rFactor2 – Page 2 – Champion Motorsports

NARS Modern Sportscar Championship – Round 2 at Twin Ring Motegi

Race Report by Matthew Overton Image by Jerry Chen Broadcast by Ross “Tnadz” Smith February 18, 2021 – For the second round of the Virtual Modern Sportscar Series, the drivers and their support teams made the round-world trip from Florida to meet the rising sun in Japan to test themselves against the Motegi circuit in the Tochigi Prefecture. Conditions were almost ideal throughout the weekend, with all the visitors remarking on the excellent facilities and the support they received from the local organizing committee. Enjoying the weekend most fully was the Ferrari factory delegation, hosted to the event by their Nissan colleagues who were to be disappointed by the results of the race at their ‘home’ track. While not every driver was able to make the long trip – with Daytona LMH AM winner Jose Florez and GTE AM 2nd place finisher Dan Minges among them - it was > more

Categories: Race Reports|Tags: NARS, rFactor 2, rFactor2, twin ring motegi, VMSC|

VWSC 2021 – 60 Minutes of Twin Ring Motegi

Race Report by George Angelidis & Matthew Overton Images by Jerry Chen Broadcast by Ross “Tnadz” Smith February 20, 2021 - It was truly a day for the partisans of the Rising Sun with Nissan getting a full return on the effort they put into attracting and staging Round 2 of the VWSC ‘21 Championship at their ‘home’ track. A total of 30 cars and drivers arrived early in the week to complete testing and preparations for the weekend. It was clear that many teams had been hard at work during the break since Daytona, though not all were able to put past difficulties behind them, as the race was to show. Qualifying LMH-Pro Storm Rider Racing driver Ahmed Abdallah set the pace with his Nissan by grabbing pole ahead of LMH-Pro contender driver Marouane el Idrissi and his Triploski GorillAAAH Nissan. In the GTE field, it was the > more

Categories: Race Reports|Tags: rFactor 2, rFactor2, twin ring motegi, VWSC|

NARS – VTDMC Round 3 at Lausitzring

Race Report by Matthew Overton Image by Jerry Chen Broadcast by Ross "Tnadz" Smith February 11, 2021 - This week, the drivers of the NARS VDTMC made the pilgrimage to the European center of automotive testing, the DEKRA facility at Lausitz, to show their manufacturers how well they could extract performance from their cars on a track the manufacturers themselves know so very well. The weather, while generally overcast, in the end, provided excellent conditions for the race, which saw plenty of action from the 8 PRO and 11 AM drivers that lined up on the starting grid. While a number of drivers opted to skip this stop, the field welcomed warmly four new drivers to grid – familiar face Tony Boynton and NARS newcomers John Maher, Chris Cox, and Cedric Collins, all in the AM category. Qualifying Qualifying was intense, with some great times being set during the > more

Categories: Race Reports|Tags: DTM, Lausitzring, NARS, rFactor 2, rFactor2|

VWSC 2021 – 2.4 Hours of Daytona

Race Report by George Angelidis January 24, 2021 - After New Year’s every sportscar fan in the world is waiting for Daytona. The twice around the clock endurance race traditionally held at the last weekend of January is for many of us the start of the racing season. With its high speeds and high banks, it’s a spectacle on its own. The sun may rise at Daytona in the United States, but it was the machine from the Rising Sun country where the day belonged. Nissan finished 1-2 in LMH-Pro and 1-2-3 in LMH-Am dominating the first race of this new era of hypercar sportscar racing. In GTE 2 teams dominated their classes respectively: the CMS Pro Ferrari and the Trash Panda Racing Aston Martin. LMH-Pro Ahmed Abdalla took the win in LMH-Pro class and overall, shifting from his dominant GTE-Pro performances from last year. While he couldn’t make > more

Categories: Race Reports|Tags: Daytona, rFactor 2, rFactor2, VWSC|

NARS Modern Sportscar Championship – Round 1 at Daytona 2.4

Race Report by Matthew Overton Photo by Jerry Chen Broadcast by Ross Smith January 21, 2021 - The thunder was heard loud and clear last night at Daytona as the Hypercars and GTEs of the VMSC took to the track for the first of twelve rounds of action. LMH PRO Weather conditions were almost perfect and provided a stunning backdrop for the landmark victory of Ferrari FXX driver George Angelidis, who scored his maiden win at CMS with a commanding performance in the LMH PRO class. Lacking only the fastest lap and leadership of 5 race laps that fell to others while he was being serviced in the pits to complete a sweep of the race, it was nevertheless a long-held dream come true for the veteran CMS driver. Against a strong field in the class that included Brian Hall (2nd), Norm Graf (3rd), JT Tami, and, in a > more

