With the Virtual Le Mans challenge round the corner, the CAR office has been buzzing with news of car choices, revisions and updates to the rules and regulations, and team cancellations as the event (set to be run on 22/23 June) draws near. On Tuesday night, five teams had to qualify for the right to take up the final spots available.
Up for qualifying were Team Back Kick Special Move, Gran Turismo All-Stars North Team, OMO Auto Racing, EKZ and ReAct.
There was an even split in vehicle choice, with EKZ and TBKSM opting for the slightly faster and edgier Ferrari 330 P4, while GTAS North and OMO Auto were content with the Jaguar XJ13. ReAct was supposed to run with a Ferrari too, but were unable to login on time to join the qualifying session, leaving just four to duke it out on Circuit de la Sarthe.
The race was swopped many times during the 10-lap qualifier, and the race was fairly neck-and-neck up until the pit-stop, which all the teams took at the end of lap 5.
Unfortunately OMO Auto was disconnected from the race, crushing their VLM hopes this year. On the final lap, GTAS’s Jaguar got damaged due to a crash, leaving the Ferraris of EKZ and TBKSM to cross the line in first and second respectively.
The eight teams that will compete at this year’s CAR Liqui Moly Virtual Le Mans Challenge are:
1. M-Technique (defending champions)
Iftikar Dalvie
Ashraf Enus
Nasief Dalvie
2. Team Flatbox
Ernest Page
Brenton Gregory
Nezaam Cariem
3. M-Technique Academy
Suhail Dalvie
Mubeen Enus
Ebrahim Salie
4. A Team
Zainul Patience
Yusuf Achmat
Abdullah Patience
5. Gran Turismo All Stars South Team
Robin van Merch
Nazeem Edwards
Fergus van Rooi
6. EKZ
Robert Prytz
Dean-Paul Pratt
Roberto Da Silva
7. Team Back Kick Special Move
Luke McDowell
Leelind Billet
Jonathan Mogotsi
8. ???
With all the last-minute team cancellations due to work schedules and other commitments, CAR will put together a mystery team to also compete for the CAR Liqui Moly Virtual Le Mans floating trophy and grand prize.
Be sure to visit the teams competing at the Canal Walk Shopping Centre on 22 and 23 June if you’re in the area to watch them go head-to-head for 24 hours.
