K-CLASS VAPES THUNDER ENDURO ROUND 2 – HOCKENHEIM 10th JULY 2018
BACK TO BACK MIKE RULES GERMANY
Nikemikerules wins again ~ impressive debut by BMR Sutton in second ~ Fkart5 grabs his first podium ~ Good debuts for Kenty76 and A Big Pie Key ~ Cerberus score well again in the teams
Nikemikerules & FKart withstand the Ford pressure to lead in to turn 1
The drivers arrived in Germany, and the shock was that Team Cheetah had only one car for FKart5, also missing was WeeBIlly, so NikeMikerules beaming smile wasn’t just about being on pole, but his two biggest rivals were missing. KRR were again down to one car, but it was BMR Sutton running it this week, and unlike RangersRick it was running in RWD guise. CK Motorsport were making their debut in the series, in the fantastic looking Nissan GT-R for A Big Pie Key, whilst DMR racing were at two cars as Kenty76 was back after a troubled media day in the Hyundai Velostar, the car now rebuilt.
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Mike was on pole and determined to beat FKart into the first corner which he did, but he was under massive pressure from the fast starting Fords
, as Kinky went looking for the inside of the pair and was bringing his team made, and flying Focus of Mad with him. The two Cerberus cars made contact, as did further back A Big Pie Key and Sutton, as these two were keen to make up time from the back of the grid. Nike led down the back straight, challenged had by FKart who was having a look for the lead under braking, Mike held on around the first lap, but FKart was in his slipstream and keen to pressure the Mazda in to a mistake. Behind them everyone was tripping up, and this had allowed Robraceruk to have a superb opening tour to be third, Sutton already up to 4th and Major Raver another to avoid any cold tyre issues and be fifth. It was a disaster of a first lap for the Alert-It pair, as contact was made at the end of the back straight with each other that slowed them down.
Mike was trying hard to open the gap to his young rival, but Fkart was not being shaken off, and on lap 3 he got in front for a brief moment under braking at the end of the back straight. Mike cut back inside and regained the lead, and for the next 10 laps he couldn’t get away by any more than a few seconds. Behind them and Sutton was up to third in the Lancia and running strongly and on lap 8 set a blistering lap that would go on to be a new lap record. He was slightly catching on the front two but a couple of wide moments lost him the odd second here and there and left him having to repeat the hard work. Lap 13 bought Sutton in as the first stopper of the main contenders, the first to actually stop was Penfold who had an off and a damaged car on lap 4. It was though starting to look like a good day for the DMR Hyundai team, as Kenty was flying along and battling in the top 5 in the sister car. He was up to 4th, when the slightest of contact spun him around and also saw Robracer drop positions as he got stuck in the gravel. Kenty was up and running again and deep in a battle with Kinky, A Big Pie Key and Major Raver, with Devil Lord not far away.
Fkart stopped on lap 15, and Mike stayed out hoping that not having to look in his mirrors and with a clear track would give him the time needed to open up a gap. It worked a treat, and he pitted on lap 20, rejoining with a near 10 second lead. It wasn’t now FKart in second, in fact it looked like the new tyres on the Honda weren’t up to the first set, and his pace had drifted off, this allowing Sutton to move into second place. For Mike it was now about keeping his concentration, and like Silverstone he didn’t that perfectly, reeling off the last 10 laps for a great back to back win. Sutton couldn’t close the gap, but was mindful of Fkart running close behind, it seemed the Honda ran better in company and his lap times picked up, but not enough to grab second place back.
Strong debuts by both, A Big Pie Key leads Kenty76 and Kinky in the battle for 4th
It was big points haul though for the Team Cheetah car. For KRR they must be hoping they can get both cars on the grid soon, as no one was left in any doubt how competitive the team is.
