Siemens Ausdauer Reject Series

[AustralianStig]

Himalayas Racing thank key personnel following historic win
Team Principal Vishal Sitoula struggled to hold his emotions in following his team's incredible win at Indianapolis today.
"I just can't believe we've done it, even just to be here today is an achievement, but to win is a dream come true," he said "I just want to thank those that put their trust in us, especially Syed Ansari. We would not be here today without his guidance and this victory is his as much as anyone's, as it's his chassis that got us to this point."

At this point Sitoula was so overcome with emotion he could take no further questions. It is believed that the trophy is being sent home to the Himalayas, and a team will attempt to ascend the unclimbed Mount Kailash, the mountain the chassis is named after, to place the trophy there as an eternal reminder to Nepal's first foray into international motorsport.

[Ataxia]

Checking the calendar, Jiri Komarek will replace Deividas Lukauskis at the next event since the Lithuanian is busy racing in the Lupo championship.

[Klon]

2016 SARS FedEx Canadian Grand Prix - Qualifying

=== PROTOTYPE ===
We are not far away from Indianapolis, SARS comes to Canada for the second round of the 2016 season. If qualifying is a sign of things to come, we are in for a very close weekend, only 0.062 seconds seperate first from second after a great lap by Yuji Ide secured pole for Onyx at the expense of the pole setter and race winner from Indianapolis. With their second car in third, Master Spark Onyx are the hottest contenders for the win on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Very disappointing performance from the trio of Carlos Torres, Kandasamy Latif and Emmanuel Nthala, they are last and a second behind the second-to-last car.

Qualifying
1. Kikkawa/Ide/Hirate - Onyx - 1:28.148
2. Isles/Bourne/Dorra - West Cliff - 1:28.210
3. Vranes/Enge/Matsuura - Onyx - 1:28.354
4. Davidson/Edens/Adél - Gauthier - 1:28.980
5. Moreira/Horford/Premat - Pulsar - 1:29.340
6. Lebone/Wood/Park - West Cliff - 1:29.515
7. Dong-Geon/Coelho/Fabián - Schröder - 1:30.243
8. Komarek/Jankstrom/Lotterer - Pulsar - 1:30.415
9. Sarrazin/Gauthier/Tucker - Gauthier - 1:30.852
10. Torres/Latif/Nthala - Schröder - 1:32.181


=== ROAD ===
While qualifying for the road class was reasonably close as well, it were the expected faces who make up the front rows of the grid, lead by Gianmaria Bruni, who hauled the Lancia-powered IBR right up the table to take his trio's second pole of the season. Ganesh Basnet and his group tried their hardest, but they could not deny Mr. Linari his 150 points. Vaille/Guile/Fukami and Power/Baramono/Blog were able to crush the domination of cars more suitable to the demands of qualifying.

Qualifying
1. Voeckler/Fisichella/Bruni - IBR - 1:37.177
2. Seron/Chalise/Basnet - Himalayas - 1:37.381
3. Tajner/Witzberger/Mueller - Dofasco - 1:38.007
4. Vaille/Guile/Fukami - Samurai Rocket - 1:39.185
5. Power/Baromono/Blog - Tassie - 1:39.900
6. Jiménez/Adhikari/Sitoula - Himalayas - 1:40.134
7. Caffi/Chiesa/Guglielminpietro - IBR - 1:40.219
8. Broniszewski/Malinowski/Stapel - Dofasco - 1:40.430
9. Brown/Bastürk/Senna - Euromotor - 1:41.102
10. Toreno/Hibiki/Ceara - Samurai Rocket - 1:42.200
11. Whincup/Lowndes/Moyenmoutier - Tassie - 1:42.202
12. Vercuisse/Lance/Rojas - Euromotor - 1:42.361

[AustralianStig]

Seron goes missing! Himalayas Racing in disarray
Belgian driver Laurent Seron, contributor to Himalayas historic win in the inaugural SARS race at Indianapolis has gone missing soon after yesterday's qualifying session.The team are refusing to comment on his failure to appear in the paddock this morning, but it is believed he has been flown to the Long Beach Street Circuit for the F2RWRS meeting. Soon after, Himalayas Racing were campaigning for a last minute replacement, but it is likely they will need to withdraw the #9 that convincingly won last round and was set to start from second place on the grid.

