2023 Season 2 Round 2 Thunder Results
Thunder Series Review
Drivers headed west and to Japan for ANZCAR’s first ever visit to the Twin Ring Motegi for Round 2 of Series 2 of the Thunder Series. 29 drivers battled the early morning fog, which lingered over the circuit for the duration of the event, with Jones and Gallagher starting from the front row, with Mckenzie and Aiden Schultz from row 2.
The early laps saw drivers take it easy, settling in to see how their cars handled the long runs. Most drivers held their start positions, or near enough to it, until the first caution of the night on lap 20, with all drivers heading to the lane for 4 fresh tyres and a full tank of fuel. 2 more cautions came out in quick succession, as drivers starting pushing that little bit harder and trying to make gains on their fresh tyres. Once green flag running resumed on lap 36, it was Gallagher leading from Jones, Mckenzie and Moloney.
As green flags stops commenced around lap 63, it was still Gallagher and Jones leading the field whilst Dyson had moved up into third ahead of Moloney and Mckenzie. Moloney was the first to pit, hoping to undercut the leaders with the fresh rubber whilst Jones was one of the last to pit on lap 70.
Once all the stops had been completed, Barber would be in the lead by going on a massive fuel saving strategy, followed by Dyson, Moloney, Gallagher, Mckenzie and Jones.
Dyson would inherit the lead on lap 82, as Barber started to drop down the order, and wouldn’t be challenged over the remaining laps to take a 4 second victory. Gallagher started to fade in the closing laps with tyre wear, which allowed Jones through to claim second. Barber, managed to save enough fuel to run out crossing the line to finish in P8.
Race Summary:
95 Laps
3 Cautions for 11 Laps
5 Leaders
8 Lead Changes
1st - #41 Andrew Dyson
2nd - #11 Ryan Jones
3rd - #13 Hamish Gallagher
4th - #02 Darren Mckenzie
5th - #21 Jason Martin
Stewards Summary:
Cautions:
Lap 20 - #93 Mirko Dautanac (3rd strike – ROF next week)
Lap 24 - #42 Lachlan Urquijo
Lap 32 - #30 Phil Bissett
Restarts:
Nil
Protests:
Nil
Series 2 standings:
With a perfect 2 for 2 start to the series, Dyson extends his championship lead to 13 points over Jones, with Michelmore a further point behind. 2023 overall standings:
Martin holds a 47 point lead of Michelmore, with Mckenzie, Phelps and Jaie Schultz rounding out the top 5.
Full race results and Series 2 standings at Sim Racer Hub: https://www.simracerhub.com/scoring/season_schedule.php...
Next week sees the Thunder Series head to Sonoma and the Historic Cup layout for round 3 of the Road Course Title. Will Dyson keep his series 2 hot streak going, or will Mckenzie make it 3 road course wins in a row?
For full race replay and future Thunder Series broadcasts, please head to Performance E-Streaming on YouTube and Facebook
Drivers headed west and to Japan for ANZCAR’s first ever visit to the Twin Ring Motegi for Round 2 of Series 2 of the Thunder Series. 29 drivers battled the early morning fog, which lingered over the circuit for the duration of the event, with Jones and Gallagher starting from the front row, with Mckenzie and Aiden Schultz from row 2.
The early laps saw drivers take it easy, settling in to see how their cars handled the long runs. Most drivers held their start positions, or near enough to it, until the first caution of the night on lap 20, with all drivers heading to the lane for 4 fresh tyres and a full tank of fuel. 2 more cautions came out in quick succession, as drivers starting pushing that little bit harder and trying to make gains on their fresh tyres. Once green flag running resumed on lap 36, it was Gallagher leading from Jones, Mckenzie and Moloney.
As green flags stops commenced around lap 63, it was still Gallagher and Jones leading the field whilst Dyson had moved up into third ahead of Moloney and Mckenzie. Moloney was the first to pit, hoping to undercut the leaders with the fresh rubber whilst Jones was one of the last to pit on lap 70.
Once all the stops had been completed, Barber would be in the lead by going on a massive fuel saving strategy, followed by Dyson, Moloney, Gallagher, Mckenzie and Jones.
Dyson would inherit the lead on lap 82, as Barber started to drop down the order, and wouldn’t be challenged over the remaining laps to take a 4 second victory. Gallagher started to fade in the closing laps with tyre wear, which allowed Jones through to claim second. Barber, managed to save enough fuel to run out crossing the line to finish in P8.
Race Summary:
95 Laps
3 Cautions for 11 Laps
5 Leaders
8 Lead Changes
1st - #41 Andrew Dyson
2nd - #11 Ryan Jones
3rd - #13 Hamish Gallagher
4th - #02 Darren Mckenzie
5th - #21 Jason Martin
Stewards Summary:
Cautions:
Lap 20 - #93 Mirko Dautanac (3rd strike – ROF next week)
Lap 24 - #42 Lachlan Urquijo
Lap 32 - #30 Phil Bissett
Restarts:
Nil
Protests:
Nil
Series 2 standings:
With a perfect 2 for 2 start to the series, Dyson extends his championship lead to 13 points over Jones, with Michelmore a further point behind. 2023 overall standings:
Martin holds a 47 point lead of Michelmore, with Mckenzie, Phelps and Jaie Schultz rounding out the top 5.
Full race results and Series 2 standings at Sim Racer Hub: https://www.simracerhub.com/scoring/season_schedule.php...
Next week sees the Thunder Series head to Sonoma and the Historic Cup layout for round 3 of the Road Course Title. Will Dyson keep his series 2 hot streak going, or will Mckenzie make it 3 road course wins in a row?
For full race replay and future Thunder Series broadcasts, please head to Performance E-Streaming on YouTube and Facebook
