The highly anticipated first round of the SimRacing Republic SportsCar Championship Prologue delivered an action-packed race at the legendary Daytona International Speedway. With intense battles, strategic pit stops, and dramatic Safety Car interventions, this race set the tone for an exciting season ahead.
Race Highlights
A Clean but Intense Start
Right from the green flag, the field was tightly packed, with drivers jostling for position while maintaining impressive racecraft, despite some cold tire issues in the opening laps. The HAVU team took an early lead but was under constant pressure from FastRepair Motorsport, Zero7 Racing & Unlucky Luc Racing, all of who showcased incredible pace in the beginning for LMP2.
In LMP3 it was an outragous pace by both the HydroRace Geodesic Racing #162, piloted by Daniel Harris & the #189 DeltaSport | Simshop team who led the field.
In GT3 PRO it was the Fast Lane #228 and both M&J Performance cars to battle it out in the opening stages, while GT3 AM was lead by Echelon Simsport #329.
Strategic Pit Stops Shake Up the Order
As the race progressed, pit stop strategies played a crucial role. With the right prediction of a Safety Car being called, the #5 Marshmallow Team FR13da brought their name up the order. Some more teams opted for an early stop to gain track position, while others stretched their stints, hoping for another Safety Car intervention, gambleing on “caution breeds caution”.
Dramatic Safety Car Phases
Several key incidents brought out the Safety Car, which briefly neutralized the race, most notably a self-spin from the Maniti Racing Purple #178 in the Le-Mans Chicane, ending their expectations on a good result in LMP3. The restarts were nothing short of spectacular, with drivers going wheel-to-wheel in an attempt to capitalize on the regrouped field.
Final Laps: A Battle for the Win
A late Safety Car due to another loss in the Le-Mans Chicane, this time by the #96 Unlucky Luc Racing LMP2 shuffled up the whole grid again. Ossi Peltola from the #5 Marshmallow Team FR13da and Diana Perez from the #02 FastRepair Motorsport engaged in a thrilling duel in LMP2 with the upper hand for the #5 by a super close finish of only 0.024 seconds.
In LMP3 it was the Heusinkveld #148 who could capitalize the most out of the Safety Car Procedures and take their car to victory lane in an even so close finish with the Echelon Simsport #129 at 0.027s. Despite being one of the fastest cars all day, unfortunately the #162 HydroRace Geodesic Racing LMP3 came to a sad ending, loosing their rear end at the exit of “Dogleg”, eventually ending in the barriers, needing a tow back to the pits, ending what probably would’ve been a Podium, if not the win.
For GT3 PRO it was our argentinan squad of Voracious #214 to sequre the win before the two Porsche-driven cars of the #228 Fast Lane RT & #236 Composite Performance to finish out the Podium.
In GT3 AM it was a pretty cleared win for the Backmarker Racing Green machine, gapping the class by almost 10 seconds to the line.
Top 3 Results
LMP2
- Marshmallow Team FR13da🏆
- Leipert eSports
- German SimRacing #Orange
LMP3
- Team Heusinkveld🏆
- Echelon Simsport
- Simatok Sensations #121
GT3 PRO
- Voracious🏆
- Fast Lane RT
- Composite Performance
GT3 AM
- Backmarker Racing Green🏆
- BP Racing II
- Maniti Racing Blue
What’s Next?
With such an electrifying season opener, fans can expect more high-octane racing in the upcoming rounds. Stay tuned for Round 2 on April 5th from the legendary Nürburgring!
