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Formula Sprint 2
San Marino Grand Prix
Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari
Tuesday 30th of April 2024 19:00:00
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April 08, 2011
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In what lately has been a terrible time for the country and their people, Japan welcomed the entire paddock with open arms to the famous Suzuka circuit. The racing on show hopefully enabled the embattled population to put their troubles behind them, if only for a brief moment. The race itself certainly did not disappoint the local fans, and worldwide fans alike.
Coming off an impressive win in Abu Dhabi despite his 5 place grid penalty, Lee Morris was no doubt aiming to make it 3 wins out of 3 for himself and Draig Racing, whilst his nearest rival on pace Joe Consiglio was looking to kickstart his championship campaign and try to close the early points lead Morris had accumulated. Whilst most of the attention was directed towards Morris and Consiglio, undoubtedly the likes of Sam Millar, David Jundt, Jason Muscat, Nick Rowland and Dave-Carr Smith would be looking to spoil the party. Further down the grid, the struggling Woods cars of Mark Wicks and Kieran Ryan were hoping to see an upturn in fortunes, as their days as championship contenders seemed to be long gone - at least for the time being.
Qualifying
Unsurprisingly, qualifying was a straight fight for pole position between Morris and Consiglio, with the latter edging Morris out by just 0.074. This meant 3 pole positions out of 3 for Consiglio so far this season, the Nordsjoen driver clearly showing his hotlapping credentials as well as his usual race pace. The small gap between the 2 drivers signified that both were on similar fuel loads and pit strategies, and was surely promise ofan exciting duel. The Synergetic-Ferrari of Sam Millar was just over 7 tenths back from Consiglio's pole time, and took a solid 3rd on the grid, just ahead of the second Nordsjoen Racing of Jyri Lylykorpi, who was finally showing some good qualifying pace after struggling in the first 2 races to get anywhere near his teammate's pace.
Jason Muscat was the best of the rest at Abu Dhabi last week, finishing in 3rd place for Red Archer, and he took 5th place on the grid for Suzuka. Kieran Ryan was able to sneak his Woods car into the top 10, a qualifying result that last season would have been frowned upon, but 10th was probably the maximum he was able to get out the car for this season. It was a disasterous session for his teammate Mark Wicks though, qualifying just 16th on the grid, which at first was 17th, until Phil Perkins of Triple-Double Racing was moved to the back of the grid after illegally refuelling during Q1, the first driver of what may be a few to be caught out by this new rule. It was a disappointing session also for Constant Racing driver Mark Stanton down in 18th, as well as Nijo's Tom Parker 19th, and ST Racing's David Stanton in 20th. Superleague debutant Luke Mckee qualified 23rd for ST Racing.
Race
Just before the race during the warmup, all 24 drivers took part in a 1 lap parade to pay their respects to the Japanese people and their recent tragedy, a great mark of respect given by the league, the teams, as well as their drivers. All thoughts were quickly turned towards the start soon after though, and the anticipation of an exciting race was on everybody's minds.
At the start, Consiglio made a solid getaway and maintained the lead, but it was the Synergetic of Millar who made the best start of everyone, scorching past a bogged down Morris, and settled right behind the rear wing of Consiglio. Both Muscat and Carr-Smith also passed the struggling Draig of Morris at the start, but would soon get tangled up together just after Turn 1, with the 3rd placed Carr-Smith dropping down to 15th because of the contact, most certainly to the relief of Morris, who was able to move back up to 3rd place and stay with Consiglio and Millar. Still on Lap 1, Millar used his superior straightline speed on the backstretch before 130r to slipstream past Consiglio, and put his Synergetic into the lead, with Morris still 3rd and in hot pursuit. Meanwhile, further down the grid, the start of the race was without doubt Tom Parker of Nijo Racing, who started down in 19th, but somehow found himself up into 9th place by the end of Lap 1! The first retirement of the race also occured before the end of Lap 1, with European Williamson Dynamics driver Tim-Oliver Wagner having his race ended by ST Racing's Luke McKee running into the back of him. McKee himself would retire from the race 3 laps later.
