Roosens robbed at Hockenheim!
Apex Racing League GT Trophy – R2 Hockenheim – iRacing
No less than fifty-three cars lined up for round two of the Apex Racing League GT Trophy. Piloting a range of exotic machinery from Lamborghini, Ferrari, McLaren, Audi and BMW, these keen GT racers took on the relatively modern Hockenheim circuit for sixty minutes.
One week ago, at Monza, Valkyrie Esports announced their arrival to the ARL GT Trophy paddock by locking out the front row. Although Valkyrie’s Amaury Bonduel charged to victory on the outskirts of Milan, defending champion Gaetan Anger climbed the podium. Reminding the Belgian upstarts to forget any ideas of romping to the title unopposed.
During a tense qualifying session, Kenny Roosens scored his second pole position of the season in his Valkyrie BMW M4 GT3. Leaving his best till last, the Belgian bullet pinched pole from Pascal Stix by a tiny margin. In twenty-eighth overall, Alain Carigiet topped the AM class.
Embarking upon sixty minutes of action, Kenny Roosens led the snarling pack towards the Nordkurve. While the frontrunners negotiated the opening section flawlessly, unbridled chaos triggered behind. As the drivers in the mid pack swooped through turn one, a bottle neck effect triggered a messy pile up, claiming several drivers moments into the race.
As Roosens and Stix led the way, Gaetan Anger began his ascent from fifth on the grid. Heading into the Spitzkehre hairpin, Anger plotted his move on Sven Neumann. While attempting to move past on the brakes, light contact nearly sent both drivers off the road, if not for some quick reactions. Nevertheless, Anger slipped past into third place and set off in pursuit of Pascal Stix.
Moments later, a nasty dose of snap oversteer exciting the ‘Parabolika’ sapped Stix’s momentum. Following close behind, Gaetan Anger couldn’t take evasive action. Clipping the rear of Stix’s Audi, the luckless Austrian speared off the road as Anger continued.
While drama ensued behind, Kenny Roosens serenely pushed ahead out front. By the pit stops, Roosens had maintained a healthy two second advantage over Anger in second. Furthermore, when the leading seven cars emerged from their pit stops, Roosens had gained another half a second in pit lane. Twenty-five minutes from the flag, a first win of the season looked secure for the Valkyrie BMW star.
However, fate dealt a cruel blow to Roosens once again. Arriving at the stadium section, Roosens swept through the blind ‘Mobil 1 kurve’ to find a stricken Lamborghini broadside across the ‘Sachs-kurve’. With nowhere to go, the Roosens had to trundle off the circuit to avoid the backmarker. Unable to believe his fortune, Anger nipped past the stranded Lamborghini while Roosens struggled back onto the circuit. Akin to his Monza heartbreak, an incident with a backmarker had cost Roosens dear.
Once into the lead, the ruthless Gaetan Anger didn’t relinquish his advantage, claiming the first win towards his ARL GT Trophy defence. Rueing his misfortune, Roosens had to settle for second place. Antonio Peixe’s cunning pit strategy yielded a podium finish for the Portuguese driver.
Super Swiss, Alain Carigiet, converted AM class pole position with a dominant class victory over Vivian Dabert.
Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta hosts round three of the Apex Racing League GT Trophy. Tune into live action on Apex Racing TV at 7pm GMT on Tuesday the 1st of June.
