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We were back at the Barn the Wednesday after Easter for our second GT Championship race of 2026. Simon had carried out some major tweaks to a previous design to give us Artemis Park...

   

Certainly a challenge at first, this turned out to be a fabulous racing track, fast and pretty long at just over 100-feet.

Twenty-three would race on the six teams. We welcomed back Alex and Ryan from University, but were missing a few regulars through holidays and illness...

   

ASTCOM-One had an enforced car change after their woes last month, Simon's Chupa Chups Mercedes coming in for Alex's Audi. At AIM-9, Mike had prepared a Ferrari F430 GT, picked up from the Weevil's swap meet for a tenner. Apparently not the easiest car to work on, it looked quick and sounded a bit noisy in practice.

At seven we had a driver briefing - and a timely reminder about driving standards. Then is was the two-minute Super-Pole qualifying - the drivers taking part would be starting the race...

   

It was a seriously quick session - four cars dipping under 10-seconds. Yet in the battle of the qualifying kings, Ollie just outpaced Ryan...

   

The 500 lap race promised to be an exciting one...

   

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Artemis Park 500 Race Report

Ollie's Ferrari and Ryan's Mercedes shared the front row of the grid - two of the fastest drivers over a lap we've seen at the Barn...

   

The RCS64 weather gods had decided on four random changes - we'd start on a dry track with sunshine. Success penalties from Round One meant that AIM-9 would stop for 60 seconds (20 seconds each after driver changes 1, 2 & 3), Écurie Escargot for 40 seconds and Laps in Concentration for 20 seconds...

   

Écurie Escargot got off to a bad start - in trying to get his controller switched on, Alex had inadvertently selected Intermediate tyres - an error that meant an early pit stop for Hard tyres, which fixed some appalling handling issues. It did cost several laps.

At the front, Ryan for Shift Happens, Rob B for Gearzilla and Ollie for AIM-9 were locked in an exciting early battle. After five minutes, Ryan was just starting to pull away from the others. Simon was three laps of the lead in the second Mercedes, just ahead of Ash. After its pit stop, the Écurie Escargot Aston was four laps off the lead, but with a full fuel tank and new tyres...

   

The race got into a good rhythm, the track proving a perfect one for an endurance race. Cloud appeared, followed by some drizzle as we hit 100 laps and 18 minutes. But the track remained dry for now. Big drama followed when disaster struck for the leaders - the sidewinder gear on the McLaren had come loose. No amount of quick-fixes were going to get the car going again. Team captain Dean decided on a car swap so his drivers could enjoy the evening. A 100-lap penalty followed, but Shift Happens continued with a new Porsche 911 GT3.

As the first driver changes took place, the order after 20 minutes was:

1. Gearzilla - 107 laps
2. AIM-9 - 106 laps (-1)
3. Laps in Concentration - 100 laps (-7)
4. Écurie Escargot - 98 laps (-9)
5. ASTCOM-One - 97 laps (-10)
6. Shift Happens! - minus 19 laps (-126)

   

Gearzilla had their rookie on for the second stint. Stephen is still learning the ropes of digital racing and would inevitably lose laps to the more experienced drivers around him - but with support and coaching from his teammates, the Mercedes remained very much in the hunt. It was Steve in the AIM-9 Ferrari that took advantage, moving into the lead. It was a really impressive run, bettered only by Duncan in the ASTCOM-One Mercedes - which was steadily moving up the order. Matthew led the chasing pack behind AIM-9 - the Laps in Concentration Porsche looking very consistent. All teams had a damp track to deal with during this stint, although it wasn't very damp and not changing rapidly. Only Écurie Escargot and Laps in Concentration opted for Intermediates.

   

At 40 minutes, this is how the race looked...

1. AIM-9 - 205 laps
2. Laps in Concentration - 199 (-6)
3. ASTCOM-One - 198 (-7)
4. Geazilla - 198 (-7)
5. Écurie Escargot - 195 (-10)
6. Shift Happens! - 72 (-133)

The track conditions had gradually got wetter, by then the sun came out early in the third stint and the track dried up. The Inters on the Écurie Escargot Aston quickly wore out and John was back into the pits for Hard tyres. Oliver was in the Gearzilla Mercedes and rapidly making up time on Mike D in the AIM-9 Ferrari. Whether it was the car, track or the effects of his trip to Thailand, Mike was not on his best form. 

   

It wasn't a bad run, but Oliver was seven laps better over the twenty minutes.The others - Mike Mc in the Porsche, John in the Aston, Dean for Shift Happens and Kev for ASTCOM-One could match them. It was incredibly close at the top as we went into the penultimate stint on the hour mark...

1. AIM-9 - 301 laps
2. Gearzilla - 301 (-0)
3. Laps in Concentration - 289 (-12)
4. ASTCOM-One - 288 (-13)
5. Écurie Escargot - 286 (-15)
6. Shift Happens! - 165 (-136)

The next twenty laps were sublime - fast racing and very few offs. It was the sweet-spot of the race, with five of the six drivers clocking up 100 laps or more. Andy nailed the fully-dry track with the Escargot Aston. For long stretches he ran with Ryan's Porsche, only a tyre stop and two brief offs broke the rhythm. The Aston moved up from fifth and 15 laps back to third place and just three laps behind the leader. Terry had gained ground too. At the front Stephen and Isaac remained neck-and-neck for AIM-9 and Gearzilla...

1. AIM-9 - 402 laps
2. Gearzilla - 402 laps (-0)
3. Écurie Escargot - 399 (-3)
4. Laps in Concentration - 395 (-7)
5. ASTCOM-One - 377 (-25)
6. Shift Happens! - 265 (-137)

   

The run to 500 laps and the chequered flag saw Ollie in the Ferrari, Oliver in the Gearzilla Mercedes, Alex in the Aston Martin and Ash in the Porsche - only seven laps separating the top four. Some scrappy early laps saw Oliver drop behind Ollie and the Ferrari now looked favourite for the win.

But then disaster struck for the leaders - the left rear wheel (the one next to the sidewinder gear) sheared off. Dropping back to second, the Ferrari continued. However, at speed - and Ollie drives fast - the car was crabbing sideways in the corners and under both acceleration and braking. After numerous appeals from the other teams, the car was black-flagged and came in the pits for lengthy repairs. Eventually, the super-glue set and the Ferrari returned - now in a battle for fourth place with ASTCOM-One...

   

At the front, Oliver still had Alex and the Écurie Escargot Aston to deal with. Alex made a final pit stop early, putting pressure on Oliver for his final stop. Oliver over-fuelled, coming out just two laps ahead of the Aston. It was a small advantage which could disappear in an instant. After a cagey few laps, Alex got caught up in a multi-car crash on the powerbase straight and Oliver suddenly had an extra lap and a half cushion. He could relax and bring the car home for a very satisfying win - his team including the least experienced driver in the field...

   

   

Bravo to Oliver, Rob, Isaac and Stephen!

         

         

         

Here are all the stint stats...

   

And those results mean it's very close in the 2026 WHO GT championship...

   

Huge thanks to everyone who came along for another memorable evening at the Barn. Special thanks go to the set-up and race control teams and to all those who stayed behind to pack away.

We're back with some Rally and HO action in the next few weeks, before a third GT race on Wednesday 13 May...