Apex Racing League GT Championship

AKM motorsport Mercedes GT3 star Alexey Nesov made a commanding start to the Apex Racing League GT championship presented by Colbek (ARL GT). However, Nesov’s reign has been threatened by another GT star, Mirko Bortolotti, who arrives for round two at Interlagos. As a Lamborghini factory driver, Daytona 24 hour and Sebring 12-hour winner, Bortolotti’s real world GT credentials are highly enviable.

Unperturbed by Bortolotti’s arrival, Nesov sped to pole position in his Porsche 911 RSR-17. Following the Porsche domination at Phillip Island, Interlagos would be a far more balanced affair. Qualifying alongside Nesov on the front row, was the Ferrari of James Crouch.

On row two, was Bortolotti’s BMW and the Corvette of Max Riedmuller. Thus, confirming four manufacturers in the top four qualifying positions. Once again, Interlagos had levelled the playing field. Steve Burke led the charge in the AM class. Qualifying eighteenth overall, the Briton outpaced his nearest rival, Anton Gallmetzer, by a tenth of a second.

Throughout the twenty-minute sprint race, Alexey Nesov was in startling form. From pole position, the Russian ace won the dash to turn one and relentlessly built a gap to Mirko Bortolotti, who finished a distant second. Max Riedmuller chased Bortolotti’s BMW all the way to the line and completed the podium in his Corvette C8.R.

Belgian bullet Jentsen Adriaenssens edged out Anton Gallmetzer for AM class honours and finished sixteenth overall.

For the forty-minute feature race, an inversion of the top fifteen in race one set the grid order. Therefore, Nesov faced an upward struggle to double up on his race one triumph. Naser Burashed and Matty Chambers lined up on the front row in their Porsche 911 RSR’s for the feature race. On row two, was Tom Brown’s privateer Ferrari and Gonzalo Cortes in the Team SIR Corvette.

As the Ford Mustang pace car peeled off, handing control to Naser Burashed, Tom Brown plotted a surprise attack. Launching his turbocharged Ferrari perfectly, Brown mugged Burashed on the run to turn one and pinched the lead. Gonzalo Cortes also capitalised on Burashed’s hesitance and moved through to second place. Meanwhile, the trademark Interlagos lap one calamity ensued, resulting in several drivers firing off track. Less than ten minutes in, Nesov and Bortolotti locked horns for sixth place. However, a half-hearted lunge from Nesov caused the rivals to tangle, sending Nesov into a spin.

Throughout the feature race, Bortolotti and Nesov made no friends amongst their fellow ARL GT competitors. Both Nesov and Bortolotti clashed with several drivers on their way to fifth and eighth places, respectively.

However, the story of the Interlagos meeting, was the arrival of Tom Brown. Following a surging start, the British sim racing newcomer resisted pressure from Gonzalo Cortes for the entirety of the race. Despite the constant presence of Cortes’ Corvette, Brown held firm and scored his debut win in Apex Racing League competition. Mattia Fuligni quietly completed the podium in his Porsche and solidified his place in the championship fight.

Belgian brothers, Darragh and Jentsen Adriaenssens, were inseparable for most of the race in their Indy Autosport Porsche 911 RSRs. Finishing twelfth and fourteenth respectively, the family pairing picked up a one-two in the AM class.

After the race, a few of the ARL GT protagonists joined the Apex Racing TV commentary team to share their thoughts on a frantic day’s racing at Interlagos:

Tom Brown: “That was pretty special really. I’ve only just got into sim racing and I didn’t know how I would fare but it was great to get a win so early.”

Alexey Nesov: “I got lucky to get some clean laps in the beginning of qualifying, which helped to get pole. The Porsche is not great at this track and these temperatures but I was able to get the win in the first race. Race two was fun but a little bit dirty from me, so I would like to apologise for the incidents I caused.”

Danny Lee: “I felt mugged at every opportunity. The pack was so tight. I said to myself, this is the closest racing I’ve seen in a long time. On every coin flip, I ended up losing out. Every time I made an attack, I lost a place. Every time someone attacked me, three more came through. I don’t want to blame my tools, but the Porsche is pretty weak here.”

On the fourteenth of February, the Apex Racing League GT Championship presented by Colbek heads to the streets of Montreal for round three of the series. Who will bond with the narrow lanes of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve? Tune in to Apex Racing TV at 8pm GMT to find out.

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