Three in a row for Thompson!
Apex Racing Academy iRacing Porsche Cup S3 R4 – Laguna Seca
Beautiful Monterey and Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca welcomed the Apex Racing Academy Porsche Cup Championship for round four of the season. Josh Thompson’s arrival in the ARA Porsche Cup has given the front running fraternity a rude wake up call. Looking for a hattrick of wins, the marvellous Manxman has swiftly established himself as the man to beat.
Pascal Costa stepped up to the plate to qualify fastest and start on pole position for the opening heat. Taking full advantage of vital track position, the Impulse Racing star sped to a comfortable heat race win. Thus, securing pole position for the feature race.
Kevin Finn emerged from a multi-car brawl over the final feature race spots in eighth overall. Continuing his impressive season, the Kairos Competition driver was the only AM class driver to the crucial top twelve.
From pole position, Josh Thompson pulverised the field to win the second heat of the meeting from Nick Madsen. AM championship leader, Max Wolf, managed to resist multiple attacks from Sindre Silva to clutch the last spot in the feature race. Although Wolf’s performance impressed, AM class honours went to Paul Lange in ninth overall.
Heading into the dreaded consolation race, only six spots in the feature race remained up for grabs. With only ten minutes on track, drivers wishing to take part in the main event would have to make their moves early. Keen to avenge the agony of missing out on the feature by a whisker, Sindre Silva bolted from second on the grid. Silva’s sizzling launch gave an early advantage which the Norwegian continued to build all the way to the flag. From seventh on the grid, Mark Silcock scythed through the pack to second place and booked his ticket to the feature race.
Feature Race
The main event promised a battle royal between Pascal Costa and Josh Thompson. While Thompson bogged down off the line, Costa catapulted his 911 off the line and won the drag race to the Andretti hairpin. Thompson had to quickly regroup to keep Andrea Alberti from blocking his path to Costa. With a cunning manoeuvre at turn three, Thompson slipped up the inside of Alberti and set off in pursuit of Costa.
Throughout the opening laps, Thompson kept Costa in a vice of pressure, trying to force his rival into an error. Eventually, on lap seven, Thompson made his move at the Andretti hairpin. Shortly after Thompson snatched the lead, Costa’s woes continued. A slight mistake dropping the German ace down to fifth place.
Once Thompson hit the front, not even a brief challenge from Bryn Collins could stop the Williams Esports star from claiming a third consecutive win. Season one champion, Nick Madsen, came home third ahead of a high profile cast of superstar drivers.
In the AM class, Max Wolf solidified his championship lead in eighteenth overall and top of the class once again.
After the race, several of the ARA Porsche Cup protagonists joined the Apex Racing TV commentary team to assess their performance:
Josh Thompson: “I think Pascal did have the pace, so it’s a shame. I managed to hold on though.”
Nick Madsen: “All in all, I didn’t really expect a top five here because I felt a little bit off pace, but I had a really good qualifying.”
On Wednesday the second of June, the Apex Racing Academy Porsche Cup returns at Montreal. Tune in to Apex Racing TV at 7pm GMT for live coverage.