At the end of Lap 1, the surprising Millar led, with Consiglio and Morris in close company behind. Lylykorpi was doing all he could to hold onto the top 3 in 4th place, closely followed by Nick Rowland's Midnight Motorsport car. 6th was Ryan Walker, with Jundt 7th, Morgan 8th, Parker 9th, and Muscat down in 10th after his coming together with Carr-Smith at the start. Lap 2, and our second retirement of the race, this time Abdel Damghi of Nijo Racing. Even as early as the start of Lap 2, it was pretty evident the top 3 drivers were a class apart from the rest, with the gap between 3rd placed Morris and 4th placed Lylykorpi ever increasing. On the same lap, the recovering Muscat was able to move past Parker into 9th place.
Over the next few laps, the top 3 eased away from the rest of the field, and despite the constant pressure, Millar was impressively holding his own, and was setting fastest lap after fastest lap. Regardless of potential fuel loads and pit strategies, the young Scotsman was impressing up front.
Lap 5, and a battle for 5th place was starting to develop between Rowland and Walker, whilst Lylykorpi had pulled out around a 3 second gap over Rowland, who was previously stalking him. Further down the field, there were a few battles happening, involving drivers like Ojay Clark, Adam Rouse, Phil Perkins, Mark Wicks and Christoph Lichtenstein. In sector 1 on Lap 5, Rouse made an error and dropped from 12th down to 15th, and was now faced with the recovering Dave-Carr Smith just behind him, until another error from DCS dropped him all the way down to 20th. A battle for 8th, 9th and 10th was also starting to develop between Ben Morgan, Tom Parker and Mark Stanton. Lap 8, and Stanton was able to find his way past Parker for 9th place, though this certainly was not the end of their squabble.
A great battle for 12th place was also developing, Mark Wicks in that spot, with Lichtenstein just ahead of both Triple-Double Racing cars, with Perkins just ahead of teammate Rouse. Morgan, who had now dropped behind Mark Stanton, and Parker were not too far ahead of this scrap either, meaning a 6 car battle in the midfield was potentially being created. On Lap 10 however, Perkins span whilst trying to keep touch with Lichtenstein, and sustained some damage, forcing him to pit. On the same lap, an incident between Lylykorpi in 4th, and Rowland in 5th sees the Nordsjoen driver retire, and Rowland drop down to 7th place. An indifferent start to life at Nordsjoen continues for Lylykorpi, and while he picked up points in the first 2 races, still finds himself needing to dig deep to match the pace of his teammate, and the expectations that come with driving for Nordsjoen Racing.
Lap 12, and Millar had pulled a 1.5 second gap over Consiglio, and Morris seemingly was not quite able to match the pace of his 2 rivals, finding himself 3.7 seconds behind Millar. Just one lap later, the Synergetic driver entered the pits for his first scheduled stop, all but confirming his 3 stop strategy, and handing the lead to Consiglio. Thanks to the top 3 drivers being in a class of their own, Millar was able to rejoin the track comfortably in 3rd place ahead of Walker in 4th. Meanwhile, Ojay Clark and Mark Wicks were nose to tail in a good battle for 8th and 9th place, with Tom Parker not far behind. Clark was recovering well after a difficult start to the race which saw him drop as low as 17th place.
With Millar now no longer in front of him, Consiglio set about putting in some quick laptimes before his own stop, though it seemed that both himself and Morris would be stopping only twice compared to Millar's 3 stop strategy. Lap 16, and an incident between Adam Rouse and William Ponissi sees Rouse get a drive-through penalty for hitting the Constant Racing driver accidently. Rouse took matters into his own hands fairly, and awarded himself with the penalty. One lap later, and the leader Consiglio pits. Thanks to some fast inlaps, he was able to rejoin the track just ahead of Millar.
It wasn't until Lap 20 that Morris made his pitstop, showing that even on a slightly higher fuel load, the Draig racer was more than a match for his rivals. He rejoined from the pits right alongside Consiglio as they entered T1, and stayed side by side until the exit of Turn 2, where Morris was able to stay on the inside line and take the lead! The straightline speed of Millar's light on fuel Synergetic was in full effect later on in the lap though, firstly pulling off a daring pass on the outside of the entrance to Spoon curve on Consiglio, before dispatching Morris on the backstretch, to retake the lead. Both Consiglio and Morris, knowing Millar would be making an extra pitstop, put up little resistance, but 2 very impressive passes by the Scotsman nevertheless.
