Coming into Round 8 of the Speedcafe eSeries it looked as though Mathew Dench had done enough to take the inaugural Speedcafe eSeries title. But not all is as it seems – this round is key to the championship with the top 3 set to battle it out over the final two rounds, starting tonight at Watkins Glen.
Prior to Round 8 in Austria, championship points had Dench in the clear lead – but as we look to tonight’s Round 9 battle, both Lachlan Caple and Damon Woods are well within striking distance.
Prior to Round 8 Dench had lead of 53 points, after the Red Bull Ring that lead dropped to just 21.
Dench was caught napping when the pitlane opened on the first of 2 Safety Cars and missed the critical time to get the compulsory fuel stop out of the way. He drove valiantly back inside the top 10, strategically utilising all of his “track limit” warnings in the process. On the final lap, not looking to advance his position, Dench unintentionally exceeded track limits one final time, to which the Stewards added 40 seconds to his race time (post race) which resulted in his first season finish outside the top 5.
Damon Woods hence celebrated his 4th win of the season, with Lachlan Caple in 2nd place, continuing to show his abilities to earn consistent points hauls and stay out of the stewards room!
Looking forward to tonight’s Round 9 of the Speedcafe eSeries, Series Commentator Scott Rankin offered some key insights;
“To make this an out and out championship race heading into Spa for the final round I would want to see Caple finish ahead of Dench tonight at Watkins Glen. For Damon Woods to take the season title, well simply… he must win. Considering he has won 50% of the races this season, why not a Woods win tonite? Bring it on!”
“With that out of the way, what do we know of Watkins Glen and how it’s going to drive.
1. The circuit is fast and flowing, overtaking opportunities are really only at T1, T4 and maybe into the Toe, and Heel. These will require very late braking to be successful.
2. Reminiscent of Catalunya, Watkins Glen is tough to master and abrasive on tyres. Caple in particular has struggled to prudently manage tyres on occasion in the past.
3. Track position is key – If you are taking tyres at your stop (and so is everyone else) then the overcut is the way to go, but it leaves you vulnerable on cold tires!”
The Speedcafe eSeries season builds toward a dramatic grand final in a fortnight’s time, but for now Round 9 is the focus for all eSeries drivers. Round 9 from Watkins Glen will be streamed live on Speedcafe TV.
If you want to partake in the final 2 rounds of the season, prequalifying is all but over for Watkins Glen. However, prequalifying for Spa starts on July 28
Join the discord server here to partake – https://discord.com/invite/tc7gAxMQBH
Register for the series through this online form – https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSduKlXcthl-ZcCe8FzgtyeEvgl33oLTOKKJ0J11dU3d4HWDhQ/viewform
AND as an added bonus there will be multiple lucky door prizes for the final 2 races of the season. Must be in the race server to be eligible, and they will be given to a random driver, not on the podium. $50 iRacing credits could be yours just by participating!
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