THUNDER MAG - 16th MAY 2019
Devil Lord Spa-rkles in Belgium
Lights to flag victory for Devil Lord ~ Brilliant podium for Badbeat in third ~ Bradders puts the pressure on in the Championship with second place ~Cerberus have a great day and close on SWR in team Battle ~ THORS Porsche's small grid but entertains ~ Pronag has Beetle and Sprint race success at Indy ~PMR Plato wins feature race on his return.
No one could keep up with Devil Lord as he stormed to victory around Spa.
Latest News
The first confirmed news for Season 5 came out, that 3 car teams will be allowed next season, if the team has two drivers ranked as a ProAM or AM driver within them. Currently RML and DART run with this and expect both to take advantage of this change for next season. The 3 car teams are allowed to score in the revamped points system as well.
Media night will be held at Le Mans, on the full circuit and will see a race using the famous Mulsanne straight. Media Night is due on the 11th June 2019, and expect to see a range of cars being used across the classes.
Next years calendar is close to agreement, with 4 new venues making an appearance. Circuit of the America's will run the 2 heat middle of the season round, on the full Grand Prix circuit. It is also known that Long Beach will not be the only street circuit on the Calender in Season 5.
A couple of boost changes for the next round of the TORC Touring CARS, as both the Mitsubishi and 2009 Ford Focus, run by EmpireMSport and RML have been given an extra 5bhp.
Only one Si across the two race meetings this week, as PMR Plato was penalised with a 20second pen after contact in the Sprint Touring Car race at Indianapolis.
Gossip
Have the KRR drivers gone their separate ways again? Rumours in the paddock at Spa seem to suggest so, with RangersRick or TORC Rick as he is about to be known, setting up a racing academy and reviving his own team? Also rumoured, is that Badbeat aims to go out on a high, and is planning to retire from racing at the end of the season.
DART have confirmed that they will not be running the Alfa 4c next season, as the team have sold the cars to DBM34. No changes are expected on the driving strength at DART, and number 1 driver Kidders has been seen testing BMW cars. Will the team be driving them in Season 5? DBM34 will continue with Devilsboogeyman next season, and rumours that he had been approached by another driver to join him in the Italian sportscars.
Will the bizarre looking Plymouth Prowler be heading to the Thunder Enduro? It seems that the Horizon with Scruffs Team have been looking at and testing the funny looking car, with some strong testing times.
SWR are still the talk of the paddock, with rumours of changes in the team for next season. Posh Rob is still linked with RML, and although JRush has been linked with various teams, he is expected to stay. The team are keen to run the Subaru's again, although the manufacture has been seen in discussions with Cerberus who run their Touring Car Programme.
Hoppers Sport no more? Rumours are that team boss Hopperswwfc will be closing the team and concentrating on his driving after the TORC Touring Car season has finished.
Thunder Enduro
Wedding days and other commitments, meant the smallest entry since the first ever Thunder Enduro race, arrived at the beautiful but challenging Spa circuit, for Round 8. We had Bradderstig back, and with Championship leader CQR Posh Rob missing, it was the perfect chance for the reigning Champion to catch back up in the title race. The opening race was for the THORS Porsche's and sadly only 10 made the grid, although they produced some fantastic racing. Devil Lord and Pronag were in inspired form early on, but their was no stopping Bradderstig who charged through from the back of the grid to take the spoils.
The main event promised to throw the form book out of the window, with a number of the AM drivers showing strong testing pace. Devil Lord though wasn't in the mood to be denied and shot off the grid and built up a 3 second lead by the end of lap 1. Their was no stopping the Cerberus Camaro and he even managed to keep his lead through the pitstops, to come home 22 seconds a head of the chasing pack. Bradders had been expected to struggle with the long straights, but he drove a blinder to move through the field to take second, and with it the championship lead overall. The podium was finished off by the winner of the AM class, as Badbeat chased and harried down the 3 Cerberus built cars and forced Kinkycowboys in to a late error, to become the first AM driver to finish on the podium with third place. It was a result and performance that impressed all. He wasn't the only AM driver to impress, as Scarlet was in the dice for the top 6, until she was the innocent victim of Major Raver leaving the pit lane in her path, and the damage dropped her down to 10th at the end of the race. Devilsboogeyman was second on lap one and was flying in the BMW, but an error at the end of lap 2 by AtomStew at the Bus Stop Chicane, saw the DBM34 run car with suspension damage, which it never recovered from and sadly the Scottish drivers bad luck continued with retirement. Stew recover from his spot to take the Class A honours with 8th place overall.
We saw some fantastic dices through the field, and one of the highlights was for 6th place, between RangersRick and Robraceruk, the RML Ferrari coming out on top on the final lap, will those lost 4 points prove costly to Rick at the end of the season?
Teams & Drivers:
AV Motorsport: Xray Energy DNE
Did not enter.
