It was the now familiar image of an FTR Porsche at the head of the field that led to one of the most controversial races in TORA British GT eSports history at Spa-Francorchamps.
The pair of FTR 911s dominated qualifying, while the Mercedes-AMG of Owen Bley-Male claimed third after lapping a second shy of Vain's pole-winning 2m16.993s lap.
They were followed by Kaido HCR Lzuruha’s BMWs and Scott McCraken’s HCR Lamborghini Huracan, all of whom posted times in the 2m18s bracket. Ashley Senior was qualified fastest of the Aston Martin contingent in ninth at a circuit where the Vantage was expected to struggle against newer machinery.
However, that would all change before the race after several of HCR’s drivers opted not to compete due to perceived Balance of Performance issues. That meant the cars due to start 3rd-6th, 8th and 10th remained in the pitlane when the rest of the entry took the rolling start.
That left the door wide open for FTR to claim a 1-2-3 at the historic Belgian circuit, while Senior maintained his inherited fourth place in what proved to be a lonely race for the JDC/THR Aston Martin.
Behind, a close tussle for fifth between Ethan Mozie (HCR Audi) and Jordan Groves (Cyber Racing) saw Mozie finish as Hthe depleted team’s best-placed driver.
There was no such controversy in GT4 where Warren Vaughan claimed a second class victory of the season aboard his Subaru BRZ ahead of Silverstone winner and Spa pole sitter, Ben Smith.
Meanwhile, Richard Mead maintained his lead at the top of the class standings with a fine third place that again resulted in three manufacturers finishing on the podium.
It was also a good day for real-world teams thanks to Wayne Keating who brought his Century Motorsport BMW M4 home in fourth place.
The next round of the TORA British GT eSports Championship takes place at Brands Hatch on September 2.