P1LMS 6h of Palm Springs - Race Recap

Discussion in 'P1LMS' started by Greg Hall, May 31, 2019.

  1. Greg Hall

    Greg Hall Member Editor SimHQM

    Round 4 of the P1LMS Championship heads to Florida, the home of heat, humidity, and retirees, for the 6 Hours of Palm Springs. Residing within a 1.5 mile oval, the road course within utilizes the front and back straightaways of the oval, splitting the difference with two separate dives into the infield. This 2.3mi/3.7km “roval” hosted Grand-Am sports car racing from 2000-2012, and P1LMS brings multi-class racing back to the track.

    Through three rounds, the standings are as follows:

    LMP2:
    1. 70 - #106 Black Hawk Racing
    2. 56 - #88 Me Myself and I Alone
    3. 35 - #9 Schubert Motorsport
    4. 34 - #42 Hansa Racing
    5. 32 - #69 RevolutionSimRacing V
    GTE:
    1. 63 - #911 YourNameHere Racing
    2. 36 - #77 TeamRGPL GTE
    3. 35 - #30 Raceland DE
    4. 31 - #73 MRS eRacing I
    5. 29 - #81 Black Hawk Racing GTE
    Qualifying

    In LMP2, the #106 Black Hawk Racing team made it two races in a row on pole. Csaba Kiss took the honors this time, with a lap of 1:10.80. Steven Lexow slotted the #25 Falcon Motorsport I car to the outside pole position, logging a 1:11.10. Third place was taken by a team making its first appearance in the P1LMS. Henning Wollert lifted the #11 One Target LMP2 into P3, with a 1:11.22.

    In GTE, it was Brian Smeets setting the fastest time, taking the #12 Drace Motorsport BMW M8 to the front of the class with a 1:17.26. Second was Christian Knudsen, with the #26 Rennsimulanten DE II driver posting a 1:17.64. Mere centimeters split Knudsen from P3, with the familiar face of Sebastian Pfeiffer posting a third place in the #911 YourNameHere Racing Porsche 911.

    Shortly before the end of Qualifying, a very short rain shower hit the track. The 18 LMP2 and 21 GTE starters all prepared for a treacherous track at race start.

    Race

    On a drying track, the green flag was waved, and the race was on. The #25 Falcon Motorsport car necessitated an early pit stop 15 minutes into the race, dropping from the lead pack. Meanwhile, the #11 One Target LMP2 showed its might early on, Henning Wollert snagging the lead from the #106 Black Hawk Racing car of Csaba Kiss on lap 26 after an unforced error in traffic. Nic da Silva in the #63 SimHQ Motorsports car also showed early pace, moving from his 9th place starting spot to P3 within the first hour.

    Start P2.jpg

    The top three would see little change until lap 80, when the BHR #106 would retake the lead. Lap 85 saw the #63 SimHQ Motorsports car drop from the field, an internet failure striking Nic da Silva from competition. The ensuing aftermath would see the #46 Drace Motorsport LMP of Mark Weiler promoted to P3.

    One Target, with Martin Fuhrmann now at the wheel, retook the lead at lap 106, due to an extra pit stop for the #106 BHR Car. Furthermore, BHR would disconnect from the race on lap 117, leaving the car to finish out of the points. From the highest of highs, to the lowest of lows…

    Vortex.jpg

    Throughout the remainder of the race, One Target kept a stranglehold on the lead. Meanwhile, multiple challengers would push Drace Motorsport for P2. First, the Falcon Motorsport car, Steven Lexow driving, would hop forward on lap 139. Next the #993 Vortex SRCCommunity LMP of Yannick Pleiss on lap 152. But Drace fought back… until another, stronger challenger stepped forward. The #17 Drillers Motorsport car, Ernests Lapins at the wheel, snuck into P2 on lap 200. Outside of pit stop cycles, Drillers would not relinquish P2.

    Thus, the race finished. One Target, the newcomers, took P1 in their first outing, 289 laps completed. Drillers Motorsport took home P2, with Drace Motorsport rounded out the podium.

    One Target.jpg
    1. #11 One Target
    2. #17 Drillers Motorsport
    3. #46 Drace Motorsport LMP
    4. #88 Me Myself and I Alone
    5. #993 Vortex SRCCommunity LMP

    Brian Smeets led the GTE field to the green flag, and decided that 1st place was the place to be. The Drace Motorsport driver held onto the lead until the first pit stop cycle, at which Christian Knudsen in the #26 Rennsimulanten DE II car took his turn at the lead.

    Start GT.jpg

    Not surprisingly, however, the strong-charging #81 Black Hawk Racing GTE would move to the front on lap 92. When a car has been up front all season, you expect them to show up eventually. At the same time, the Drace Motorsport car took a tumble, and would not return to podium contention.

    Never to fear, the #26 Rennsimulanten DE II car took the lead back at lap 100, only to give the lead back to BHR on lap 138 during a pit stop. Unsurprisingly, BHR returned the favor on lap 150, swapping drivers from Alex Breautigram to Kevin Jaeger in the process. Meanwhile, the #911 YourNameHere Racing car slyly slid into the final podium spot, P3, one it would not relinquish.

    GTs.jpg

    Cue lap 186, and pit stops brought BHR back to the lead. Lap 198, Rennsimulanten DE II back to the lead! Both teams had such even pace, only pit stops could shake up the order. Lap 234 brought the BHR car back to the lead, lap 245 brought Rennsimulanten DE back up front with BHR’s final pit stop.

    In the end, it was the strongest run of the season for the #26 RennSimulanten DE II team, taking the team to the top of the podium. 267 laps in, and only 27 seconds in arrears, the #81 Black Hawk Racing GTE returned to the podium in 2nd place. Rounding out the podium was the immensely strong #911 YourNameHere Porsche 911, once again banking a sizable amount of championship points.

    1. #26 RennSimulanten DE II
    2. #81 Black Hawk Racing GTE
    3. #911 YourNameHere Racing
    4. #30 Raceland DE
    5. #12 Drace Motorsport
    GT End.jpg


    Standings


    With four rounds of eight complete, the #106 Black Hawk Racing team leads LMP2, but their lack of points at Palm Springs slims their points lead to only one point over Me Myself and I alone.
    1. 70 - #106 Black Hawk Racing
    2. 69 - #88 Me Myself and I Alone
    3. 42 - #9 Schubert Motorsport
    4. 42 - #42 Hansa Racing
    5. 41 - #69 RevolutionSimRacing V
    In GTE, YourNameHere Racing continues their dominion over the field, with over a race’s max points on P2. The race for P2 tightens up, however.
    1. 79 - #911 YourNameHere Racing
    2. 49 - #81 Black Hawk Racing GTE
    3. 48 - #30 Raceland DE
    4. 40 - #12 Drace Motorsport
    5. 39 - #74 MRS eRacing II

    Next Race


    Race 5 of the P1LMS Championship crosses the Atlantic, once again, to the lush landscapes of Portugal. Estoril is the track, June 8th the date.

    Credit to Jon Uyan for the screenshots
     
  2. David OReilly

    David OReilly Well-Known Member

    Very nicely written article Greg, good work.
     
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