Lap 23, and what started out as a promising race for Tom Parker came to a head, After an earlier collision with Mark Stanton which forced the Constant Racing driver to pit for a new front wing, and various problems in the pits due to speeding, and also refueling, Parker called it a day. Just one lap later, and the Triple-Double of Perkins was also out, after a trouble filled race. Meanwhile back up front, Millar, on a lighter fuel load, was beginning to stretch out a small lead over 2nd placed Morris, who still had Consiglio in very close company. While the Synergetic driver was slightly quicker, the pace he was producing just wasn't going to be enough to put himself into contention for a race win considering he would have to make an extra pitstop compared to Morris and Consiglio. On Lap 24, just before 130r, the positions for 2nd and 3rd were reversed, with Consiglio in a slightly lighter Nordsjoen car, able to slipsteam past the Ferrari powered Draig car.
Lap 26, Millar made his second pitstop of the day, handing the lead back to Consiglio. Again after the pitstop, Millar was able to rejoin the track in an extremely comfortable 3rd place, but now some 20 seconds back from the leading pair. Lap 30 saw the demise of Williamson Dynamics driver Ojay Clark, who had been battling back through the field most of the race after a poor getaway. Clark seemed to completely lose the back end on the exit of Degner 1, which sent him into the wall heavily, causing terminal damage to his car. After putting in some more blistering laptimes before his pitstop, and pulling out a 3 and a half second lead on Morris, Consiglio made his second and final pitstop at the start of Lap 35. He rejoined in 3rd, right behind Millar on track, but knowing the Synergetic would be making another pitstop. Now was the time for Lee Morris to put the hammer down, and attempt to claw back the few seconds gap that Consiglio had pulled out before his pitstop. Millar made his third and final pitstop at the end of the same lap, all but confirming his 3rd place position. Still on the same lap, we saw the retirements of both Adam Rouse and William Ponissi.
Lee Morris was indeed beginning to pump in fast laptimes to get himself back into contention before his pitstop, which eventually occured with just 12 laps of the race to go. Quick pitwork by the Draig mechanics saw him rejoin about a second ahead of Consiglio, but now with both cars running a very similar amount of fuel, it was going to be a straight dual for the win until the end of the race, and neither driver disappointed. Further down the field, a fight for 11th place between Mark Stanton and Ben Morgan was developing nicely, with a slightly optimistic Morgan attempting a pass round the outside of Stanton at the CASIO triangle before the last corner. Morgan took to the escape road to avoid contact with the Constant Racing car, but rightly handed the position back to Stanton once on the start/finish straight. This battle eventually became one for the final points position after Ryan Walker of Draig Racing retired on Lap 44 from 6th position due to suspension damage.
Back up front, Consiglio continued to hound Morris lap after lap, and on Lap 43, after getting a good exit out of Spoon curve, the Mercedes powered Nordsjoen was able to slipsteam past Morris and back into the lead just before the entrance to 130r, proving that combining both a good corner exit and slipstream, passing is definitely more prominant so far in Superleague than it has ever been. However, as soon as Consiglio had gotten past, Morris took to the outside line before the CASIO triangle whilst Consiglio took the defensive inside line, and made a daring pass round the outside, similar to the pass Morgan unsuccessfully attempted on Stanton a lap earlier, but the Draig driver able to pull it off to perfection. For the next few laps, Consiglio was still able to get into Morris' slipstream, but not able to make a move stick. With 8 laps to go though, Joe was much closer to Lee's gearbox through Spoon than he ever had been during the race, and was able to duck into the Draig slipsteam very early on down the backstretch, and took Morris on the inside of 130r in what was a mirror image of the move he had attempted 2 laps previously. Again Morris went for the outside line before the chicane to retake the position, but this time he outbraked himself and was forced to cut the chicane over the grass, meaning he had no choice but to hand the lead to Consiglio once back on track. Morris clearly saw red though and decided he wanted this win badly, and whilst very close behind Joe, he attempted a daring move around the outside of the hairpin. Whilst he was unable to make the move stick, he got a good exit, and as they headed down towards Spoon, both drivers were side by side, but Consiglio was able to hold Morris at bay. Incredible wheel to wheel driving by both championship contenders.