[tommykl]

Seron back in Montréal!
Following a desperate attempt to join both F2RWRS and SARS commitments, Seron has returned to the Montréal paddock following a failure to pre-qualify at the F2RWRS meeting in Long Beach. Seron is ready to race in SARS and assures his team that no more such events will occur.

Sorry about that, it just sort of happened...

[Klon]

2016 SARS FedEx Canadian Grand Prix - Race

=== PROTOTYPE ===
Anthony Davidson, Hanna Edens and Seres Adél can be happy that "The Tortoise and the Hare" has long gone over to the public domain, since they'd otherwise have to pay royalities. Gauthier planned their race perfectly and used the fact that their chassis was superior to the Onyx over very long distances to steal the win in the last hour of the race. The trio of Isles, Bourne and Dorra challenged Akinori Kikkawa in the first part of the race but lost track of them over the long term and had trouble fighting off the second Gauthier in the final stages, just getting away with the podium spot. Reliability in the prototype category was very well, only the second West Cliff lost significant time over breaking issues which capped off a horrible weekend for the trio led by Mary Lebone.

Race
1. Davidson/Edens/Adél - Gauthier - 7:42:52.971
2. Kikkawa/Ide/Hirate - Onyx - +19.516
3. Isles/Bourne/Dorra - West Cliff - 1 Lap (1 Lap)
4. Sarrazin/Gauthier/Tucker - Gauthier - 1 Lap (+5.723)
5. Moreira/Horford/Premat - Pulsar - 2 Laps (1 Lap)
6. Vranes/Enge/Matsuura - Onyx - 3 Laps (1 Lap)
7. Komarek/Jankstrom/Lotterer - Pulsar - 3 Laps (+37.236)
8. Dong-Geon/Coelho/Fabián - Schröder - 4 Laps (+1:12.641)
9. Torres/Latif/Nthala - Schröder - 5 Laps (1 Lap)
10. Lebone/Wood/Park - West Cliff - 27 Laps (22 Laps)

FLAP - Sarrazin/Gauthier/Tucker - Gauthier - 1:31.905

Championship Standings (Drivers)
1. Isles/Bourne/Dorra - West Cliff - 1560 points
2. Sarrazin/Gauthier/Tucker - Gauthier - 1270 points
3. Kikkawa/Ide/Hirate - Onyx - 1060 points
4. Lukauskis/Komarek/Jankstrom/Lotterer - Pulsar - 840 points
5. Vranes/Enge/Matsuura - Onyx - 840 points
6. Moreira/Horford/Premat - Pulsar - 770 points
7. Davidson/Edens/Adél - Gauthier - 700 points
8. Torres/Latif/Nthala - Schröder - 560 points
9. Dong-Geon/Coelho/Fabián - Schröder - 210 points
10. Lebone/Wood/Park - West Cliff - 70 points

Championship Standings (Teams)
1. Gauthier - 1970 points
2. Onyx - 1900 points
3. West Cliff - 1630 points
4. Pulsar - 1610 points
5. Schröder - 770 points

=== ROAD ===
If you were looking for a thrilling race, the road class must have been a complete disappointment. The Seron/Chalise/Basnet car took the lead and was never seen again by the competition until it came around to lap them, taking the win and valueable championship points. Any thrill there was was in the battle for second, where the Samurai Rocket car of Ai Fukami and friends successfully fought off any assault by the second Himalayas car and the leading Dofasco. There were some noteable technically issues, the Audi engines in both Euromotors were FUBAR after 169 and 177 laps respectively. The team can consider itself lucky to be classified and at least grab a few points. Not so lucky were the second Dofasco and Samurai Rocket cars, who eliminated each other in a heavy crash early on, and the IBR of Fisichella, Voeckler and Bruni which was put by the latter in the Wall of Champions. While he got the car going again, repairing it took an eternity and even though they got FLAP, the IBR trio was not fast enough to make up the laps needed to get classified.