Categories: Race Reports|Tags: Daytona, NARS, rFactor 2, rFactor2|

NARS Virtual DTM – Round 1 at Monza

Race Report by Matthew Overton January 14, 2021 - It was a dreary day that greeted the teams assembled at the cathedral of speed for the opening round of the 2021 NARS Virtual DTM Championship at CMS. 23 drivers, PRO and AM took to the track, all three manufacturers well represented with Aura clearly the steed of choice. Difficult Weather Light but steady rain during the practice morning raised significant concerns that weather would play a major role in the race, but by the time qualifying had arrived, the rain had lifted although the track remained damp due to the slow drying conditions. JT Tami pipped Ahmed Abdalla at the last moment to take the pole as the drivers struggled with the conditions and the optimal tire choice. While all the drivers were successful in setting a qualifying lap, the range of times recorded as an indication of how > more

Categories: Race Reports|Tags: DTM, Monza, rFactor 2, rFactor2|

NARS 80 Minutes of Bahrain & Season End Report

Race Report by Matthew Overton December 7, 2020 - A warm and very comfortable Bahrain late afternoon was the setting for the final round of the NARS VWSC Championship with almost ideal conditions for the 18 drivers and crews that made the trip to the Kingdom on the Persian Gulf. And they wasted no time in getting down to business, with some scintillating qualifying laps to set the stage for the championship battles to come over the last 80 minutes of racing in the season. LMP2 Within the LMP2 field of 7 cars, JT Tami took top honors with a blistering 1:46.411, .3s ahead of second-place Jason Whited with Colin Moore .2s further back. Ahmed Abdalla continued his fine qualifying form, topping the GTE field with a 1:57.196, less than a tenth of a second ahead of Hank Sun with George Angelidis only slightly further back. It was a > more

Categories: Race Reports|Tags: Bahrain, NARS, rFactor 2, rFactor2, VWSC|

NARS BTCC Final Round Brands Hatch Indy

Race Report by Matthew Overton BTCC Series Finale November 19, 2020 - Another bright and sunny day greeted the drivers and their crews as they returned to Brands Hatch for the culminating round of the CMS NARS BTCC series. With tight battles still to be decided in both the PRO and AM classes, spirits were running high for the last two races of the series on the Indy layout, promising fast, wide-open racing for the fans. Rich Hibbs took top honors in qualifying and it proved to be a race-winning advantage as he led from flag to flag in Race 1. Behind him, Jason Whited, Eduardo Beninca, and a hard-charging Norm Graf battled throughout the race with the four cars separated by less than 4 seconds up to lap 22. For much of the remainder of the field, however, chaos in the opening seconds meant that much of the > more

Categories: Race Reports|Tags: Brands Hatch, BTCC, rFactor 2, rFactor2|

NARS BTCC Round 8 at Snetterton

Race Report and Photo by Matthew Overton November 12, 2020 - At long last, the fabled English weather fulfilled its promise, providing a wet and dreary day for Round 8 of the NARS BTCC championship. Rather than dampening the racing spirit of the 14 drivers that made their way to Norfolk for the races, it inspired some additional sharpening to their racecraft as both races provided for some amazing close-quarter runs. Rich Hibbs proved to be the strongest in qualifying with a magic lap that was fully 2s ahead of his nearest rival, Frank Radosti. The magic had all but disappeared however by the time the first lap was complete with the polesitter dropping to P7. Eduardo Beninca and Colin Moore were the principal beneficiaries of errors in the opening lap that saw Radosti and JT Tami get caught up together with difficulties in the racing conditions. Hibbs continued > more

