Final is here!
GT-MES Season 5 ends in legendary Le Mans.
2x points in this hour long race means that every driver that has driven full season, is fighting for drivers titles. 4 in Gr2, 5 in Gr3.
In past, 5 out of 6 times championship leader has left Le Mans with title. But this season has been tighter than ever, with multiple winners in both classes, meaning finale will be tighter than ever.
Final race of
Gr2-cars epic, after interesting season.
xZePhy96x jumped to top class from Gr3 after winning back to back Gr3 titles. Decision to take older Nissan-model seemed bit risky, but he proved his choice right by dominating first round. He followed this performance with another clear win in Brazil week later, but missing Fuji allowed his rival to get back winning ways. In his return in Autopolis though, he proved his dominance with 3rd win of the season. Round 5 in Austria was going to be hard with much heavier car than rest, but he took important 3rd place, and repeated that next week in Spain. But missing Round 7 allowed his rivals to cut his lead, and but is still championship leader due 5-race rule. Nissan-man is favorite to take title, win would make it automatic, but even 2nd place could clinch it in some cases.
His teammate
VitmnG started season as favorite, after just losing Gr2 title in S4, and proving his speed against his new teammate in past. But season did not start like he wanted, being long way from his teammate, but could just get important second place. He improved for Round 2, but could not put that to result, and only came 3rd to the finish. Round 3 looked like race for him to win, but Honda-pair was unbeatable, and yet again 3rd place. Missing Autopolis gave him time to turn his season around, and Nissan-man took very important win. Round 6 did not go to plan, finishing outside podium, but he was able to take his second win of the season in Dragon Trail, and improving his chances for title. He now needs to win in Le Mans to win title, and after news this will be his last season for while, title would be nice way to leave.
Honda-driver
jonirune91 started season as black horse. Season started with solid 3rd place, with even chances for second place after interesting tactic. Pace looked strong ahead of Brazil, but was taken out in start, and had to finish outside podium. But he got close to win in next race in Fuji, leading most of the race, just to come second behind his teammate. He came to Autopolis race unprepared, and had to settle with 4th place after mistakes. Hardwork ahead Round 5 made him one of the favorites, but again, just came short of win, finishing second. Race in Barcelona was must win for him and Honda, and he finally took his first win in 11 races, after dominating performance. Struggles and mistakes in Dragon Trail kept him away from win, even after taking lead late in the race, but took important second place. Honda-man has shot to win the title, but needs to win, and championship leader to drop to 3rd. Title would be very impressive, after struggles last season.
Regaining Gr2 champion
sota59 in Honda had awfull start to season, taken out in first corner, and finishing outside podium. Second place in Brazil, and win in Fuji gave him very important points, but only 3rd place in Autopolis, and 4th in Austria dropped him back in championship. Second place in Barcelona though gave hope, and he had speed to win in Dragon Trail, but mistakes made him finish 3rd in the end. Like his teammate, sota59 needs win, and championship leader to drop to 3rd or lower to win title. Title would his 5th in GT-MES, 4th for Honda.
It has been crazy season in
Gr3.
Nils started season as clear favorite. Only driver with previous experience in GT-MES, former champion, and runner up in Gr3 last season. Him not winning season opener in his home race in Germany was shock. He also was also outpaced in next round in Brazil. Round 3 in Fuji exposed his Mazda's weakness, straight line speed. Despite being unable to win, he had 3 second places from first 3 races. Autopolis looked like track for him to win in, but he had to miss it. He returned in Austria, and chaos between rookie drivers promoted him to another second place. Barcelona looked like last chance for him to take his important first win of the season, but again he had to settle to second place after getting stuck to battle with slower cars. Dragon Trail was always going to be difficult with Mazda, and had to again settle for second place. 6 straight second places have him to of championship, but to stay there and take his 2nd title, he almost has to win in Le Mans. But Mazda's straight line struggles, and ticks making car even slower, mean he can only hope for chaos between other drivers.
BMW's
thunder-pigeon started season with fantastic win. He suffered first lap crash with his teammate next round, but in Fuji he took another win, making him title-favorite. Another start accident in Autopolis raised questions, but impressive 3rd place in Austria, even after accident, proved he can get results done to win titles. Another solid 3rd place in Barcelona meant he had little to gain next round, and only came 4th. He might not be in championship lead, but he is in best position to win the title.
farin79 in Mazda has been impressive, he might not be fastest, but smart tactics, and clean races has won him great points. He started his season in Brazil, and took 3rd place after clean race, and almost took another podium in Fuji. Autopolis looked like strong track for Mazda, and he took his first win with great performance, even after being bit behind after start. He again just came short of podium in Austria, but took another win in Barcelona, even after struggling with pace. 3rd place in Dragon Trail improved his chances, but, like his teammate, Mazda's struggles and ticks make title bit unlikely in Le Mans. He needs another smart drive, and maybe bold tactic to overcome lack of top speed.
Audi's
Road2FURY has shown impressive speed and overtakes. Crash in Round 1 was bad start to season, but he was able to pull clean race together in Brazil, and was fastest man, taking win. He was again fast in Fuji, but accidents took cost him time, but could take 3rd place in the end. Another 3rd place gave him good points from Autopolis, but accidents in Austria kept him away from podium. Pace was not there in Barcelona, and he missed Dragon Trail. Many consider him being favorite to win Le Mans, but will need his Thunder and Farin to be 3rd or lower to win title.
doc-shipman in BMW been interesting to watch this season. He opened season with good 3rd place, but crashes, penalties, mistakes kept him away from podium, even with showing speed. But in Dragon Trail, he was able to have clean smart race, and had speed to take easy win. He has small outside chance to take title in Le Mans, but has to win firstly.
TaZZ_1990 in Ferrari has win from Austria, and could be potential winner in Le Mans, even though he is not in title fight. His teammate
lavillegr and Corvette's
ak84-LFC also shown speed, and they could mix race up.
Manufacturer championship been under
Nissan's control this season. They looked like favorites ahead of the season with All-Star line up, several wins mean they have solid lead for Le Mans finale.
Mazda has been consistent this season 2 wins, and second places in all other races. Need to win in Le Mans to have any shot to win title, but as said, unlikely.
Honda has been dominating name in GT-MES, but this season been harder. Couple wins have kept them in battle thought, and 1-2 win in Le Mans would not only bring them 5th straight drivers title, but also another manufacturers title.