Over the next few laps, whilst Morris wasn't giving Consiglio any hint of a chance to relax for a second, it was clear that the Mercedes powered Nordsjoen was slightly faster in the straights than the Ferrari powered Draig, so Morris was going to have to get the perfect drive out of the corners to latch onto the slipsteam of Consiglio in the straights. Sector 1 through the esses though, it was clear the Draig had an advantage there, though still not able to find a way through. 4 laps to go, and once again Morris took a stab at passing Consiglio in the hairpin, but this time taking the inside line. The two cars touched, but no damage was done, and both cars emerged from the hairpin side by side. Consiglio's slightly faster in the straights Nords car though was again somehow able to hold Morris at bay, despite easily Morris' best attempt at retaking the lead so far. With Morris not really able to do anything to disrupt Consiglio in the straights, it was becoming evident that the hairpin may be the best opportunity for Morris to take the lead before the end of the race. One lap later, and again Morris attempted a pass at the hairpin, but this time slightly outbraked himself.
2 laps to go and the pair continued to dice for position, Morris looking for any conceivable gap, but Consiglio defended his position well, despite being at a major disadvantage through the esses of sector 1. After finally getting a great slipsteam through 130r, Morris went to his favoured outside line before the final chicane, but Consiglio defended his position harder than previously, meaning Morris put his left front tyre on the grass, forcing him to once again cut the chicane to avoid a spin or contact with his rival, and thus again having to give the place back to the Nordsjoen car. Moving to the final lap, everybody in the paddock knew that if a move was going to happen, it would be at the hairpin. Sure enough, after another good run through the esses, and the beginning of sector 2, Morris took a huge stab up the inside before the hairpin, and Consiglio surprisingly didn't defend anywhere near as hard as expected, meaning the Draig racer was able to hang Joe out to dry, take the best exit out of the corner, and incredibly, take the lead of the race with just over 1 sector of a lap left before the chequered flag!! Now it was crucial for Consiglio to stick with Morris and get a good exit out of Spoon curve and use his straightline speed advantage, but his corner exit wasn't as good as he hoped, and while he was right on Morris' rear by the time they reached 130r, Morris was able to position his car well and fend off the Maltese driver's advances as they arrived at the final chicane. Morris held him off, and took an incredible last lap win in front of an ecstatic Japanese crowd, in what has now been heralded as the most epic GPVWC race in the history of the league. Complete and utter joy for Morris, heartbreak for Consiglio, but in the post race press conference, both driver's were over the moon with the race, and the incredible battle they had just took part in.
With that win, Morris takes his win tally to 3 out of 3 for the season so far, and whilst losing more ground to Morris, Joe Consiglio does manage to kickstart his championship campaign with 2nd place. Not to be forgotten, a fantastic drive from 3rd placed finisher Sam Millar, who's drive, especially in the first half of the race, should not be overlooked despite the incredible battle ahead of him. Solid, extremely consistent, if unspectacular can definitely sum up David Jundt and his season so far. Another impressive 4th place finish, which sees the Swiss driver move to equal 2nd in the championship with Consiglio. 5th and 6th place finishes are a good reward for the Midnight Motorsports cars of Rowland and Carr-Smith respectively. Both had their troubles during the race, Carr-Smith especially, but the team is understandably pleased with 2 solid finishes. 7th place for Mark Wicks is some reward after a difficult qualifying session, and difficult season in general so far. Muscat will be disappointed with 8th place, after some incidents during the race, but was still able to recover decently. Christoph Lichtenstein will be reasonably happy with 9th place, picking up his first points of the season for himself. Mark Stanton rounded out the top 10, picking up the final point, despite an incident packed race.
Looking at the drivers championship now, Morris now has a commanding 21 point lead of the 2nd placed drivers of David Jundt and Joe Consiglio. Millar's podium moves him up to 4th in the championship, dropping Dave Carr-Smith down to 5th. Muscat, Clark, Rouse, Wicks and Rowland round out the top 10. The constructors championship is closer at the front. Morris' 45 points alone sees Draig leading the standings, 8 points ahead of Red Archer, who find themselves a further 7 points ahead of Nordsjoen. Midnight in 4th, and Synergetic in 5th are seperated by just 1 point, whilst Woods, Williamson Dynamics, and Triple-Double Racing round out the top 8.