Categories: Race Reports|Tags: BTCC, NARS, rFactor 2, rFactor2|

CMS VWSC – WSC Round 9: 1.2 Hours of Sebring

Race Report by George Angelidis Images by Jerry Chen VWSC 1.2 Hours of Sebring – now you rain, now you don’t November 7, 2020 Bykolles Racing clinches LMP2 Championship Bob Roberson becomes the oldest CMS class champion (LMPC) at 82 years old!!! Sansano gets a post-race 2-grid place penalty gifting Marouane el Idrissi first season win Crossing the line at Sebring. Rain HAS ARRIVED! For the first time in the season, we got some rain for VWSC 1.2 Hrs of Sebring, producing some nail-biting racing and a share of randomness due to on the fly strategies… The race was showing early on to be anything but usual with having a shower 5 minutes before qualifying. People that got on track first got the most out of it since, for most, the first lap was their best. Jason Whited and Cameron Sansano were the beneficiaries of this “early > more

Categories: Race Reports|Tags: rFactor2, Sebring, VWSC|

NARS BTCC Croft

Race Report by Matthew Overton October 15, 2020 - It was a surprisingly dry ‘weekend’ at Croft for the 7th stop on the NARS BTCC series. Race 1 featured a strong battle between Eduardo Beninca and Rich Hibbs, with Hibbs overtaking the polesitter on Lap 8 and never looking back. One lap later, Jon Uyan lost 3rd to a charging George Angelidis, who held onto the final podium spot against a strong challenge by Colin Moore. For the AM class, Frank Radosti grabbed top spot followed by Guiherme Bencke and Matthew Overton. Race 2 featured the ‘best’ of BTCC racing with incidents devastating the top end of the grid even before T1. The chaos played straight into the hands of R1 winner, who by the end of lap 1 was already P5. Benefitting from a consistent pace and some errors by those ahead of him, at the chequered flag > more

Categories: Race Reports|Tags: BTCC, Croft, NARS, rFactor2|

NARS VWSC Petit LeMans

Race Report by Matthew Overton October 8, 2020 - While the forecast threatened menacingly, fortune smiled, or at least hold off the rain, for Round 6 of the NARS VWSC Series, back at Road Atlanta. The race itself however was not so kind, with almost all the drivers having difficulties despite the clear weather. This, combined with LMPC and GTE AM leaders Matthew Overton and Don Fryman failing to grid, has made for some dramatic changes in the championship standings. In LMP2, JT Tami took a P3 start on the grid to patiently track down Jason Whited, passing him mid-race and then leading 46 of 47 last laps of the race for his third win of the season. Norm Graf rounded out the podium in an LMP2 field that straggled through the final standings. LMPC looked to be a close competition between Tom Aitken and Bob Robertson until a > more

Categories: Race Reports|Tags: NARS, Petit LeMans, rFactor2, VWSC|

NARS Special Event – GP3 at Macau

Race Report by Matthew Overton September 24, 2020 - Taking a break from the BTCC and VWSC schedules, 15 NARS drivers challenged themselves at the punishing Macau Guia circuit and the race did not fail to deliver excitement. With Sahil Mustac dominating both the qualification and race itself for his maiden win at CMS, there was tight racing to be found down the order. Jason Whited managed to keep himself ahead of squabbling midfield, with JT Tami, Jerry Chen, Jon Uyan, Brian Hall, and Ross Smith fighting over third to seventh for much of the race. While over half the field fell victim to the unforgiving nature of the track, all drivers were expressing their enjoyment of the race come the checkered flag. Race Results Photo credit: Jerry Chen

Categories: Race Reports|Tags: Formula 3, NARS, rFactor2|

VWSC 2.4 Hours of Le Mans

Feature by George Angelidis September 12, 2020 - Le Mans holds a special place in our hearts. More than any other race, it's a crucible in which new technology is forged, a technology that's directly relevant to the cars you or I drive on the road. And for 2 hours and 20 minutes (out of a 2h:24min race), this year's race belonged to Marco Antonio Rodriguez, which put on a fine show with his Oreca LMP2 race car. But racing can be a cruel, cruel sport and this year’s edition was crueler than most. Rodriguez lost his lead in a necessary “splash & dash” to make it to the end handing the win to Jason Whited. In GTE-Pro, it was smooth sailing for Yassin Marzoug while the other GTEs were facing problems. LMP2 In LMP2 class Jason Whited after the late pit stop by Marco Antonio Rodriguez was handed > more

Categories: Feature, Race Reports|Tags: Le Mans, rFactor 2, rFactor2|

NARS at The Green Hell 2020

Feature by George Angelidis April 30, 2020 – The Nürburgring. This is the world’s most challenging racetrack. 154 bends. 20.83km. Too dangerous for Formula 1. No wonder Jackie Stewart called it “The Green Hell”. So, what is it, that brings us back here? What drives us to go faster? To push harder? And brake later? I guess it’s what we do. It’s what we have always done. So, did we do it? 20 drivers were brave enough to tackle the race! > more