Qualifying
1. Seron/Chalise/Basnet - Himalayas - 221 Laps
2. Vaille/Guile/Fukami - Samurai Rocket - 2 Laps
3. Jiménez/Adhikari/Sitoula - Himalayas - 2 Laps (+44.152)
4. Tajner/Witzberger/Mueller - Dofasco - 3 Laps (+57.211)
5. Caffi/Chiesa/Guglielminpietro - IBR - 5 Laps (2 Laps)
6. Power/Baromono/Blog - Tassie - 6 Laps (1 Lap)
7. Whincup/Lowndes/Moyenmoutier - Tassie - 6 Laps (+6.976)
8. Vercuisse/Lance/Rojas - Euromotor - 44 Laps (38 Laps)
9. Brown/Bastürk/Senna - Euromotor - 52 Laps (8 Laps)
NC - Voeckler/Fisichella/Bruni - IBR - 70 Laps (18 Laps)
DNF - Broniszewski/Malinowski/Stapel - Dofasco - 205 Laps (135 Laps)
DNF - Toreno/Hibiki/Ceara - Samurai Rocket - 205 Laps (135 Laps)

FLAP - Voeckler/Fisichella/Bruni - IBR - 1:40.727

Championship Standings (Drivers)
1. Seron/Chalise/Basnet - Himalayas - 1400 points
2. Caffi/Chiesa/Guglielminpietro - IBR - 1130 points
3. Tajner/Witzberger/Mueller - Dofasco - 1120 points
4. Vaille/Guile/Fukami - Samurai Rocket - 980 points
5. Brown/Bastürk/Senna - Euromotor - 650 points
6. Jiménez/Adhikari/Sitoula - Himalayas - 560 points
7. Power/Baromono/Blog - Tassie - 560 points
8. Whincup/Lowndes/Moyenmoutier - Tassie - 560 points
9. Voeckler/Fisichella/Bruni - IBR - 450 points
10. Toreno/Hibiki/Ceara - Samurai Rocket - 420 points
11. Vercuisse/Lance/Rojas - Euromotor - 210 points
12. Broniszewski/Malinowski/Stapel - Dofasco - 0 points

Championship Standings (Teams)
1. Himalayas - 1960 points
2. IBR - 1690 points
3. Samurai Rocket - 1400 points
4. Dofasco - 1120 points
5. Tassie - 1120 points
6. Euromotor - 860 points

[DemocalypseNow]

This year has been very frustrating for us. The #27 car is the fastest GT car in the series, but time and time again, some external influence comes along and ruins their race for them. They have the pace to win every event, but something always seems to go awry for them. It's a real shame, there are three top drivers in the car, and a very good car it is, but because of this bad luck, we are only second in the teams' championship, and Jeremy, Fisi and Gimi do not have the drivers' championship position they deserve.

[AustralianStig]

Another race, another victory for the Number 8, but of course it wasn't straightforward and we must continue to push for progress. This result confirms we are here not only to win the championship, but also to be a major player in next year's ACO Le Mans Series. I can only encourage our drivers to continue to put in 100% - let's make the world take notice of us and be the team to beat!

[Klon]

2016 SARS RTBF Belgian Grand Prix - Qualifying

=== PROTOTYPE ===
Qualifying was again a close affair which again saw the better end for the trio of Kikkawa, Hirate and Ide: the Japanese trio managed to successfully fight off West Cliff again, this time the one run by Mary Lebone and her partners. A great run by Alexandre Premat hauled the second Pulsar up to fourth, ahead of the weaker West Cliff, who was just eleven tenths ahead of the Davidson/Edens/Adél-Gauthier.

Qualifying
1. Kikkawa/Ide/Hirate - Onyx - 2:05.117
2. Lebone/Wood/Park - West Cliff - 2:05.352
3. Vranes/Enge/Matsuura - Onyx - 2:05.677
4. Moreira/Horford/Premat - Pulsar - 2:07.237
5. Isles/Bourne/Dorra - West Cliff - 2:07.350
6. Davidson/Edens/Adél - Gauthier - 2:07.361
7. Dong-Geon/Coelho/Fabián - Schröder - 2:08.340
8. Luskausis/Jankstrom/Lotterer - Pulsar - 2:09.152
9. Torres/Latif/Nthala - Schröder - 2:09.533
10. Sarrazin/Gauthier/Tucker - Gauthier - 2:10.350


=== ROAD ===
After the Canadian race, some experts feared a domination by the Seron/Chalise/Basnet car and qualifying for Spa really does not help those fears, seeing as the Himalayan squad is completely dominating qualifying: they have over a second advantage over their competition from IBR. A fantastic lap from Fukami with the Samurai Rocket car sees the trio start in third, ahead of many cars considered to be great qualifying cars.

