Pichler Takes the Double in Blancpain Endurance Series

Although Ford has been dominating the season, the other manufacturers showed their pace at Monza.

Although it’s only been on iRacing for a short period of time, Autodromo Nazionale Monza (or ‘Monza’ for short) has quickly become one of the most popular tracks on the service. With its high-speed corners, long straights and twisting chicanes, Monza continues to be the home of great racing regardless of the category.

This week, however, the iRacing.com Blancpain Endurance Series descended upon the Italian circuit and it proved to be a race like no other in the category so far this season. Featuring nine different splits spread out over the three scheduled races and including 294 different drivers, Week 7 of the Blancpain Endurance Series also saw its first driver pull the double by winning two rounds back to back and also the first non-Ford manufacturer victory.

Pure Racing Team

Back on the top step for the second week in a row is Patrick Pichler of Pure Racing Team. Entering the top SoF (Strength of Field 3525) of the week, Pichler got things started off right by taking the pole with a 1:46.268. From that point on, it was a complete domination by not just Pichler, but also by his three Pure Racing Team teammates (Tom Vallenthini, Andreas Allmannsberger and Florian Woithe) who finished second through fourth respectively. By the end of the three-hour online race, the gap between Pichler, Vallenthini and Allmannsberger was just over .5s with Pichler taking the win along with 222 championship points.

No ‘I’ in an Endurance Racing ‘Team’

With Vallenthini finishing behind his teammate in second, he secures the second step of the Week 7 podium with 216 points. However, Monza was Vallenthini’s first run in the Endurance Series and he is currently down in the order. Regardless, Vallenthini’s participation and incredible driving only add to the prowess of Pure Racing Team as they will almost certainly be a force to be reckoned with should they enter the upcoming GT series.

McLaren seemed to be the dominant manufacturer at Monza.

Breaking the streak

On top of this impressive feat accomplished by Pure Racing Team by taking the top-four in the top-split, Pichler becomes the first driver this season to cross the finish line in something other than the Ford GT. Indeed, it was four McLaren MP4 12C GT3’s driven by Pure Racing Team which crossed the line and broke the Ford GT winning streak.

CORE Motorsports #33

Taking the win in a separate split (SoF 3356) was Alexander Voß and Angelo Michel of CORE Motorsports #33. Like Pure Racing Team, the CORE Motorsports duo was Ford-less as they crossed the line in their RUF RT 12R Track to win from pole position. Leading for 64 of 98 laps, Voß and Michel bring home 211 championship points but are currently down in the order.

CORE Motorsports showed the strength of the RUF last week at Monza.

Canadian Victory Bacon

With Round 7 of the Blancpain Endurance Series completed, teams have been practicing hard as they look to tackle the infamous Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Referred to as ‘Mosport’ for short, the 10-turn circuit is just under 2.5 miles in length and is well known for its rich heritage and challenging corners.

Whether you’re trying to not hurl your car into the grass at Clayton Corner, making a daring move at Moss Corner or aligning yourself for a pass at the end of the Mario Andretti Straightaway, Mosport is an excellent circuit which never fails to produce incredible racing. As such, the sim-racing action is set to get underway this weekend as Round 8 of the iRacing.com Blancpain Endurance Series rolls on.

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This Week in iRacing: April 23-29, 2024