The FRL travels from Japan to Baden-Worttemberg, Germany for the series debut at the Hockenheim Ring. The racing was close and intense as the high speed and narrow track made for some dramatic racing.
Heat 1 in the MX-5 class found the field easing into the feel for the new track. Disaster struck Brandon in Turn 2 as the field bunched up and he got spit out into the grass. The field then settled into the race and spread out. The pace picked up toward the end however as Ethan, who led the first 3 laps, gave up the lead to Andrew in lap 4 and the two ran close all the way to the finish. The heat cranked up a notch in the second race as Ethan got a fantastic start at the line and shot out to an early distant lead. Behind him, Andrew and Paul fought hard door-to-door and allowed Brandon to distance himself from the fray for a time. Later, as they caught up to Brandon, an exciting three car battle unfolded that even saw Paul on two wheels in Turn 11. Once the battle sorted itself out, Andrew charged hard and caught Ethan in the final laps, closed to within just a few car lengths at the finish.
In Heat 3, the afterburners were kicked on and a furious race ensued. In Turn 1 of the first lap, Tony got punched hard in the rear quarter and was spun out quickly. Brandon and Ethan setup behind Paul & Andrew and prepared to watch the fireworks. For several laps the #7 MBR car and the Burnt Orange MX-5 battled hard into and out of the corners. Finally, in the Turn 7 sweeper Paul put the front fender into Andrew’s passing quarter panel and the fight came to its inevitable conclusion. Paul and Ethan pulled over to let Andrew recover and take over the lead. Brandon took advantage and shot past the three, only to have Karma reach out and spin him in the very next corner. Andrew took the win, and the class overall.
On now to the Trans Am class and the best racing of the night. Heat 1 found Andrew and Ethan swapping positions 2 and 3 behind a very fast Paul Maestri. Paul would win this heat and set the pace with the fastest posted time, with Brandon and Tony posting the second and third fastest times behind him. Heat 2 continued the epic battle between Ethan and Andrew. Andrew pulled out the lead and Ethan fought hard to stay on his bumper, Andrew would get the better of this struggle with another Heat win. Heat 3 saw the field mixed well at the start. Tony would start very well and held the lead all the way through the first lap. He would give up the lead in Turn 1 of lap 2 as Ethan and then Paul shot passed him on his right. It would be Andrew and Paul’s turn to fight it out, with Paul claiming the second position at the end of the race.
In all, the racing on Hockenheim was very good. The field stayed relatively close throughout each heat. Andrew wins the points battle for the night with 94, extending his substantial lead over Paul, in the second position. MBR drivers Paul and Ethan Maestri ran very close in points, Ethan collected 88 points and edged ahead of Paul for the night by only 2 points. Brandon comes in 4th for the night, edging up on Tony with 65 points to Tony’s 63. Heading into the last race of the season, Andrew looks to have the season win wrapped up with 717 overall points, 86 points ahead of Paul. Paul’s lead over Ethan is 101 points. Tony sits solidly in 4th place with Brandon 50 points behind him. It is now just a matter of showing up at the track two weeks from now in Montery for the finale’ at Mazda Laguna Seca.
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