Qualifying
1. Seron/Chalise/Basnet - Himalayas - 2:31.663
2. Voeckler/Fisichella/Bruni - IBR - 2:32.968
3. Vaille/Guile/Fukami - Samurai Rocket - 2:33.441
4. Tajner/Witzberger/Mueller - Dofasco - 2:34.261
5. Caffi/Chiesa/Guglielminpietro - IBR - 2:35.789
6. Jiménez/Adhikari/Sitoula - Himalayas - 2:38.412
7. Power/Baromono/Blog - Tassie - 2:38.710
8. Broniszewski/Malinowski/Stapel - Dofasco - 2:38.796
9. Brown/Bastürk/Senna - Euromotor - 2:39.318
10. Vercuisse/Lance/Rojas - Euromotor - 2:41.695
11. Whincup/Lowndes/Moyenmoutier - Tassie - 2:41.717
12. Toreno/Hibiki/Ceara - Samurai Rocket - 2:41.892

[dr-baker]

Wait, what? How did Lebone et al. end up significantly ahead of Isles et al.?

[Klon]

2016 SARS RTBF Belgian Grand Prix - Race

=== PROTOTYPE ===
A lap 1 race ending crash makes you really look like an idiot, especially in an endurance race. Still Luskausis and Torres did that and their teams paid the price. They were not the only one to lose it on the Belgian track: the pole-setting Onyx of Kikkawa, Ide and Hirate threw their car away. Even though the West Cliffs had blasted past them and the rest of the competition, they were still in a good position and are gonna regret that error. The #2 Gauthier fared very well and more than made up for their qualifying failures, as Laurent Gauthier made an amateurish mistake lapping a road class car. Meanwhile, a trio that did it more than right are Leandro Moreira, Anita Horford and Alexandre Premat: their team knew better than to immediately challenge the West Cliffs and so they waited until the right moment for a push came which was more than sufficient to grab both the lead and, in the end, the win.

Race
1. Moreira/Horford/Premat - Pulsar - 6:16:24.276
2. Isles/Bourne/Dorra - West Cliff - +1:58.648
3. Lebone/Wood/Park - West Cliff - +2:04.733 (+6.087)
4. Vranes/Enge/Matsuura - Onyx - 1 Lap (+47.122)
5. Davidson/Edens/Adél - Gauthier - 5 Laps (4 Lap)
6. Sarrazin/Gauthier/Tucker - Gauthier - 32 Laps (30 Laps)
DNF - Dong-Geon/Coelho/Fabián - Schröder - 106 Laps (70 Laps)
DNF - Kikkawa/Ide/Hirate - Onyx - 144 Laps (28 Laps)
DNF - Torres/Latif/Nthala - Schröder - 171 Laps (1 Lap)
DNF - Luskausis/Jankstrom/Lotterer - Pulsar - 171 Laps (+37.236)

FLAP - Lebone/Wood/Park - 2:08.065

Championship Standings (Drivers)
1. Isles/Bourne/Dorra - West Cliff - 2190 points
2. Sarrazin/Gauthier/Tucker - Gauthier - 1620 points
3. Moreira/Horford/Premat - Pulsar - 1470 points
4. Vranes/Enge/Matsuura - Onyx - 1330 points
5. Kikkawa/Ide/Hirate - Onyx - 1210 points
6. Davidson/Edens/Adél - Gauthier - 1120 points
7. Lukauskis/Komarek/Jankstrom/Lotterer - Pulsar - 840 points
8. Lebone/Wood/Park - West Cliff - 780 points
9. Torres/Latif/Nthala - Schröder - 560 points
10. Dong-Geon/Coelho/Fabián - Schröder - 210 points

Championship Standings (Teams)
1. West Cliff - 2970 points
2. Gauthier - 2740 points
3. Onyx - 2540 points
4. Pulsar - 2310 points
5. Schröder - 770 points

=== ROAD ===
The monks behind the Himalayas squad and their owners will be cursing out Australia in general and Will Power in specific. His great start and early run caused them to not be able to regain the lead they lost to IBR at the first round of stops. To rub said insult in, the Power/Baromono/Blog trio forced their way past Ganesh Basnet in the middle part of the race, securing their "demotion" to the final podium place. Aside from Adhikari's huge engine failure, technical gremlins also forced a Euromotor car and the Tassie Racing car led by Whincup to retire from the race. The risk of possible brake failure forced Samurai Rocket to lose a significant chunk of time in the pits to fix the (minor) problem.

