Marteau romps to Road Atlanta double!
Apex Racing Academy iRacing F3 VRS Super Series R8 Road Atlanta
As the end of the Apex Racing Academy VRS Super Series nears, none of the championship have flinched under pressure. Arriving at Road Atlanta for a three-round stateside stretch to season’s end, Paulo Draeta, Connor Bell, Qio-Tiago Marteau and Will Redford are all in the hunt for the title.
Setting the pace in qualifying, Paulo Draeta mastered the weaving Braselton contours to claim pole position for the sprint race. However, Draeta would be closely followed by all of his aforementioned championship rivals.
Once again, Aaron Smith punched well above his weight mixed it with the PROs in fifth overall. Furthermore, Smith edged out his AM class nemesis, Florian Beer.
Scampering away from pole position, Draeta pulled out a handy lead by the end of the opening lap. Meanwhile, Bell and Marteau bickered over second position. With his rivals consumed in their own battle, Draeta enjoyed a perfect opportunity to break away from the powerful slipstream. However, an escape wouldn’t transpire.
Launching over the blind entry to turn three, a slight error killed Draeta’s momentum. Instantly, Bell and Marteau arrived on the scene. As Bell took his chance to slip past Draeta, the championship contenders clashed. Draeta immediately pitched into a spin and clattered the trackside wall. Bell was slightly more fortune and tumbled over the grass before re-joining in fourth.
Jentsen Adriaenssens kept it on the black top while his AM class opponents floundered. Third overall confirmed a superb class win for the Belgian ace.
Feature Race
Pole position for the feature race provided an additional reward for Marteau’s magic in the opening sprint. However, Will Redford would start right alongside to keep the Dutchman honest. Following their sprint race demise, Draeta and Bell started deep in the pack from tenth and thirteenth, respectively.
Right from the off, the ‘Marteau magic’ continued. Executing a perfect launch, the Dutch star won the sprint to turn one and never looked back. Despite Will Redford’s valiant efforts to keep up, Marteau was simply imperious. Recovering from a difficult race one, Draeta and Bell carved their way through the field to finish third and fourth respectively.
Doubling up on AM class delight, Jentsen Adriaenssens came home fifth overall and top of the class. After a tricky round for Aaron Smith and Florian Beer, Adriaenssens has vaulted into contention for the fiercely contested AM championship.
Post Race
After the action, several ARA F3 stars revealed their thoughts on a day’s racing at Road Atlanta:
Connor Bell: “Not the result I was hoping for today. It was a bit of a racing incident in race one with Paulo. However, we worked together in the second race to get to the front.”
Will Redford: “I did what I needed to do. I beat two of the rivals I needed to beat.”
Mark Redford: “I need to learn to start the car! First race, I spun up the tyres and collected a couple of other cars. Sorry about that guys!”
Watkins Glen plays host to the penultimate round of the Apex Racing Academy F3 VRS Super Series on Sunday the 20th of June on Apex Racing TV
