Season 9 of our famed Tuesday night PS4 GT3 league was back in action Tuesday night, for the first ever event held at the famed Daytona International Speedway, tackling the Road Course layout of the historic facility.
Qualifying again was the Tyler McIntosh (MacAttack0922) show as he captured his 12th career Pole and 2/2 on the Season. Also for the 2nd race in a row, Mark McCormak (RPG) qualified outside of Row 1. Jean Claude langlois (Quatro41), Mathieu Blais (Mats35R), and Bernard Vezina (Proben55) rounded out the Top 5.
The race was a story of 2 different obstacles for the drivers to overcome. The first 10 laps of the race was held under the lights, which made it trickier for the drivers to hit the perfect braking points, plus with the cooler temperatures without the Sun up was causing drivers to push it with all they had to try and take advantage of the extra grip. The 2nd half of the race was a battle of survival as the track slickened up as the Sun beat down on the asphalt. With that being said, the race had plenty of offs and half-spins, so it came down to who had the most discipline behind the wheel. That driver would end up being Mark Mc. who was able to shake off the aggravation from his CotA race and run the cleanest race in the field to capture his first ever PRL race win! Tyler was able to overcome several offs and spin and use his raw speed to make a pass with 2 laps to go, to capture 2nd Place over Mathieu, who rounded out the podium. Also for the 12th time in his Career, Tyler claimed the Fastest Lap of the Race award, which ties him with Past Champion Patricio Campos (Pitricio) for the All-Time League lead. Mark Kaelin (Bubb18) took home the Hard Charger award for the most positions gained in the race, as the only driver who moved up multiple positions in the race from their qualifying effort.
**Top 10 finishers for Daytona Road Course**
1. Mark McCormak (RPG) – First Career PRL win!!!
2. Tyler McIntosh (MacAttack0922) – 2nd podium of the Season
3. Mathieu Blais (Mats35R) – 1st podium of the Season; 20th of his Career
4. Bernard Vezina (Proben55)
5. Jean Claude langlois (Quatro41)
6. Mark Kaelin (Bubba18)
7. Chase Cavalier (Doge_With_It_420)
8. Kyle Spencer (KDawgHonda777)
9. Samuel Yong (PhynesT-X) - Top 10 in his first career race in the League
10. Jonathan Foucault (Fouko_QC)
In the Driver's Championship battle, Tyler McIntosh (MacAttack0922) takes an early 8 point lead thanks to his back-to-back podiums to start the Season. Mark McCormak (RPG) jumps up to 2nd Place in the points coming off of his Daytona win, but has no room to relax as only 7 points separate 2nd thru 7th place in the standings.
The Team Championship standings now has Apex Motorsports (Tyler and Kyle) with only an 8 points lead over Pony Up Racing (Mark Mc. and Mark K.) after Mark Mc.’s big Daytona win.
Next week will be another first time for the League, as we are beyond excited to broadcast the first ever Oval race in the GT3 league as the crew tackles Texas Motor Speedway in very hot and slippery conditions. Each week, please join our League's Broadcaster Charles Sumner (Hootius; www.twitch.tv/oldmanhoot ) as he breaks down all of the action that happens each Tuesday night @ 9PM EST.
Here is the broadcast of the wild action from Daytona:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/188567063