The Chinese Grand Prix on the 21st April will have a hell of a lot to live up to after a breathtaking race in Japan, but GPVWC certainly hasn't disappointed so far this season, and no doubt Lee Morris will be aiming to make it 4 wins out of 4 for the season, whilst Joe Consiglio will be looking to avenge his defeat in Shanghai.
Coming off an impressive win in Abu Dhabi despite his 5 place grid penalty, Lee Morris was no doubt aiming to make it 3 wins out of 3 for himself and Draig Racing, whilst his nearest rival on pace Joe Consiglio was looking to kickstart his championship campaign and try to close the early points lead Morris had accumulated. Whilst most of the attention was directed towards Morris and Consiglio, undoubtedly the likes of Sam Millar, David Jundt, Jason Muscat, Nick Rowland and Dave-Carr Smith would be looking to spoil the party. Further down the grid, the struggling Woods cars of Mark Wicks and Kieran Ryan were hoping to see an upturn in fortunes, as their days as championship contenders seemed to be long gone - at least for the time being.
Qualifying
Unsurprisingly, qualifying was a straight fight for pole position between Morris and Consiglio, with the latter edging Morris out by just 0.074. This meant 3 pole positions out of 3 for Consiglio so far this season, the Nordsjoen driver clearly showing his hotlapping credentials as well as his usual race pace. The small gap between the 2 drivers signified that both were on similar fuel loads and pit strategies, and was surely promise ofan exciting duel. The Synergetic-Ferrari of Sam Millar was just over 7 tenths back from Consiglio's pole time, and took a solid 3rd on the grid, just ahead of the second Nordsjoen Racing of Jyri Lylykorpi, who was finally showing some good qualifying pace after struggling in the first 2 races to get anywhere near his teammate's pace.
Jason Muscat was the best of the rest at Abu Dhabi last week, finishing in 3rd place for Red Archer, and he took 5th place on the grid for Suzuka. Kieran Ryan was able to sneak his Woods car into the top 10, a qualifying result that last season would have been frowned upon, but 10th was probably the maximum he was able to get out the car for this season. It was a disasterous session for his teammate Mark Wicks though, qualifying just 16th on the grid, which at first was 17th, until Phil Perkins of Triple-Double Racing was moved to the back of the grid after illegally refuelling during Q1, the first driver of what may be a few to be caught out by this new rule. It was a disappointing session also for Constant Racing driver Mark Stanton down in 18th, as well as Nijo's Tom Parker 19th, and ST Racing's David Stanton in 20th. Superleague debutant Luke Mckee qualified 23rd for ST Racing.
Race
Just before the race during the warmup, all 24 drivers took part in a 1 lap parade to pay their respects to the Japanese people and their recent tragedy, a great mark of respect given by the league, the teams, as well as their drivers. All thoughts were quickly turned towards the start soon after though, and the anticipation of an exciting race was on everybody's minds.
At the start, Consiglio made a solid getaway and maintained the lead, but it was the Synergetic of Millar who made the best start of everyone, scorching past a bogged down Morris, and settled right behind the rear wing of Consiglio. Both Muscat and Carr-Smith also passed the struggling Draig of Morris at the start, but would soon get tangled up together just after Turn 1, with the 3rd placed Carr-Smith dropping down to 15th because of the contact, most certainly to the relief of Morris, who was able to move back up to 3rd place and stay with Consiglio and Millar. Still on Lap 1, Millar used his superior straightline speed on the backstretch before 130r to slipstream past Consiglio, and put his Synergetic into the lead, with Morris still 3rd and in hot pursuit. Meanwhile, further down the grid, the start of the race was without doubt Tom Parker of Nijo Racing, who started down in 19th, but somehow found himself up into 9th place by the end of Lap 1! The first retirement of the race also occured before the end of Lap 1, with European Williamson Dynamics driver Tim-Oliver Wagner having his race ended by ST Racing's Luke McKee running into the back of him. McKee himself would retire from the race 3 laps later.
At the end of Lap 1, the surprising Millar led, with Consiglio and Morris in close company behind. Lylykorpi was doing all he could to hold onto the top 3 in 4th place, closely followed by Nick Rowland's Midnight Motorsport car. 6th was Ryan Walker, with Jundt 7th, Morgan 8th, Parker 9th, and Muscat down in 10th after his coming together with Carr-Smith at the start. Lap 2, and our second retirement of the race, this time Abdel Damghi of Nijo Racing. Even as early as the start of Lap 2, it was pretty evident the top 3 drivers were a class apart from the rest, with the gap between 3rd placed Morris and 4th placed Lylykorpi ever increasing. On the same lap, the recovering Muscat was able to move past Parker into 9th place.
