Stasis amazed everybody by beating AWD competitors with double the power to win road course event with 1.26.236
Day three of etGP is always the most anticipated. All the teams know this is the ultimate test of a car, and where a tuner makes his reputation.
In the morning, we split the teams into two run groups - the Audis in one, the VWs and Mini in the other. They would have three 20min practice sessions before lunch to set up the cars. After lunch, each team got three flying laps to set their best time and take top honors.
Sadly, the times this year don't compare to previous years' because the track had been recently revised, with one corner shortened, and wider runoff aprons installed in the esses. This made the track quicker and more flowing; a definite improvement.
034 missed first place overall by 0.022sec but won the AWD class
First Session
The Audis were out first, and 034 took an early spin as they discovered 645hp could overcome the grip of the Falken tires fairly easily. Driver Christian Miller then proceeded to drift almost every corner on the track, trying to set a good time. Their best lap was a 1.28.596, some 5.4sec faster than the Torque Factory car, which only completed a few laps as the team attempted to find the ideal settings.
The remaining Audis from EuroCode and Stasis were again late arrivals and on their trailers as the session ended.
WRD beat more powerful opposition to take second place in FWD class
The FWD group was more prepared, and the remaining four cars were all on track. Unfortunately, we'd lost ABD and Fireballed! on day two, so the depleted group was headed by VF, who managed a best time of 1.28.925 - worryingly close to the best of the Audis. Second fastest was WRD, followed by Mini Madness and Euro Sport. However, these early sessions are always very experimental and not a real indication of speed.
Second Session
All the Audis were out this time and we had an indication of what was to come. 034 again set the fastest time at 1.27.041, but Stasis was just 0.4sec slower and Torque Factory was 0.6sec behind. EuroCode was off the pace after developing an oil leak.
To achieve such accurate lap timing down to 0.001sec, each car is fitted with a transponder. As the cars cross the finish line it triggers the computer and the time is recorded. All the cars use the system and it's very reliable. However, Stasis chose not to fit their transponder in the practice sessions. This was a brilliant piece of gamesmanship, since the team didn't want to let the opposition know what the TT was capable of. However, we managed to time them manually so at least we had an idea of what was happening!
At this point we should admit we were rather disappointed with Stasis. They'd won the track event on the three previous GPs and always brought a car with massive potential. However, we did feel the 290hp FWD TT was a miscalculation on their part, and told them so. The wry grin from Paul Lambert of Stasis suggested he knew otherwise. Boy, did we eat those words later!
Euro Sport always looks forward to road course, and fourth place finish in class was respectable
All four of the FWD cars were out in their second session as well. Again VF set the fast lap at 1.29.338 but WRD was only 0.26sec behind before a failed ABS sensor sidelined them. The Euro Sport Rabbit was getting into its stride with a best lap of 1.32.600, but Mini Madness was snapping at their heels, only 0.2sec slower.
Third Session
With Torque Factory in the pits, Stasis unofficially set a 1.26.278 and were almost a second faster than either 034 or EuroCode. However, the sight of 034 drifting each corner was worth the entry fee, although we suspect it wasn't helping tire life.
In the FWD group, we lost VF to a problem, so WRD dominated with a 1.29.493 lap. This was over 2sec quicker than Euro Sport, and Mini Madness was significantly slower still.pits.