Apex Racing Academy iRacing Porsche Cup S3 R1 – Oran Park

A brand-new season of the Apex Racing Academy Porsche Cup screamed into action at Oran Park this week. Hot on the heels of a fiercely competitive season two, won by Kamil Grabowski, a brand-new format injects even more adrenaline into this one make championship.

For the first heat of the new era of Porsche Cup, championship newcomer Andrea Alberti started on pole position. Leading confidently at the front, the Wave Italy star made full use of pole position. However, a threat was incoming in the form of Kamil Grabowski. From fourth on the grid, the defending champion scythed through to second place and hunted Alberti down. Heading onto the final lap, Grabowski ominously stalked his Italian adversary. Nevertheless, Alberti found an extra gear and resisted Grabowski’s challenge to win the opening heat of the season.

Super Swiss, Leandro Anderruti, started heat two from pole position. Throughout the race, Anderutti continually resisted pressure from Pascal Costa. With two minutes to go, Costa finally broke Anderutti’s resolve when the Swiss driver made an error into the rapid turn one. Although Costa missed out at the final hurdle last season, an opening heat race win marked a perfect response to the previous disappointment.

For those not progressing automatically to the feature race, the consolation race presented the final chance. Dominik Forster enjoyed a crucially clear view to Oran Park’s perilous turn one from pole position. However, Giovanni Tononi edged past Forster into turn one and took the early lead. While Forster challenge quickly faded, Tononi disappeared to a dominant victory.

By virtue of their heat race wins, Alberti and Costa started the twenty-minute feature race on the front row of the grid. Scampering off the line, Alberti narrowly maintained the lead through sector one. However, Costa couldn’t resist the challenge of Grabowski who slipped into second place. By half race distance, Alberti and Grabowski opened up a slender gap to Costa in third.

With five minutes to go, Grabowski continued to tighten the vice on Alberti. Yet, the Italian star refused to flinch. Eventually, the Polish kart racer deployed a cunning move across the Oran Park bridge and pinched the lead with three laps to go. As a result of Grabowski and Alberti’s intensifying fight, Pascal Costa soon re-joined the battle for the win.

Once into the lead, Grabowski displayed all his championship winning credentials and cleared off for the win. Immediately behind, a tangle between Alberti and Costa sent the former leader hard into the wall. Costa carried on, claiming second place, while Leandro Anderutti pinched the final spot on the podium from the bruised Alberti.

From the dreaded depths of the consolation race, determined Dutchman Max Wolf ascended to tenth overall and top of the AM class. A stunning performance from Evo SR’s latest signing.

Immediately after the race, several of the ARA Porsche Cup stars joined the Apex Racing TV commentary team to share their thoughts:

Kamil Grabowski: “It was pretty intense! The way I fought for it makes it even better. After a not so good qualifying, I had work to do.”

Max Wolf: “I didn’t expect a result like this! I was struggling a lot with my pace.”

Kev Copeland: “I was just glad to get into the feature race after the heat race being so tight. It was really good racing. This track is so tough to overtake!”

On the 12^th of May, the Apex Racing Academy iRacing Porsche Cup returns for round two at Hockenheim. Watch Live on Apex Racing TV

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