Over the next few laps, the top 3 eased away from the rest of the field, and despite the constant pressure, Millar was impressively holding his own, and was setting fastest lap after fastest lap. Regardless of potential fuel loads and pit strategies, the young Scotsman was impressing up front.
Lap 5, and a battle for 5th place was starting to develop between Rowland and Walker, whilst Lylykorpi had pulled out around a 3 second gap over Rowland, who was previously stalking him. Further down the field, there were a few battles happening, involving drivers like Ojay Clark, Adam Rouse, Phil Perkins, Mark Wicks and Christoph Lichtenstein. In sector 1 on Lap 5, Rouse made an error and dropped from 12th down to 15th, and was now faced with the recovering Dave-Carr Smith just behind him, until another error from DCS dropped him all the way down to 20th. A battle for 8th, 9th and 10th was also starting to develop between Ben Morgan, Tom Parker and Mark Stanton. Lap 8, and Stanton was able to find his way past Parker for 9th place, though this certainly was not the end of their squabble.
A great battle for 12th place was also developing, Mark Wicks in that spot, with Lichtenstein just ahead of both Triple-Double Racing cars, with Perkins just ahead of teammate Rouse. Morgan, who had now dropped behind Mark Stanton, and Parker were not too far ahead of this scrap either, meaning a 6 car battle in the midfield was potentially being created. On Lap 10 however, Perkins span whilst trying to keep touch with Lichtenstein, and sustained some damage, forcing him to pit. On the same lap, an incident between Lylykorpi in 4th, and Rowland in 5th sees the Nordsjoen driver retire, and Rowland drop down to 7th place. An indifferent start to life at Nordsjoen continues for Lylykorpi, and while he picked up points in the first 2 races, still finds himself needing to dig deep to match the pace of his teammate, and the expectations that come with driving for Nordsjoen Racing.
Lap 12, and Millar had pulled a 1.5 second gap over Consiglio, and Morris seemingly was not quite able to match the pace of his 2 rivals, finding himself 3.7 seconds behind Millar. Just one lap later, the Synergetic driver entered the pits for his first scheduled stop, all but confirming his 3 stop strategy, and handing the lead to Consiglio. Thanks to the top 3 drivers being in a class of their own, Millar was able to rejoin the track comfortably in 3rd place ahead of Walker in 4th. Meanwhile, Ojay Clark and Mark Wicks were nose to tail in a good battle for 8th and 9th place, with Tom Parker not far behind. Clark was recovering well after a difficult start to the race which saw him drop as low as 17th place.
With Millar now no longer in front of him, Consiglio set about putting in some quick laptimes before his own stop, though it seemed that both himself and Morris would be stopping only twice compared to Millar's 3 stop strategy. Lap 16, and an incident between Adam Rouse and William Ponissi sees Rouse get a drive-through penalty for hitting the Constant Racing driver accidently. Rouse took matters into his own hands fairly, and awarded himself with the penalty. One lap later, and the leader Consiglio pits. Thanks to some fast inlaps, he was able to rejoin the track just ahead of Millar.
It wasn't until Lap 20 that Morris made his pitstop, showing that even on a slightly higher fuel load, the Draig racer was more than a match for his rivals. He rejoined from the pits right alongside Consiglio as they entered T1, and stayed side by side until the exit of Turn 2, where Morris was able to stay on the inside line and take the lead! The straightline speed of Millar's light on fuel Synergetic was in full effect later on in the lap though, firstly pulling off a daring pass on the outside of the entrance to Spoon curve on Consiglio, before dispatching Morris on the backstretch, to retake the lead. Both Consiglio and Morris, knowing Millar would be making an extra pitstop, put up little resistance, but 2 very impressive passes by the Scotsman nevertheless.
