2023 Season 1 Round 4 Thunder Results
Martin dominates but Douglas wins at Rockingham
Wednesday night saw 33 cars arriving at the North Carolina venue for the first Thunder series event since 2018, with drivers anticipating a tough night on the bumpy 1 mile oval.
It would prove to be a Mitch Motorsport front row lockout, with Jason Martin edging out Josh Michelmore by 0.05s, with Lachlan Urquijo, Wade Sheedy and Steven Williams rounding out the top 5.
Despite some early contact and spins, the race stayed green with Martin steadily pulling away from the field whilst Urquijo and Michelmore regularly traded second position.
As the opening green flag run continued, drivers started to battle with the fall off in grip, most notably at the exit of turn 2, with drivers regularly making contact and worsening the condition of their right front tyres. This also started to spice up the racing in the mid pack, as those that had looked after their tyres early started to make a charge forward but would find progress challenging at times when venturing off the preferred racing line.
By lap 50, Martin had built a gap of over 4 seconds and was looking very comfortable out front. Some drivers had starting pitting, opting for a 2 stop strategy in the hope of making some gains on the fresher tyres. Those hopes took a hit on lap 58 when the first caution of the night came out. All cars came down pit road for 4 tyres and a full tank of fuel.
From the restart, Martin maintained his position at the front of the field followed by Michelmore, Dave Douglas, Urquijo and Barry Neale, with 16 cars remaining on the lead lap. Due to this, lots of respectful driving took place as the faster drivers had plenty of patience working their way through the lapped traffic.
As the race continued into another lengthy green flag period, Martin looked unstoppable and the battle focused onto P2 between Michelmore and Urquijo.
Whilst there were smaller battles through the field, the field was largely settled into a grove and counting down the laps. That all changed with 3 laps to go with the caution coming out, creating a green-white-chequered finish. The leaders all came in for tyres to ensure they had the best shot at winning the 2 lap shootout.
Despite leading all race, Martin lit up the rears at the green flag and dropped down the field. Due to this, Michelmore and Urquijo both got pinged for passing for the line, elevating Douglas into the lead and maintaining it to the finish. Second home was Mckenzie, Martin hanging on for third with Neale and Wesley Clohesy rounding out the top 5, with only 7 cars finishing on the lead lap.
Race Summary:
143 Laps
2 Cautions for 8 Laps
2 leaders
1 Lead Changes
1st - #10 Dave Douglas
2nd - #02 Darren Mckenzie
3rd - #21 Jason Martin
4th - #22 Barry Neale
5th - #75 Wesley Clohesy
Stewards Summary:
Cautions:
Lap 58 - #35 Joshua Carroll-Walden
Lap 137 - #212 Christopher Tomlin
Start Procedure Penalties:
Nil
Protests:
Lap 137 - #212 Christopher Tomlin for deliberately causing a caution – Protest Upheld.
Outcome - DQ from race, a week off next week and 6 months probation as per ANZCAR rule 5(b).
Despite the tough end to the night, Martin moves into the championship lead by 3 points over Mckenzie and Douglas a further 6 points back. Due to the late race penalty, Michelmore goes from leading the championship to dropping down to fifth. Next week the Thunder series heads to Georgia and the newly repaved Atlanta Speedway.
Full race results: https://www.simracerhub.com/scoring/season_race.php...
Full driver standings: https://www.simracerhub.com/scoring/season_standings.php...
For full race replay and future Thunder Series broadcasts, please head to Performance E-Streaming on Facebook
Wednesday night saw 33 cars arriving at the North Carolina venue for the first Thunder series event since 2018, with drivers anticipating a tough night on the bumpy 1 mile oval.
It would prove to be a Mitch Motorsport front row lockout, with Jason Martin edging out Josh Michelmore by 0.05s, with Lachlan Urquijo, Wade Sheedy and Steven Williams rounding out the top 5.
Despite some early contact and spins, the race stayed green with Martin steadily pulling away from the field whilst Urquijo and Michelmore regularly traded second position.
As the opening green flag run continued, drivers started to battle with the fall off in grip, most notably at the exit of turn 2, with drivers regularly making contact and worsening the condition of their right front tyres. This also started to spice up the racing in the mid pack, as those that had looked after their tyres early started to make a charge forward but would find progress challenging at times when venturing off the preferred racing line.
By lap 50, Martin had built a gap of over 4 seconds and was looking very comfortable out front. Some drivers had starting pitting, opting for a 2 stop strategy in the hope of making some gains on the fresher tyres. Those hopes took a hit on lap 58 when the first caution of the night came out. All cars came down pit road for 4 tyres and a full tank of fuel.
From the restart, Martin maintained his position at the front of the field followed by Michelmore, Dave Douglas, Urquijo and Barry Neale, with 16 cars remaining on the lead lap. Due to this, lots of respectful driving took place as the faster drivers had plenty of patience working their way through the lapped traffic.
As the race continued into another lengthy green flag period, Martin looked unstoppable and the battle focused onto P2 between Michelmore and Urquijo.
Whilst there were smaller battles through the field, the field was largely settled into a grove and counting down the laps. That all changed with 3 laps to go with the caution coming out, creating a green-white-chequered finish. The leaders all came in for tyres to ensure they had the best shot at winning the 2 lap shootout.
Despite leading all race, Martin lit up the rears at the green flag and dropped down the field. Due to this, Michelmore and Urquijo both got pinged for passing for the line, elevating Douglas into the lead and maintaining it to the finish. Second home was Mckenzie, Martin hanging on for third with Neale and Wesley Clohesy rounding out the top 5, with only 7 cars finishing on the lead lap.
Race Summary:
143 Laps
2 Cautions for 8 Laps
2 leaders
1 Lead Changes
1st - #10 Dave Douglas
2nd - #02 Darren Mckenzie
3rd - #21 Jason Martin
4th - #22 Barry Neale
5th - #75 Wesley Clohesy
Stewards Summary:
Cautions:
Lap 58 - #35 Joshua Carroll-Walden
Lap 137 - #212 Christopher Tomlin
Start Procedure Penalties:
Nil
Protests:
Lap 137 - #212 Christopher Tomlin for deliberately causing a caution – Protest Upheld.
Outcome - DQ from race, a week off next week and 6 months probation as per ANZCAR rule 5(b).
Despite the tough end to the night, Martin moves into the championship lead by 3 points over Mckenzie and Douglas a further 6 points back. Due to the late race penalty, Michelmore goes from leading the championship to dropping down to fifth. Next week the Thunder series heads to Georgia and the newly repaved Atlanta Speedway.
Full race results: https://www.simracerhub.com/scoring/season_race.php...
Full driver standings: https://www.simracerhub.com/scoring/season_standings.php...
For full race replay and future Thunder Series broadcasts, please head to Performance E-Streaming on Facebook
