Title on the Line at Bathurst: Who Conquers the Mountain?

The tone of the season can be split into two parts, Pre-Overhaul and Post-Overhaul.

Prior to the major GT3 tire and aero overhaul the Acura NSX was considered to be significantly stronger than most of the other options, but post update the car has been rarely seen. Since that point, which started with Spa on July 4th, the Balance of the Category shifted massively in favour of the front engine cars, with the Mustang leaping out as the front runner.

When car choices were initially locked in 29 of the 45 teams elected to select the Acura with them all deeming it not only the preferred choice, but not thinking too much about the secondary selection.

Critically, the OSR Bathurst 12h was run at the start of the year prior to the update and is about the best form guide we have heading into the Bathurst finale. The top 15 cars from Qualifying in February were all Acura’s, meaning we could be heading to Friday with nearly two-thirds of the field giving us the sound of the Twin Turbo’ed Japanese engine! If they can find something that provides speed that is…

The difficulty with Bathurst is that the overtaking opportunities largely lie at the backend of two big straights, historically leading to an arms race of trimming the cars out and then looking to survive across the top of the mountain. However, since the overhaul everyone has found themselves searching for more efficient downforce provided by clean efficient aero packages, rake and the rest of the platform to support it.

The Acura’s strengths come from the ability to just carry midcorner speed, combined with success at altitude when the dual turbo’s combine to funnel as much oxygen into the combustion chamber as the 3.5L V6 can handle. A lack of potential top speed could be the killer for the only non-European and non-American manufacturer. Could the turn this car creates cook the tires? How will it function in the wet? Questions that need answers we can only provide after Friday night.

Speaking of the weather, we need to address the elephant in the room. Every time we’ve been scheduled for a bit of the heavens opening in either V8Pro or GTPro this year we’ve been cruelly denied anything more than a stretch of hands out of the grandstand. I seriously wouldn’t have even been reaching for a jacket a few weeks ago at the Sandown 500 in V8Pro and in the year thus far this is the only interaction we’ve had with the iRacing Tempest weather system.

With that said, rain is definitely a possibility across the weekend. Both series run with a “Forecasted” weather setting, relying on weather conditions provided to iRacing from a weather monitoring system. There’s definitely a gathering of rain in the area, and depending on race timing we may see the heavens open. With 3 hours of racing and 20 minutes of qualifying this is likely the best chance to see the weather we’re going to get all year across both series.

To the championship battle, and well its all but sewn up for the #56 Eclipse Simsport entry. The only consolation is that there is still a chance, but it will require absolute heartbreak for that car. Their only goal will be to finish 25th or better, although they are yet to finish off the podium with the worst result a 3rd. Simply put, a shattered car from something outside their control is the only outcome I can foresee that denies them their rightful place as champions.

The battle for best of the rest is hotly contested though, and is likely to be where the biggest fight will come from on the night. Sister car to the championship leader, #17 Eclipse Simsports, have the lead in a 10 point battle that features the #79 Arete eSports and the Vermillion Esports #228 (and yes, the fact they both spell e-Sports differently does annoy me!).

In terms of car choices Arete have definitely benefitted from having the Mustang in their pool, with all 3 teams having the Mclaren, with the other two having the Acura. In theory this should weight towards the Acura, but we still are yet to have enough data on the Acura’s performance and the Mclaren and Mustang have been preferred ever since the update.

So who will win this stoush? You can bank on all 3 teams having done their homework, you don’t get to this level without proper preparation. Eclipse and Vermillion both have teammates to work with that are sharing car selections, meaning they have more to work from and it becomes easier to ensure you haven’t missed something in the preparation.

However, Byron Pearce seems quietly confident in their team and with the international racing they are currently doing. Of the 3 teams they are the one doing extra laps in the right categories in a challenging field.

As usual you will hear me spouting about Rattray-White’s climb through the ranks to where he is. His biggest strength is raw laps that he has done of late, however, that comes with the cost of it being in other machinery. Sometimes there’s no replacement for raw driving hours, and the added ability to be flexible in the way you drive the car. Christison and Lutzu find themselves relegated to secondary duties in this car, and is a role both are not used to fulfilling.

For Vermillion they’ve taken the team this year from being a footnote in the higher echelons of Australian Sim Racing, to a team worthy of closer monitoring. What started as an oversized and overzealous grab bag of drivers, has matured into a fine deep pool of talent that has learned to trim back on their aggressive nature and turn it into more consistent results with higher chances of success.

For all the bluster, the teams involved in the fight for 2nd have room for error so expect there to be aggression without the long term risk.

How is this going to play out? Tune in to the championship finale as we crown our first ever Gamesmen GTPro Champion Friday night at 7.45pm AEDT.