2023 Season 2 Round 5 Thunder Results
Thunder Series Review
After the previous weeks non-event due to iRacing maintenance, the Thunder Series drivers were keen to get back on track at Iowa Speedway. With the Cup Series having a week off, a near full pit lane were eager to see if they could knock the dominant Dyson off the top step. Qualifying saw Dyson claim his second pole position award ahead of Martin, Michelmore and Neale.
Martin got a good start and grabbed the lead of the race from Dyson, followed by Neale, Michelmore and Jaie Schultz. Whilst the majority of the front end of the field were running single file, drivers in the mid pack started experimenting with different lines in a bid to gain positions.
As the race moved towards lap 10, some drivers started to overheat their RF tyres causing contact with the exit walls and bunching the field up in spots. Several minor contacts occurred, but all drivers were able to maintain racing without the caution being thrown.
The caution flag flew for the first time on lap 41, with the field coming in for tyres and fuel whilst other took this opportunity to get some repairs completed. Martin maintained his lead over Dyson once the stops were completed, with Neale, Michelmore and Mckenzie rounding out the top 5.
Whilst the opening 40 laps were a display of great short track racing, the pit stop sequence seemed to flip a switch with a lot of drivers, who became ultra aggressive. This change in behaviour saw the remaining laps littered with cautions, and these weren’t reserved for the mid pack of the field – lap 69 and lap 110 cautions were battles for third place.
This resulted in some names towards to the top of the timing screens that been towards the pointy end in some time and as such were keen to capitalise on the misfortune of others.
As the field took the green for the 2 lap dash to the finish, Williams led from Wellman, Dyson, Drady and Clark. Whilst the team DPR cars worked together on the bottom, Wellman was able to use the mid lane groove to hang tough on the outside.
This proved a critical move as coming to the line for the white flag, the final caution of the night was thrown, will Wellman in front by half a nose to claim his first ANZCAR win in some time (2022-23 Summer Series). Williams had to settle for second and Clark rounding out the podium.
Dyson was in third position when the final caution came out, but instead of driving around the final lap to greet the chequed flag, he drove into pit lane which allowed several cars to pass him and was scored officially in sixth position.
Race Summary:
137 Laps
10 Cautions for 46 Laps
6 Leaders
6 Lead Changes
1st - #45 Garry Wellman
2nd - #98 Steven Williams
3rd - #09 Norman Clark
4th - #129 Paul Drady
5th - #212 Christopher Tomlin
Stewards Summary:
Cautions:
Lap 41 - #080 Koby Jordan
Lap 53 - #35 Joshua Carroll-Walden - 3rd strike ROF next race
Lap 63 - #35 Joshua Carroll-Walden
Lap 69 - #45 Garry Wellman
Lap 76 - #212 Christopher Tomlin
Lap 83 - #42 Lachlan Urquijo
Lap 90 - #30 Phil Bissett - 3rd strike ROF next race
Lap 110 - #22 Barry Neale
Lap 130 - #48 Matt Hunter
Lap 136 - #48 Matt Hunter
Restarts:
Nil
Protests:
Nil
Other:
Nil
Series 2 standings:
Despite having the first blemish, Dyson continues to lead the Series 2 standings, 26 points ahead of a tied second place between Michelmore and Wellman, with Barber and Clark completing the top 5. Next week sees the Thunder Series head to the Kentucky Speedway.
Short Track Title:
Michelmore takes over the lead at the halfway mark, turning a 10 point deficit into a 3 point lead after Martin was caught up in an incident and dropped down the order, whilst Phelps, Drady and Williams round out the top 5. Round 4 of the short track championship will be at I.R.P. on the 26th of July.
2023 overall standings:
After another challenging race, Martin’s comfortable lead in the overall championship continues to reduce, down to 30 points over Michelmore, with Clark and Mckenzie tied for third, and Phelps rounding out the top 5.
Full race results and Series 2 standings at Sim Racer Hub: https://www.simracerhub.com/scoring/season_schedule.php...
