2021 GT World Challenge Drivers Conference #1
acc
RRLeagues and PitStopUK’s premiere collaboration is now well underway after two epic races to start the season. In this blog we catch up with just a handful of drivers of the 41 that have competed thus far.
Q
We are already a third of the way into the 2021 GT World Challenge season with rounds 1 and 2 both providing a unique challenge for many drivers. How have you been enjoying it so far, and what has surprised you the most?
James Meade - Maniac Refulled
The first two rounds have been great and pretty kind to me. I’d never driven Zandvoort and Suzuka apart from about maybe 10 laps on each before the season and to get the results I did really surprised me despite some silly errors on my behalf! The driving standards and behaviour I have encountered have been spot on in my eyes which is the biggest contributor in enjoyment to me.
Si Fillingham - Seventy Seven
I have been enjoying ACC a lot more recently and with the series being sold out, there was much anticipation in the Team 77 garage. There's ok pace in the car but results haven't gone as I would have hoped with what unfolded at Suzuka being a huge disappointment. The weekly rounds are really hurting my side of the garage and I'm really struggling to find time to practice with an RRL race every 3 or 4 days. This was evident at Zandvoort and with little track time & wet conditions.... then it becomes difficult to perform how you would like. However, it's been great to see a busy grid again through our collaboration with PitStop UK and hopefully we can look forward to more of the same moving forward.
Ryan Leech - PitStopUK
The first third of the season has zipped by really fast. Both rounds have been incredibly challenging but super fun! I have had some really close battles on track and have some decent pace but I have made a costly mistake in both rounds. I believe my pace hasn’t been reflected in the current championship standings. Most surprising for me was the sheer race pace from the top 10 cars in both rounds.
David Dhoore - Intense Racing
It’s been great so far, I really enjoy the weekly races and the variation the season brings is outstanding. We already had a full wet race which was tough and in the next weeks we will race in full nighttime and as we all know that is also very tricky to stay out of trouble. With a p5 and p4 I can’t complain but I am missing that last bit of speed to fight for a podium but I hope I can close the gap somewhat in the upcoming races. The thing that surprises me the most is the speed of the Paradigm Shift team, Jak and Radek have always been fast drivers in ACC but it seems they are really on a mission this season.
Bernardo Teixeira - RC & SRP Team
So far, we're enjoying it a lot and we were very surprised to see the respect that most riders are showing. This is something we don't find that often. You guys have really fast drives in this league and even though we are not one of them, we are loving every minute of it. We, meaning, our team, run because we love what we do.
Jazz Forsberg - SRT
Well, even though I haven't had any luck or good results, I've been enjoying the season quite a lot. I feel I've lost quite a lot of the pace I used to have before my "break" from sim racing (not that I was particularly fast, but definitely faster than now, or that's what I feel), and I'm enjoying it despite my lack of pace, mistakes and incidents. Having big grids, and very talented drivers in it is always a plus, and maybe I will find my mojo back sometime, who knows, and if not, well, I'll keep trying. What's surprised me the most is the talent of a good portion of the grid, making the streams with commentary from Martin really enjoyable to watch. I expected it to be great, but it's being "greater".
Marc Rozendaal - Maniac Mavericks
After having driven the Lambo for a couple months I am glad to be back in the Porsche for this series, and so far I have been enjoying driving in the series. The pace of most drivers in this packed field is really what has surprised me the most so far, it is bound to be a very tight championship battle until the end, in both the drivers and the team championships.
Radek Pawlaczek - Paradigm Shift
In the first round I was really struggling with the feeling of a car and I was actually ready to write off whole season at that point, seeing how it reminded me previous GT3 season in ACC. Pace was not there and lack of understanding of a car ended up in some pretty stupid mistakes during the race that resulted in a DNF. However the second round was completely different. In spite of difficult conditions I felt super confident, although up until qualifying I wasn’t sure how good my pace was. The race at Zandvoort was definitely the most enjoyable I have ever had in ACC and one of my best performances overall.
Q
Focussing on the rest of the season, are there any upcoming rounds that stand out to you? And what might we expect to see from you and your team going forward?
James Meade - Maniac Refulled
I’m looking forward to the next round I really enjoy that track and breeds great racing with overtakes. I’m pretty new to my team too with it being my first event with them so we can only go from strength to strength with more time racing together! Ideally we have eyes on staying in the podium positions for the team standing but anything can happen!
Si Fillingham - Seventy Seven
Whenever Bathurst is on a race calendar, nothing will beat it. Mt Panorama and the challenges it presents will always be the stand out round. We shall have to wait and see how the McLaren goes there but both Ralf & I will enjoy it whatever the situation. I fear Team 77 may already be out of the team championship hunt after my 2 poor results so far. Paradigm Shift, with whom we had a colossal battle with in S50 look very strong along with the 2 Maniac teams, but we'll never throw in the towel because if you're lucky enough to have Ralf at your side there is always a chance of something materialising.
Ryan Leech - PitStopUK
All upcoming rounds are pretty challenging, Bathurst is the track I’m looking for my best result. I may not have the outright pace there but have been pretty consistent there before. The main aim for us as a team is to iron out the unforced errors and push to be in the mix with the top 10 drivers.
David Dhoore - Intense Racing
Like many I guess Bathurst is the one that stands out, there probably isn’t a Bathurst race from me where I finished without damage and a very long pitstop to fix everything but completing an event on Bathurst always gives a satisfying feeling when you cross the line. Robert (my teammate) missed race 1 so we have some catching up to do but I do believe we both have the capability to fight for the top positions in the team standings, a lot can happen but we certainly will do our best.
Bernardo Teixeira - RC & SRP Team
Well, the expectation you can have from me and my teammate is respect. We know and we are fully aware that we are not the fastest drivers, but we will always try to avoid situations that could impact another driver, and always respect the fastest drivers. (Stand out) tracks will be Kyalami and Paul Ricard (for us).
Jazz Forsberg - SRT
I'm not looking forward to any round in particular to be honest, I try to enjoy as much as I can every one of them as they come. And regarding what to expect to see from me, well, let's be honest, not much. I can only promise I'll try to stay clean while racing, and stay out of trouble as much as I can. And from my team, I have yet to see what Nemanja is capable of in ACC, being a quick guy in R3E, he'll surely bring some nice results, so we will see where our team ends up in the table.
Marc Rozendaal - Maniac Mavericks
I am very much looking forward to the next four rounds, with a couple of my favourite tracks coming up, Kyalami and Brands Hatch. I am excited for what comes next. I have been very close within the top 3 so far, and I feel like there is more to come from me. So I hope I can bring the fight for the championship.
Radek Pawlaczek - Paradigm Shift
Mount Panorama obviously, just like any other calendar that has it included. I always seem to overperform there, although the last one was… not good. I also quite like rest of tracks this season so we will see what the future brings. The result at Zandvoort gave me some positivity, but that could have been a one-off because of the wet conditions. I shouldn’t get too optimistic, because bizarrely that brings even worse results for me for some reason.