BTC Honda Civic: AtomStew 8th
The team were over the moon to finish, but it wasn't without drama's. The Honda had a lot of pace, but it needed a second pitstop after a mistake by Stew saw him leave his braking to late and damage to his and Devilsboogeyman's car. He then showed great pace in his recovery, and without the stop 5th place could have been on. Was very happy to take Class A honours after a poor season, and give himself an outside chance of catching Penfold.
Cerberus Chevrolet Camaro 02: Devil Lord – 1st, Kinkycowboys 4th
After the disappointment of last week, the team scored a fantastic result to give them hope of Team glory. Devil Lord drove perfectly without mistake, taking the lead from pole and never being headed. Kinky had a more lively race as he briefly made it a 1-2 until Bradders caught him, and then had his mirrors full of Badbeat, holding him off until the Honda driver forced him into an error late on DRIVER OF THE DAY - DEVIL LORD.
Cerberus R&D Mazda MX5: Bradderstig 2nd
From last to 3rd in 3 laps, showed the usual race craft that we have come to expect from the reigning Champion. Couldn't match Devil Lord's pace around Spa, but the second place a fantastic result that gives him back the Championship lead. Win in the support race, also gives him a chance to defend that crown to.
DARE Alfa 4c: Wambogini DNE
Did Not Enter.
DART Alfa 4c: xKidders DNE, Major Raver 13th
Only one Alfa and it wasn't a successful day. Raver was in the fight for 6th place for over half the race, but he came out of the pits straight into the path of Scarlet Witch, and the pair were both damaged. Needed a third stop late on, after damaging his car on the kerbs.
DMB34 BMW M2: Devilsboogeyman DNF
Shown some promising testing pace, and his first lap was superb as he got up to second place. A slight error dropped him to 5th on lap 2 and then he was very unlucky as another car piled into him at full speed at the Bus Stop chicane. Needed a stop for suspension damage, but it couldn't be repaired so he retired 4 laps later, hoping his luck changes sooner rather than later.
Badbeat took his first ever pdium with a superb third place.
Devilsboogeyman ran second early on, AtomStew took Class A.
EmpireMSport BMW M3: Maj 9th, Empire DNE
The winner from last week, was always going to find this difficult and he did, the BMW its usual tail happy self, but also down on power. It was a good drive though by Maj and the top 10 result was a reward for a good clean run as others around him made mistakes, only some damage with a lap 2 contact from the Lamborghini, slowed his earlier pace.
Hooligan Racing Mazda RX7: RotaryRhys DNE
Did Not Enter.
Hoppers Sport BMW M3: Hopperswwfc DNE
Did not enter.
Horizon with Scruffs Chevrolet Camaro 16: Pronag 5th Dazzlentfc 15th
The team became two, as Dazzlentfc joined in a second Camaro. It was a good debut by the AM driver, who stayed out of trouble and only finished a lap down, in the points with 15th. Team leader Pronag, had possibly his best drive of the season, the Camaro looked a heavy handful around Spa in the lower Pi, so 5th place was impressive.
KRR Racing Honda NSX 02: RangersRick 7th, PMR Plato 12th
Many had PRM Plato as favourite for victory around Spa, but he didn't look competitive from the off and was a very disappointing 12th place. Rick drove another superb race in the lower PI version, and was in a great battle for 6th place, losing out on the last lap. Suzuki should be kind to both drivers next week.
Monster JamSport Honda NSX 2005: WeeBilly DNE
Did not enter.
Quicksilver Lamborghini Countach: CelticFox 11th
After a great drive at Watkins Glen, CelticFox bubble burst at Spa. Lively in the first two laps, and error under braking saw damage to his car and Maj's. After then it was about holding on until the stops, and he lacked the pace to finish any higher after that. The Countach did look good through Eau Rouge though.
RML Ferrari 355: Mad DNE, Robraceruk 6th
Best result of the season for Robraceruk, who managed to come out top in a great dice for 6th with RangersRick, Major Raver and Scarlet Witch. Overtook the Honda at the start of the last lap and held him off for the next 4 miles.
RML Development Ferrari 355: Penfold 14th
A very disappointed Penfold once again, damage on lap 1 meaning a 2 stop and leaving him unable to keep up with the AM class runners. Did manage to extend his Class A lead though, and looks odds on favourite to take the class honours. Suzuka being an AWD circuit and a higher Pi gives him a great chance next week to catch Badbeat in the Championship.
SMEG Racing Honda NSX 02: Badbeat 3rd
After a 6th place last week, the team were on a high and testing with RangersRick, had Badbeat hopeful of another strong race. Was very careful in the early laps, he then took his time moving through as the field started to spread out, hunting down Bradders and Kinkycowboys. The Camaro kept him at bay until late on, when the pressure paid off and he scored a fantastic podium. He now has a nice lead in AM as well.
SWR Subaru BRZ: CQR Posh Rob DNE JRush DNE
Did not Enter.