Full race replay provided by Performance E-Streaming: https://youtu.be/d5ygFAdFfks
After the previous weeks non-event due to iRacing maintenance, the Thunder Series drivers were keen to get back on track at Iowa Speedway. With the Cup Series having a week off, a near full pit lane were eager to see if they could knock the dominant Dyson off the top step. Qualifying saw Dyson claim his second pole position award ahead of Martin, Michelmore and Neale.
Martin got a good start and grabbed the lead of the race from Dyson, followed by Neale, Michelmore and Jaie Schultz. Whilst the majority of the front end of the field were running single file, drivers in the mid pack started experimenting with different lines in a bid to gain positions.
As the race moved towards lap 10, some drivers started to overheat their RF tyres causing contact with the exit walls and bunching the field up in spots. Several minor contacts occurred, but all drivers were able to maintain racing without the caution being thrown.
The caution flag flew for the first time on lap 41, with the field coming in for tyres and fuel whilst other took this opportunity to get some repairs completed. Martin maintained his lead over Dyson once the stops were completed, with Neale, Michelmore and Mckenzie rounding out the top 5.
Whilst the opening 40 laps were a display of great short track racing, the pit stop sequence seemed to flip a switch with a lot of drivers, who became ultra aggressive. This change in behaviour saw the remaining laps littered with cautions, and these weren’t reserved for the mid pack of the field – lap 69 and lap 110 cautions were battles for third place.
This resulted in some names towards to the top of the timing screens that been towards the pointy end in some time and as such were keen to capitalise on the misfortune of others.
As the field took the green for the 2 lap dash to the finish, Williams led from Wellman, Dyson, Drady and Clark. Whilst the team DPR cars worked together on the bottom, Wellman was able to use the mid lane groove to hang tough on the outside.
This proved a critical move as coming to the line for the white flag, the final caution of the night was thrown, will Wellman in front by half a nose to claim his first ANZCAR win in some time (2022-23 Summer Series). Williams had to settle for second and Clark rounding out the podium.
Dyson was in third position when the final caution came out, but instead of driving around the final lap to greet the chequed flag, he drove into pit lane which allowed several cars to pass him and was scored officially in sixth position.
Race Summary:
137 Laps
10 Cautions for 46 Laps
6 Leaders
6 Lead Changes
1st - #45 Garry Wellman
2nd - #98 Steven Williams
3rd - #09 Norman Clark
4th - #129 Paul Drady
5th - #212 Christopher Tomlin
Stewards Summary:
Cautions:
Lap 41 - #080 Koby Jordan
Lap 53 - #35 Joshua Carroll-Walden - 3rd strike ROF next race
Lap 63 - #35 Joshua Carroll-Walden
Lap 69 - #45 Garry Wellman
Lap 76 - #212 Christopher Tomlin
Lap 83 - #42 Lachlan Urquijo
Lap 90 - #30 Phil Bissett - 3rd strike ROF next race
Lap 110 - #22 Barry Neale
Lap 130 - #48 Matt Hunter
Lap 136 - #48 Matt Hunter
Restarts:
Nil
Protests:
Nil
Other:
Nil
Series 2 standings:
Despite having the first blemish, Dyson continues to lead the Series 2 standings, 26 points ahead of a tied second place between Michelmore and Wellman, with Barber and Clark completing the top 5. Next week sees the Thunder Series head to the Kentucky Speedway.
Short Track Title:
Michelmore takes over the lead at the halfway mark, turning a 10 point deficit into a 3 point lead after Martin was caught up in an incident and dropped down the order, whilst Phelps, Drady and Williams round out the top 5. Round 4 of the short track championship will be at I.R.P. on the 26th of July.
2023 overall standings:
After another challenging race, Martin’s comfortable lead in the overall championship continues to reduce, down to 30 points over Michelmore, with Clark and Mckenzie tied for third, and Phelps rounding out the top 5.
Full race results and Series 2 standings at Sim Racer Hub: https://www.simracerhub.com/scoring/season_schedule.php...
Full race replay provided by Performance E-Streaming: https://youtu.be/d5ygFAdFfks