Categories: Feature, Race Reports|Tags: Green Hell, NARS Special Event, Nordschleife, rFactor 2, rFactor2|

NARS GT3 at Zolder

October 31, 2019 - It was an all GT3 Halloween edition of NARS Autumn racing at Zolder. Imported McLaren Senna drivers from Group A decided to put on another hat and run with the Group B drivers in GT3 this time around. Sure enough, JT Tami took the win followed by the always fast GT3 drivers Jon Uyan and Jason Whited. Another meager-sized grid has to concern series admins as well as the faithful rFactor2 participants. Results

Categories: Race Reports|Tags: NARS, rFactor2, Zolder|

NARS Autumn Starts Retro

October 10, 2019 - Race 1 of the NAR Autumn Series for rFactor 2 was held on the sunny sands of Bridgehampton. Each NARS series typically includes one "throw back track" but this time around it opened with Lilski's ported AC masterpiece, Bridgehampton. Coupled with the new hypercar McLaren Senna and the favorite GT3s, the opening round was fast-paced. Real fast-paced. Qualifying pole was won by Greg Hall in the hypercar, with Jon Uyan setting the pole pace for the GT3s. For the always precarious standing start, the McLaren Senna's were predictably off like a rocket followed by the GT3s. There were no (serious) incidents between hypercars and GT3s but the GT3s had a tussle early on and several drivers has to park their cars for the night due to incident or mechanical damage. At the flag, Greg Hall picked-up where he left off in Series 2 with a > more

Categories: Race Reports|Tags: Bridgehampton, GT3, McLaren Senna, NARS Autumn, rFactor2|

NARS Summer Finale at Laguna Seca

September 26, 2019 - A 24 race sim racing season is adventuresome and the 2019 NARS Summer Series has now wound down to the final race with the GT3 cars at Laguna Seca. In the 15-minute qualifying race JT Tami got home from work early and made the best of it with a pole and win in the race in Group A followed by Norm Graf in second and John Uyan in third. In Group B, Brian Hall continued his winning ways followed by Paul Ibbotson and Tom Nasella. Due to some technical problems, the feature race was a bit briefer than planned. Don Fryman took the win in Group A followed by Jon and JT. In Group B it was once again Brian Hall followed by Mark Cotherman then Frank Radosti. Congratulations to the Group A podium of Greg Hall, Norm Graf, and Jon Uyan! Congratulations to the > more

Categories: Race Reports|Tags: Laguna Seca, NARS, rFactor2|

NARS Summer Goes to Laguna Seca

September 19, 2019 - Winding down the long 24-race NARS Summer Series, the Flatsix survivors made the trek to Laguna Seca. Whicle one of the most famous of road racing venues, it is also one of the toughest for its elevation drops and sudden changes. Norm Graf made a huge charge to the front in qualifying with a 1:25.593. But after 60 minutes it was those Hall guys once again taking the win in Group A and Group B. Group A winner Greg Hall was followed by Norm Graf in second, and Ernest Dela Cruz took third. For Group B, Brian Hall added one more win to his belt with Frank Radosti taking the silver and Mark Cotherman pulling down the third spot on the podium. The final NARS Summer event is next week with the GT3 cars in their usual 15 / 45 minute format. Results > more

Categories: Race Reports|Tags: Flatsix, Laguna Seca, NARS, rFactor2|

Brutal NARS GT3 Race at Crystal Palace

September 12, 2019 - Brutal. That's the keyword for the NARS Summer Series racing Thursday night. Racing at the throwback track, Crystal Palace proved to be a ruckus with the majority of the grid encountering major repairs in the pits or an outright DNF from damage. It started with the 15-minute qualifying race, won by Group A driver Don Fryman who ran out of gas at the finish and Group B first time winning driver, Paul Ibbotson. In the feature 45-minute race, it was very frequent podium finisher Greg Hall taking the win in Group A once again. Don Fryman looked to be the winner until an errant fuel calculation ran his Corvette dry. He commented to winner Greg Hall, "I knew I was in trouble when I saw you duck into the pits behind me." Behind Greg was Norm Graf followed by Jon Uyan. Group B has a > more

Categories: Race Reports|Tags: Crystal Palace, NARS, rFactor2|