivers, whilst Penfold is one of the most popular AM runners, who had a torrid time over the past few seasons, but got a massive breakthrough win in the Focus series. MaD Motorsport is new to THORS, but has impressed in the Thunder Enduro. NorlinRacer leads the teams attack in Pro, whilst Mad will use the starting power of the BMW to remind the AM drivers of how good he is off the line in the Thunder Enduro. Mad also went well in the Porsche series, so he no stranger to strong results in a RWD car. Back to the Pro class, and we have amazingly gone over half a review without mentioning Team Cheetah. Team owner FKart5 was the bad boy of the last Touring Car series, but still took the AM honours that underlined his rapid pace. The team has gone down the Honda route, and there is no doubting they have the knowledge and ability to make the Civic work. FKart is joined in the team by CarCrazyCal, who like FKart is no slouch behind the wheel, and these two are likely to supply most of the fireworks in the Pro class, with plenty of time spent on the podium to. They are also running a sister team for Shanisss and Ghostlyknightwolf. Shanisss has improved in Pro, whilst Ghostly had a difficult Focus campaign, but showed promise in the Porsche with a couple of podiums. One team new to the AM series is the UNR Arclight Racing Audi of TomNovy and Uptonracer. Very little is known of this new team, but spies have clocked the Audi running very rapid in TomNovy’s hands. Last of the actual teams are the mysterious CTCP Factory Racing, with lead driver Ruffy60, who often enters but doesn’t always show, but is known to fast when he does. He is backed up by Jcounquer.
Veepz is back determined to defend his crown
A full grid of cars are eager to get started this Wednesday
So what about the last batch of Indy runners? A number in pro have good podium pedigree. Millzywhites rarely does a full season but can grab a spot on the podium when he does, whilst BadBeat has left the DART stable to venture out on his own, he has improved over the past two seasons and will be desperate to grab his first ever victory. Past team mate Cubs1979 is entered, but it is unknown if he even has a car. Cubs was a star in the last THORS Touring Car series, so he cannot be discounted to do well. The final AM’s are Seanski who is back in the Chevrolet Cruze that he loved so much last time out, Fife Flyer Devilsbogeymen who is getting closer to the front each season, and always has fantastically turned out cars, and finally Craftynoble, who has polished off his old BMW M125i for another go. Noble showed some pace last time out, but his car lacked reliability.
So who does that leave? Well RangerRick is in a privately run Chevrolet using the KRR workshop. Rick is no stranger to winning, and took last week’s Thunder Enduro race at Maple Valley, it will be fascinating to see how he goes against his teammate in that series, BMR Sutton, expect fireworks. Another privateer to watch out for in Pro, is TheRacing Nova who comes with a very strong reputation and a well sorted Chevrolet Cruze. ZestyAfo and Sasser are new to the series, but as we have learnt many times in the past, never discount the unknown new drivers as they can make the biggest impression of all.
So 10 rounds lay ahead, broken panels, tapping cars to pass, drama and arguments in the pitlane, heartbreak and joy, you wouldn’t want it any other way now would you!!