SWR with Prostate Cancer Subaru BRZ: Scarlet Witch 10th
A very strong drive by Scarlet, that could have easily seen her finish in the top 6. The Subaru was mega on the fast straights, and she used the power to keep a gaggle of cars behind her in the first half of the race. Was running in 7th after the pitstops, when Major Raver came out the pitlane straight in her path and she was left with a damaged car. Stopped for repairs, and over took two cars on her charge up to 10th place. A dark horse at Suzuka.
Team Hard Porsche Cayman: RGreenwood DNE
Did Not Enter.
TOS Lancia 037: J47TEE DNE
Did not enter.
Robraceruk came out top in the battle for 6th place.
The Porsche race was low on numbers but entertained.
Touring Car Sunday - Rounds 7 & 8.
Watkins Glen had given us some great racing and the hopes were high for a repeat at the second part of the American leg of the series, at Indianapolis Speedway. The Beetles were first up and Pronag had a lightning start to lead early on, Kinky and Posh Rob both giving chase. By lap 3 PMR Plato was up to second and as hard as he tried he couldn't close the leader down. Maj took third place, with Posh Rob 4th, a head of new Championship leader Devil Lord who took advantages of some errors made from the top 3 in the Championship before the start of the day.
The Touring Cars lined up for the first time and Pronag made a superb getaway to lead into the first corner, his hopes helped by Hoppers getting it all wrong on the braking and making contact with a couple of runners. This did enough to slow the field down, so that Pronag led by 2 seconds at the end of the opening lap. Gizzard was a man on the move, the Hyundai looking superb around here, and he had soon passed the pair of DART Golfs to give chase to the BMW. Behind him PMR Plato was back, and was quickly moving through after starting at the back. By lap 4 the Honda was on the tail of the two Golf's battling for third, but he was to late on the braking sending one golf into the tyre wall and the other coming to stop in avoidance. He then tried to close the gap to the top two, the gap shrinking from 1st to second, and second to third by half a second a lap, but Pronag was not to be denied and crossed the line to give BMW its first win of the season. Gizzard was overjoyed with second, whilst Plato's joy was short lived, as a penalty dropped him down the order and gave Xray Energy the final podium spot. Rick kept his Championship lead with 4th, and after a disappointing drive by the Subaru's, the DART Golf's were now only a point behind in the teams.
So to the feature race and it was a great start by Celtic Fox in the Mercedes, who was returning to the series, as he led them down to turn one, chased by Major Raver, Sealey, Devilsboogeyman and Maj. Celtic made an error on lap 2 and Sealey was now in front, Raver stopping early in the Golf to avoid the close battles that had started to form for third back to 12th. Sealey stayed out until three laps from the end before making his stop, banging in quick consistent lap times, whilst a number of other faster drivers further back stopped early and started slowing themselves such was the great dicing going on. Plato showed the straightline speed of the Honda to soon be up to second, Gizzard again quick in the Hyundai, but having a fantastic dice with Kidders and Posh Rob. The DSR boys did a great job on the stop of getting Sealey out in 5th place, and with it the lead of the ProAM runners, holding Raver off over the last two laps to take the class spoils. Plato was clear in front, and came home 7 seconds a head for a comfortable victory, but the battle behind was still raging, Kidders doing a fantastic job of holding off Gizzard to take the runners up spot.
The strong result by the DART Golf's leave them a head in the teams and manufactures, but its becoming a four way battle for team honours, as the DSR Hyundai pair are showing great pace, and the SWR Ford's are far from out of it. Subaru will be glad of the return of Bradders next time out. In the drivers Championship, Posh Rob now leads Rick by a point, with both Pronag and Gizzard close behind in third and 4th. No race next week, the teams then head to Brands Hatch for the race of Champions and the long 35 lap race, the week after.
Gizzard gets on two wheels in the Beetle race.
PMR Plato took the Touring Car Feature race honours.
Race Results
Spa
Support Series (THORS Porsche): 1st Bradderstig, 2nd Devil Lord, 3rd Pronag, 4th Maj2012, 5th CelticFox
Thunder Enduro Overall: 1st Devil Lord, 2nd Bradderstig, 3rd Badbeat, 4th Kinkycowboys, 5th Pronag
Class: Class A: AtomStew, Class C: Devil Lord, AM Class: Badbeat
Indianapolis
VW Beetles: 1st Pronag, 2nd PMR Plato, 3rd Maj2012, 4th CQR Posh Rob, 5th Devil Lord
TTC Sprint: 1st Pronag, 2nd Gizzard, 3rd, Xray Energy, 4th RangersRick, 5th CQR Posh Rob
TTC Feature: 1st PMR Plato, 2nd Kidders, 3rd Gizzard, 4th CQR Posh Rob, 5th Sealey
Next Edition
A full rundown of Season 5 rules, as the Season 4 Championship goes East, to Suzuka in Japan. Will Bradderstig, Posh Rob, or RangersRick take advantage in the Championship, and will the AM runners gatecrash the party again?
Pronag leads the field at the start of the sprint race.
The DSR Hyundai's starred, whilst CelticFox rejoined the series.