2023 Season 2 Round 6 Thunder Results
Thunder Series Review
After the chaos that was Iowa Speedway, the Thunder Series was hoping to put on a better display of racing when the series arrived at Kentucky Speedway. 24 drivers entered the race, with Dyson grabbing his 3rd pole position ahead of Neale, Michelmore, Williams and Jones.
From the green, it looked like the inside line was the place to be, with Michelmore quickly into second place. But once the tyres got up to temp, Neale started to make the high line work, and within a couple of laps Jones had powered his way through the field from fifth and into the lead. Wellman, Neale and Jaie Schultz were battling hard for fourth, whilst Dyson had been able to make the move under Jones to take back the lead as the race moved into double digits on the lap counter.
Further back in the field was Series 1 champion Martin, who was having to fight hard to just stay inside the top 10, whilst a few spots back elbows were out between Carroll-Walden and Withey as they battled for positions.
After a frantic opening dozen or so laps, the field settled down into a more natural rhythm, as drivers started adjusting their lines whilst settling into what would hopefully be a long green flag run.
Lap 30, and Jaie Schultz pitted from the back end of the top 10, electing to go onto an alternate strategy to the rest of the field in the bid to undercut those around him as well as hoping for an early caution to get back onto the lead lap.
The caution never came any the majority of the field pitted in and around mid race distance, with Carroll-Walden, Jaie Schultz, Smith and Williams all spending time at the front of the field during the pit stop shuffle. Once the field had reorganised itself, Jones would find himself at the front of the field with Dyson breathing down his neck, with Neale not far behind as the lap counter ticked over to lap 66.
A few laps of side by side running and Dyson was able to use his slightly fresher tyres to get by Jones and back into the lead. Jones would drop to the bottom step of the podium when Neale was able to get by on the inside approx. 10 laps later.
In a much improved display of racing, the race when green to chequered with 15 drivers able to remain on the lead lap at the end. Neale pushed hard but wasn’t able to close the gap to Dyson, who claimed his fourth win of the series.
Race Summary:
107 Laps
0 Cautions for 0 Laps
6 Leaders
8 Lead Changes
1st - #41 Andrew Dyson
2nd - #22 Barry Neale
3rd - #11 Ryan Jones
4th - #45 Garry Wellman
5th - #31 Josh Michelmore
Stewards Summary:
Cautions:
Nil
Restarts:
Nil
Protests:
Nil
Other:
Nil
Series 2 standings:
Returning to his winning ways, Dyson extends his margin at the halfway point of Series 2, now 32 points in front of Wellman, with Michelmore a further point behind, and Barber and Clark rounding out the top 5.
Next week the Thunder Series heads to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway 2023 overall standings:
Minimal change at the head of the standings, with Martin, Michelmore and Clark maintaining their top 3 positions. With Mckenzie missing this week, it has allowed Phelps into P4 whilst Raymond and Jaie Schultz are tied for fifth.
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 - check them out on YouTube and Facebook.
After the chaos that was Iowa Speedway, the Thunder Series was hoping to put on a better display of racing when the series arrived at Kentucky Speedway. 24 drivers entered the race, with Dyson grabbing his 3rd pole position ahead of Neale, Michelmore, Williams and Jones.
From the green, it looked like the inside line was the place to be, with Michelmore quickly into second place. But once the tyres got up to temp, Neale started to make the high line work, and within a couple of laps Jones had powered his way through the field from fifth and into the lead. Wellman, Neale and Jaie Schultz were battling hard for fourth, whilst Dyson had been able to make the move under Jones to take back the lead as the race moved into double digits on the lap counter.
Further back in the field was Series 1 champion Martin, who was having to fight hard to just stay inside the top 10, whilst a few spots back elbows were out between Carroll-Walden and Withey as they battled for positions.
After a frantic opening dozen or so laps, the field settled down into a more natural rhythm, as drivers started adjusting their lines whilst settling into what would hopefully be a long green flag run.
Lap 30, and Jaie Schultz pitted from the back end of the top 10, electing to go onto an alternate strategy to the rest of the field in the bid to undercut those around him as well as hoping for an early caution to get back onto the lead lap.
The caution never came any the majority of the field pitted in and around mid race distance, with Carroll-Walden, Jaie Schultz, Smith and Williams all spending time at the front of the field during the pit stop shuffle. Once the field had reorganised itself, Jones would find himself at the front of the field with Dyson breathing down his neck, with Neale not far behind as the lap counter ticked over to lap 66.
A few laps of side by side running and Dyson was able to use his slightly fresher tyres to get by Jones and back into the lead. Jones would drop to the bottom step of the podium when Neale was able to get by on the inside approx. 10 laps later.
In a much improved display of racing, the race when green to chequered with 15 drivers able to remain on the lead lap at the end. Neale pushed hard but wasn’t able to close the gap to Dyson, who claimed his fourth win of the series.
Race Summary:
107 Laps
0 Cautions for 0 Laps
6 Leaders
8 Lead Changes
1st - #41 Andrew Dyson
2nd - #22 Barry Neale
3rd - #11 Ryan Jones
4th - #45 Garry Wellman
5th - #31 Josh Michelmore
Stewards Summary:
Cautions:
Nil
Restarts:
Nil
Protests:
Nil
Other:
Nil
Series 2 standings:
Returning to his winning ways, Dyson extends his margin at the halfway point of Series 2, now 32 points in front of Wellman, with Michelmore a further point behind, and Barber and Clark rounding out the top 5.
Next week the Thunder Series heads to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway 2023 overall standings:
Minimal change at the head of the standings, with Martin, Michelmore and Clark maintaining their top 3 positions. With Mckenzie missing this week, it has allowed Phelps into P4 whilst Raymond and Jaie Schultz are tied for fifth.
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 - check them out on YouTube and Facebook.
