Victory and podium in Velopark
Four drivers from the Roaring Pipes Maniacs were present at the Velopark circuit in Brazil for the first round of the RDOWC, a new championship on Game Stock Car with Reiza’s excellent Formula 3 cars. 50 minutes of racing on the very short circuit, which was driven in the 2011 layout, were planned.
Team co-founder Bram Hengeveld enters the series with the #27 car after good results in several club races. After making his RPM return in the stock car league, Robert Wiesenmüller is looking forward to his first open-wheeler league ever. The “Filming Finn” Jari Vinnari has entered too, and as a positive surprise, Ingemar Petersson has now also bought the game and joins the league with the #90 car.
Qualifying results were mixed for the RPM crew. Wiesenmüller was the fastest of the team, taking 6th position with Hengeveld directly behind him. Bram’s position is even more impressive considering he had no practice on the track before. Vinnari and Petersson were not too lucky, taking 20th and 24th respectively.
The start of the race was messy, with Alexander Lauritzen spinning in the first chicane and Wiesenmüller and Hengeveld both touching the Dane’s car.
Hengeveld was struggling with a damaged front wing while Wiesenmüller, who got away without damage, was involved in a battle with Simon Kilov for 3rd, lasting for almost half the race with several passes.
Most of the drivers decided to go for a pitstop, but not Wiesenmüller and Kilov who were fighting for the lead. However on the small track, lapping other drivers proved to be difficult and both Robert and Simon were involved in incidents. Eventually Simon Kilov crossed the line first, with Wiesenmüller second, Luding in third, Lins fourth and Hengeveld fifth.
But the race was not over. There were several complaints about cutting drivers after the race, and eventually Kilov and Luding were hit by a time penalty while Lins was outright disqualifyed. This meant that Robert Wiesenmüller took the win, the first league win since 2008 for the German driver. Bram Hengeveld was also promoted to the podium on 3rd, with Jari Vinnari 12th and Ingemar Petersson 13th, both just missing out on points.
Quotes:
Robert Wiesenmüller: “Delighted to take the win. It’s been awhile. I feel sorry for Simon Kilov, he gave me an excellent fight on track, but the rules have been very clear about cutting.”
Bram Hengeveld: “The race itself was pretty okay. Decided to make a pitstop halfway but i am not sure that is the way to go.”
Results:
1. Robert WIESENMÜLLER
2. Simon KILOV
3. Bram HENGEVELD
…
12. Jari VINNARI
13. Ingemar PETERSSON
