ForzaRC Wednesday Showdown update
Round 2 of the Forza Racing Championship Series 1 culminated this past Wednesday with our Wednesday Showdown broadcast. There were two shows, with EMEA drivers battling it out in the morning and North American drivers getting to it in the evening. Here’s a look at how all the action unfolded.
EMEA Race 1
Scott Cole, Alie Tacq, and the amazing John Hindhaugh of IMSA fame brought us the coverage of the EMEA Showdown. The Race 1 grid was headed up by the amazing Laige, followed by the challenger b0x, with Mitch and Seven making up the second row. The stage was set for seven laps at Silverstone in the Dodge Viper ACR. As we have seen in the past, Laige loves the clean air and he immediately created some space between himself and the pack while the other racers sorted themselves out. JSR teammates Rossi and Mitch pushed each other, fighting for that third-place spot, with Rossi eventually taking the space. By Lap 4, b0x was pressuring Laige. If they weren’t in cars, Laige would have felt b0x’s breath on his neck. The heat was on but Laige defended, and both drivers drove superbly. The final results: Laige, b0x, and Rossi.
EMEA Race 2
Viewers voted on the Porsche 919 Hybrid for Race 2. The grid was also the same as it was for Silverstone: Laige, b0x, and Mitch, although this time they would meet at the Nürburgring GP track. Just after the first corner, Rossi moved into third, looking to challenge the leaders. All the way through the race, the top three diced and sliced the track, keeping their distances and they protecting their positions. That 919 and all its hybrid horsepower and tremendous downforce allowed the drivers to all be consistent, with clean racing as the standard. On Lap 7, Mitch passed his teammate Rossi and we saw RoadRunner work up a couple slots to fifth in what some say was his favorite racecar. At the finish, Laige took his second win, with b0x behind him, and JSR Mitch in third.
EMEA Race 3
Race 3 featured a reverse grid start at Watkins Glen in the #24 NASCAR. Would these EMEA leaders find their way back to the top or would they suffer in traffic? A huge flying wreck involving RoadRunner and Virus rocked the start of lap one and ended Roadrunner’s race. MisterJack, Chemical and Commando held the lead, with no big moves made. At the end of Lap 3, Seven gave Chemical a bump and gained two spots. Finally, by Lap 4 b0x had worked his way to sixth, with Laige only making it to ninth. Lap 6 saw Laige challenge b0x for that now seventh place but b0x held him off. This was certainly the EMEA race to watch. In the end MisterJack won, and, after Seven was given a five-second penalty, Commando was second and Rossi, third.
Here’s the replay of the EMEA Race action:
https://youtu.be/Quz76ZOhY7w NA Race 1
Getting started, the grid for race one was set up with Venom at pole, followed by Harmonic and then up and comer Bilysoo. Champion Lightning would start from sixth. The drivers were behind the wheel of the Dodge Viper ACR and set in for seven laps at Silverstone. Lightning moved to fourth on Lap 1 and passed Bilysoo for third on the second lap. Lightning and Harmonic battled at the end of Lap 4 with Lightning putting a clean move and making it stick for second. Venom kept himself out of reach, and after seven laps he would win, with Lightning behind him and Harmonic winning the battle for third against Bilysoo.
NA Race 2
Race 2 took off from the Nürburgring GP track in the BMW M2. Venom would again lead the pack at pole, this time with Lightning right next to him on the grid. Harmonic and Bilysoo made up the second row. Right in to Turn 1, Lightning gave Venom a bump and squeezed into the lead. Doors were banging as Vain fought his way up to third in his hot pink M2. In the process Venom slipped back to sixth. The racers seemed to settle into their pace through the middle of the race. A Lap 4 bump from Venom on Vanquish at Dunlop was questionable but gave him room to slip by. Billysoo and Venom nearly took to fisticuffs for Lap 5 but Bilysoo held his own. Positions remained unchanged as they crossed the line. After adjudication, the podium remained unchanged, but Venom fell from fifth to eighth after receiving a five-second penalty for that mid-race melee.
NA Race 3
In a race you wouldn’t see in real life, Race 3 saw a reverse grid lined up in the #24 Hendrick Motorsports NASCAR at Road America. Lightning started from dead last. ShadowFox slipped into the lead right off, and Vain, in his hot pink NASCAR, rolled up five spots to third on Lap 1. Diablo spun near the Kink, pretty much ending his race. More carnage and contact between Vain and ShadowFox resulted in damage to Vain that dropped him back out of sight of victory. Through all that, Lightning had worked his way to second and set his sights on leader AMS Vanquish. Approaching the final turn in Lap 4, Vanquish made a mistake that Lightning capitalized on. Lightning disappeared into the distance. Two more long laps in Wisconsin remained. In the end it was Lightning, Venom, and Vanquish who would be celebrating with some (virtual) Johnsonville Brats.
Check out the full NA broadcast here:
https://youtu.be/LVAOHyicASI