Lap 23, and what started out as a promising race for Tom Parker came to a head, After an earlier collision with Mark Stanton which forced the Constant Racing driver to pit for a new front wing, and various problems in the pits due to speeding, and also refueling, Parker called it a day. Just one lap later, and the Triple-Double of Perkins was also out, after a trouble filled race. Meanwhile back up front, Millar, on a lighter fuel load, was beginning to stretch out a small lead over 2nd placed Morris, who still had Consiglio in very close company. While the Synergetic driver was slightly quicker, the pace he was producing just wasn't going to be enough to put himself into contention for a race win considering he would have to make an extra pitstop compared to Morris and Consiglio. On Lap 24, just before 130r, the positions for 2nd and 3rd were reversed, with Consiglio in a slightly lighter Nordsjoen car, able to slipsteam past the Ferrari powered Draig car.
Lap 26, Millar made his second pitstop of the day, handing the lead back to Consiglio. Again after the pitstop, Millar was able to rejoin the track in an extremely comfortable 3rd place, but now some 20 seconds back from the leading pair. Lap 30 saw the demise of Williamson Dynamics driver Ojay Clark, who had been battling back through the field most of the race after a poor getaway. Clark seemed to completely lose the back end on the exit of Degner 1, which sent him into the wall heavily, causing terminal damage to his car. After putting in some more blistering laptimes before his pitstop, and pulling out a 3 and a half second lead on Morris, Consiglio made his second and final pitstop at the start of Lap 35. He rejoined in 3rd, right behind Millar on track, but knowing the Synergetic would be making another pitstop. Now was the time for Lee Morris to put the hammer down, and attempt to claw back the few seconds gap that Consiglio had pulled out before his pitstop. Millar made his third and final pitstop at the end of the same lap, all but confirming his 3rd place position. Still on the same lap, we saw the retirements of both Adam Rouse and William Ponissi.
Lee Morris was indeed beginning to pump in fast laptimes to get himself back into contention before his pitstop, which eventually occured with just 12 laps of the race to go. Quick pitwork by the Draig mechanics saw him rejoin about a second ahead of Consiglio, but now with both cars running a very similar amount of fuel, it was going to be a straight dual for the win until the end of the race, and neither driver disappointed. Further down the field, a fight for 11th place between Mark Stanton and Ben Morgan was developing nicely, with a slightly optimistic Morgan attempting a pass round the outside of Stanton at the CASIO triangle before the last corner. Morgan took to the escape road to avoid contact with the Constant Racing car, but rightly handed the position back to Stanton once on the start/finish straight. This battle eventually became one for the final points position after Ryan Walker of Draig Racing retired on Lap 44 from 6th position due to suspension damage.
Back up front, Consiglio continued to hound Morris lap after lap, and on Lap 43, after getting a good exit out of Spoon curve, the Mercedes powered Nordsjoen was able to slipsteam past Morris and back into the lead just before the entrance to 130r, proving that combining both a good corner exit and slipstream, passing is definitely more prominant so far in Superleague than it has ever been. However, as soon as Consiglio had gotten past, Morris took to the outside line before the CASIO triangle whilst Consiglio took the defensive inside line, and made a daring pass round the outside, similar to the pass Morgan unsuccessfully attempted on Stanton a lap earlier, but the Draig driver able to pull it off to perfection. For the next few laps, Consiglio was still able to get into Morris' slipstream, but not able to make a move stick. With 8 laps to go though, Joe was much closer to Lee's gearbox through Spoon than he ever had been during the race, and was able to duck into the Draig slipsteam very early on down the backstretch, and took Morris on the inside of 130r in what was a mirror image of the move he had attempted 2 laps previously. Again Morris went for the outside line before the chicane to retake the position, but this time he outbraked himself and was forced to cut the chicane over the grass, meaning he had no choice but to hand the lead to Consiglio once back on track. Morris clearly saw red though and decided he wanted this win badly, and whilst very close behind Joe, he attempted a daring move around the outside of the hairpin. Whilst he was unable to make the move stick, he got a good exit, and as they headed down towards Spoon, both drivers were side by side, but Consiglio was able to hold Morris at bay. Incredible wheel to wheel driving by both championship contenders.
