SMIDL WINS THE TITLE WITH ANOTHER VICTORY
Naturally, the corona pandemic does not leave Racing Unleashed untouched: no spectators in the lounges, the format extended to two days, many hygiene and health guidelines that had to be respected at all times. But the good news is that the 2020 season can continue.
This weekend, the danger was on the circuit in Zandvoort - the old version, not the one that will be used by Formula 1 for the first time in 2021. This resulted in a title decision.
Michal Smidl is Racer League Champion
Michal Smidl from the Czech Republic has already crowned himself champion of the Racer League of Racing Unleashed. Having missed out on the last few races due to travel restrictions caused by the corona pandemic, Smidl was able to win his title in style on the Zandvoort circuit: He won the comeback. It was his fourth success. David ,who is on second place in the overall ranking, is thus 36 points behind Smidl - and can no longer challenge him for the title.
So Smidl not only secured the 2500 Swiss francs (around 2300 euros) for the race win, but also 5000 Swiss francs (around 4600 euros) for the title.
Competition never sleeps
In qualifying, it still looked as if the competition had become so much faster in the absence of Michal Smidl that it could stand up to him. Although Smidl took pole position, his time of 1:13.384 minutes was only 0.090 seconds faster than the time of German Michel Angelo.
Angelo attacked at the start, but Smidl was able to fend off the attack. Still in round one, Angelo dropped back to fourth place. Second was David L'Addomada (Switzerland), the winner of the previous race event in Monza. The Swiss could not keep up with Smidl's pace, at the end of the 21 laps he was more than 20 seconds behind.
What makes Smidl better than the others?
"I think most of the time, you're getting on the brakes. But it's a mix of everything," he says. Whether he will also take part in the finale on the Nordschleife is not yet clear due to the current situation.
Isgro dominates the Challenger League
In the Challenger League, Devin Isgro took a big step towards the title with a superior victory.
Already on Saturday the 16 fastest of the 30 registered riders had to qualify in a preliminary decision for the qualifying and race on Sunday. Sunday was then dominated by the Swiss racer Isgro, who was able to take both pole position and race victory.
Aebi out of the title race, Baur 17 points behind Isgro
Kevin Aebi (Switzerland) is out of the title race after a fifth place in Zandvoort, but not Philip Baur from Germany: He keeps the title fight open with third place, but is now already 17 points behind Isgro. "My main goal is to finish ahead of Kevin and thus secure second place," explains Baur. "A lot can happen on the Nordschleife, maybe there's still room for improvement. You have to train a lot to even manage a qualifying lap".
Newcomer Dario Apa takes 2nd place
In Zandvoort, Baur had to admit defeat to another newcomer - the Swiss Dario Apa. Baur is nevertheless satisfied with third place: "I simply never hit the pace. Normally I always like to take the curbs with me, but that's not possible here".
Apa on second place at the start: "It wasn't exactly an easy race. I drove mostly for myself, had no opponents around me. So in the middle of the race I lost focus a bit and made a few mistakes. In the end, the concentration was back, but the winner was too fast for me".
Overall, the Challenger League race was extremely exciting, with many spins and accidents, but also thrilling overtaking manoeuvres.