Last week Kinkycowboy spent the race battling with others, and this week was no difference. He was running well without error, where as the A Big Pie Key and Kenty were certainly showing more raw pace, but making the odd errors. The Hyundai was flying, a week in the DART factory had transformed the car, Kenty quicker on the straights, the Escort faster on the twisty stuff and mega under braking. It all came down to the last lap and Kenty held on to 4th place and joint lead in the forever forward series. For Kinky it was another good haul of points, the extra 5pi over his team mate giving him the advantage this week and the Class A championship lead. Devil Lord finished in 9th, the Escort seemed to lose its tyres on each stint after around 8 laps, which stopped him challenging the battle for 4th. A Big Pie Key finished on the heels of Kenty and Kinky, a great debut for the Nissan, and the car showed a lot of straight line pace which will fill him with hope for next week at Road Atlanta.
7th went to the single DART entry of Major Raver. The team knew in advance that this circuit wouldn’t pay to the Ferrari’s strengths, but a mistake free race left the team overjoyed with the result, the car again also proved to be extremely kind on its tyres, with Raver the last to do his first stop, on lap 22. CelticFox is fast becoming the unlucky driver of the series. It looked promising at the start, but slight contact on the run up to turn 2 on lap 1 dropped him down the order to 10th, a fight back through the field was then slowed with a steering issue that lost him valuable time. His lap times were again good once the gremlins had cleared, and when the luck changes you have a fast driver in a fast car still on 750PI.
CelticFox luck has to change soon, his pace a lot better again than the result
Behind Devil Lord in 10th was Robracer, whose race started brilliantly, running in the top 3 on lap 1. He found the Mazda a struggle on his rear tyres in Germany, and an off early on delayed him, enough that he couldn’t get back on the tails of the battles ahead. He will be glad to go to Road Atlanta, a circuit he goes well on with a car still on a high Pi. After a messy first lap Alert-It were left playing catch up and 11th and 12th wasn’t a bad result, although the team looked disappointed. Lap times improved and Captain Storer ran strongly in the second half of the race, giving hope for better things to come with the BMW. Team mate RGreenwood looked to have a balance issue, the car drifting a lot more and leaving him as the only driver to not run a clean lap.
The race ended up as a glorified test session in the end, but a valuable one at that.
Mad ended up 13th, fighting in the top 8 early on, the car showed the same characteristics as it had at Silverstone. Without a doubt the fastest car on traction, it was mega off the line and out of the tight hairpins, but it was eating tyres and fuel. The team are planning a test session in the week and a bit of a redesign before round 3. Penfold ended up 4th, an early off left him 2 stopping but he can be encouraged by the pace shown by his teammate that things are on the up for the team. Last finisher was Hoppers. A lively first lap left him in the top 10, and he showed some good one lap pace, but like a few others he is in need of some testing time. The very high PI on the Lotus gives him a great opportunity for next week and he will be a rocket ship down the long straights.
So Mike wins two and extends his lead. Next week will be hard though, the mega straights of Road Atlanta may see him exposed, especially at 690Pi, and if Bradders and WeebIlly return they will make like very difficult for him if they can safely get through the field on the opening laps.
Result After 30 Laps
1. NIKEMIKERULES - MAZDA RX7 - 54mins 54.821 seconds
2. BMR Sutton - Lancia 037 - +15seconds
3. FKart5 - Honda NSX 05 - +17seconds
4. Kenty76 - Hyundai Veloster - +1min 13secs
5. Kinkycowboys - Ford Escort Cosworth - +1min 14secs
6. A Big Pie Key - Nissan GTR - +1min 14secs
7. Major Raver - Ferrari 288 GTO - +1min 27secs
8. CelticFox31 - Dodge Viper - +1min 38secs
9. Devil lord 13 - Ford Escort Cosworth - +1min 42secs
10. Robraceruk - Maxda RX7 - +1min 46secs
11. Captain Storer - BMW M2 - +1Lap
12. RGreenwood123 - BMW M2 - +1Lap
13. Mad2210 - Ford Focus 17 - +1Lap
14. Penfold2903 - Hyundai Veloster - +2Laps
15. Hopperswwfc - Lotus Evora - +2Laps
It was a difficult debut for the beautifully turned out Alert-It BMW's
FASTEST LAP BMR SUTTON 1min 47.335seconds (NEW LAP RECORD)
It was a good day for the Italian cars, with BMR Sutton finishing second