Over the next few laps, whilst Morris wasn't giving Consiglio any hint of a chance to relax for a second, it was clear that the Mercedes powered Nordsjoen was slightly faster in the straights than the Ferrari powered Draig, so Morris was going to have to get the perfect drive out of the corners to latch onto the slipsteam of Consiglio in the straights. Sector 1 through the esses though, it was clear the Draig had an advantage there, though still not able to find a way through. 4 laps to go, and once again Morris took a stab at passing Consiglio in the hairpin, but this time taking the inside line. The two cars touched, but no damage was done, and both cars emerged from the hairpin side by side. Consiglio's slightly faster in the straights Nords car though was again somehow able to hold Morris at bay, despite easily Morris' best attempt at retaking the lead so far. With Morris not really able to do anything to disrupt Consiglio in the straights, it was becoming evident that the hairpin may be the best opportunity for Morris to take the lead before the end of the race. One lap later, and again Morris attempted a pass at the hairpin, but this time slightly outbraked himself.
2 laps to go and the pair continued to dice for position, Morris looking for any conceivable gap, but Consiglio defended his position well, despite being at a major disadvantage through the esses of sector 1. After finally getting a great slipsteam through 130r, Morris went to his favoured outside line before the final chicane, but Consiglio defended his position harder than previously, meaning Morris put his left front tyre on the grass, forcing him to once again cut the chicane to avoid a spin or contact with his rival, and thus again having to give the place back to the Nordsjoen car. Moving to the final lap, everybody in the paddock knew that if a move was going to happen, it would be at the hairpin. Sure enough, after another good run through the esses, and the beginning of sector 2, Morris took a huge stab up the inside before the hairpin, and Consiglio surprisingly didn't defend anywhere near as hard as expected, meaning the Draig racer was able to hang Joe out to dry, take the best exit out of the corner, and incredibly, take the lead of the race with just over 1 sector of a lap left before the chequered flag!! Now it was crucial for Consiglio to stick with Morris and get a good exit out of Spoon curve and use his straightline speed advantage, but his corner exit wasn't as good as he hoped, and while he was right on Morris' rear by the time they reached 130r, Morris was able to position his car well and fend off the Maltese driver's advances as they arrived at the final chicane. Morris held him off, and took an incredible last lap win in front of an ecstatic Japanese crowd, in what has now been heralded as the most epic GPVWC race in the history of the league. Complete and utter joy for Morris, heartbreak for Consiglio, but in the post race press conference, both driver's were over the moon with the race, and the incredible battle they had just took part in.
With that win, Morris takes his win tally to 3 out of 3 for the season so far, and whilst losing more ground to Morris, Joe Consiglio does manage to kickstart his championship campaign with 2nd place. Not to be forgotten, a fantastic drive from 3rd placed finisher Sam Millar, who's drive, especially in the first half of the race, should not be overlooked despite the incredible battle ahead of him. Solid, extremely consistent, if unspectacular can definitely sum up David Jundt and his season so far. Another impressive 4th place finish, which sees the Swiss driver move to equal 2nd in the championship with Consiglio. 5th and 6th place finishes are a good reward for the Midnight Motorsports cars of Rowland and Carr-Smith respectively. Both had their troubles during the race, Carr-Smith especially, but the team is understandably pleased with 2 solid finishes. 7th place for Mark Wicks is some reward after a difficult qualifying session, and difficult season in general so far. Muscat will be disappointed with 8th place, after some incidents during the race, but was still able to recover decently. Christoph Lichtenstein will be reasonably happy with 9th place, picking up his first points of the season for himself. Mark Stanton rounded out the top 10, picking up the final point, despite an incident packed race.
Looking at the drivers championship now, Morris now has a commanding 21 point lead of the 2nd placed drivers of David Jundt and Joe Consiglio. Millar's podium moves him up to 4th in the championship, dropping Dave Carr-Smith down to 5th. Muscat, Clark, Rouse, Wicks and Rowland round out the top 10. The constructors championship is closer at the front. Morris' 45 points alone sees Draig leading the standings, 8 points ahead of Red Archer, who find themselves a further 7 points ahead of Nordsjoen. Midnight in 4th, and Synergetic in 5th are seperated by just 1 point, whilst Woods, Williamson Dynamics, and Triple-Double Racing round out the top 8.
The Chinese Grand Prix on the 21st April will have a hell of a lot to live up to after a breathtaking race in Japan, but GPVWC certainly hasn't disappointed so far this season, and no doubt Lee Morris will be aiming to make it 4 wins out of 4 for the season, whilst Joe Consiglio will be looking to avenge his defeat in Shanghai.
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