Commanding Kroon masters Montreal
Apex Racing League GT Championship presented by Colbek
Rapid Russian, Alexey Nesov, has been imperious in the early stages of the Apex Racing League GT Championship (ARL GT) presented by Colbek. Although Nesov’s benchmark pace can’t be matched, the Urano eSports driver has a brutally uncompromising style. For round three, the Russian star would start from pit lane to serve a post-race penalty from Interlagos.
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal hosts the third round of the ARL GT season. On a narrow street circuit with unforgiving concrete walls at trackside, Nesov’s ascent from the pit lane would be far from straightforward.
Race 1
Sven Neumann qualified his Corvette C8.R a quarter of a second faster than Evo SR Ferrari driver, James Crouch. Continuing the delight for fans of the mythical Maranello manufacturer, Tom Brown and Matthias Beer lined up on the second row in their 488 GTE machines. BMW M8 pilot, Steve Burke, paced the AM class contenders and started thirteenth alongside Scott Rister.
A hesitant start for Neumann handed the lead to James Crouch in the opening sector. Tom Brown also seized the opportunity and assumed second place behind his fellow Ferrari driver. Once into the lead, Crouch kept cool and negotiated twenty-five minutes on the streets of Montreal without incident and claimed victory. Tom Brown kept Crouch honest throughout the race but couldn’t mount a challenge for a second consecutive victory of the season.
Steve Burke and Darragh Adriaenssens locked horns in a titanic tussle for the AM class victory. Burke managed to hang on for victory but was chased all the way to the line by Adriaenssens’ Porsche 911 RSR.
Feature Race
For the forty-minute feature race, the reverse grid shake up placed Kevin Kittelmann and Chris van de Nesse on the front row of the grid. On the opening lap, van de Nesse, Scott Kimbrow and Brian Kroon emerged ahead of a catastrophic pile up which temporarily blocked the circuit. Not to be outdone by the Daytona 500 running on the same day, the ARL GT contenders had a ‘big one’ of their own.
So extensive was the carnage, that the race became one of two factions. Those who were forced to pit for repairs, and those who escaped unharmed.
By lap four, Brian Kroon had charged from sixth on the grid to second place in his Corvette. Kroon’s compatriot, Chris van de Nesse, held the lead but appeared vulnerable to Kroon’s blistering pace. Just three laps later, Kroon pounced. A well-planned manoeuvre allowed Kroon to slip past at turn one and take the lead from van de Nesse.
Once into the lead, Kroon drove beautifully and thwarted a late challenge from fellow Corvette driver, Max Riedmuller. After a challenging race one starting from pit lane, Alexey Nesov was back to his best in the forty-minute feature. From deep in the pack, the Russian ace climbed all the way to the final podium spot. Thus, cementing his position as championship leader.
Darragh Adriaenssens continued the Benelux brilliance with a flawless drive to a commanding AM class win and fifth overall.
Post Race
After the race, a cast of ARL GT protagonists joined the Apex Racing TV commentary team for interviews:
Brian Kroon: “I tried to drive as steadily as possible and it worked out. In the first race, I didn’t have the pace to follow the lead. In race two, I got up to third in the first corner so I knew I could do it and it worked!”
Matty Chambers: “I loved it! The first race was a bit of a procession, almost Monaco like. In the second race, it was a miracle that I managed to peel through a little gap in the carnage.”
Alexey Nesov: “Race one was pretty bad. A few drivers were driving dangerously and I got in a few incidents. In race two I luckily got through the carnage. I had a few slow down penalties, which took me out contention for the win, but I’m happy.”
Niclas Laubisch: “I had three contacts with the wall in qualifying so I had to start from the back. It was a nice first race though, even though I got damage in the second lap. But it was a nice race. For the second race, I thought I could maybe get a podium. But, after the second corner the race ended pretty fast for me. The guy next me got into me and then the big one happened.”
Daniel Lee: “Race one was really clean. It felt like the race that race one usually is, everybody settled into their order and they’re in the grid where they’re supposed to be.”
Driver Of The Day
On the 21st of February, the Apex Racing League GT Championship presented by Colbek travels east to Twin Ring Motegi in Japan. Tune in to Apex Racing TV at 8pm GMT to watch live coverage of both races.