Race
1. Voeckler/Fisichella/Bruni - IBR - 139 Laps
2. Power/Baromono/Blog - Tassie - 1 Lap
3. Seron/Chalise/Basnet - Himalayas - 1 Lap (+1:36.328)
4. Tajner/Witzberger/Mueller - Dofasco - 2 Laps (+46.899)
5. Broniszewski/Malinowski/Stapel - Dofasco - 3 Laps (1 Lap)
6. Caffi/Chiesa/Guglielminpietro - IBR - 4 Laps (+40.132)
7. Vercuisse/Lance/Rojas - Euromotor - 4 Laps (+31.052)
8. Toreno/Hibiki/Ceara - Samurai Rocket - 17 Laps (13 Laps)
9. Vaille/Guile/Fukami - Samurai Rocket - 19 Laps (2 Laps)
DNF - Brown/Bastürk/Senna - Euromotor - 66 Laps (51 Laps)
DNF - Jiménez/Adhikari/Sitoula - Himalayas - 83 Laps (17 Laps)
DNF - Whincup/Lowndes/Moyenmoutier - Tassie - 105 Laps (+6.976)

FLAP - Power/Baromono/Blog - Tassie - 2:37.809

Championship Standings (Drivers)
1. Seron/Chalise/Basnet - Himalayas - 2110 points
2. Tajner/Witzberger/Mueller - Dofasco - 1610 points
3. Caffi/Chiesa/Guglielminpietro - IBR - 1480 points
5. Power/Baromono/Blog - Tassie - 1340 points
4. Voeckler/Fisichella/Bruni - IBR - 1250 points
6. Vaille/Guile/Fukami - Samurai Rocket - 1120 points
7. Brown/Bastürk/Senna - Euromotor - 650 points
8. Toreno/Hibiki/Ceara - Samurai Rocket - 630 points
9. Jiménez/Adhikari/Sitoula - Himalayas - 560 points
10. Whincup/Lowndes/Moyenmoutier - Tassie - 560 points
11. Broniszewski/Malinowski/Stapel - Dofasco - 420 points
12. Vercuisse/Lance/Rojas - Euromotor - 210 points

Championship Standings (Teams)
1. IBR - 2730 points
2. Himalayas - 2670 points
3. Samurai Rocket - 1750 points
4. Dofasco - 2030 points
5. Tassie - 1900 points
6. Euromotor - 860 points

[dr-baker]

Can't complain at a 2-3, not when the lead driver combo are doing so well in the drivers' championship, and overall doing alright in the constructors'/team cup.

[Klon]

2016 SARS Kenvelo Czech Grand Prix - Qualifying

=== PROTOTYPE ===
If you would looked at qualifying a few minutes before it had ended, you would have switched the channel, disappointed with a West Cliff 1-2. You would have missed an amazing lap by Kosuke Matsuura to grab pole position in a literal last-minute effort. It seems like any team that will want to fight with Onyx and West Cliff for the win will have to up their stakes tomorrow. Pulsar's car driven by Moreira, Horford and Premat, may be the main contenders.

Qualifying
1. Vranes/Enge/Matsuura - Onyx - 1:36.895
2. Lebone/Wood/Park - West Cliff - 1:37.423
3. Isles/Bourne/Dorra - West Cliff - 1:37.645
4. Kikkawa/Ide/Hirate - Onyx - 1:37.984
5. Moreira/Horford/Premat - Pulsar - 1:38.466
6. Dong-Geon/Coelho/Fabián - Schröder - 1:38.497
7. Davidson/Edens/Adél - Gauthier - 1:38.784
8. Luskausis/Jankstrom/Lotterer - Pulsar - 1:39.126
9. Sarrazin/Gauthier/Tucker - Gauthier - 1:39.251
10. Torres/Latif/Nthala - Schröder - 1:39.442


=== ROAD ===
Right now it seems like the Road class has come down to a battle of the underdogs from Himalaya against the corporate might of IBR and Dofasco. Their pole in the Czech Republic gave them the edge and may allow them to seal the deal in the race. It's a long way to go and they can't expect aid from their second car, who struggled in qualifying and therefore probably won't score too well in the race itself. IBR has both of their cars in second and third and will pounce on any mistake by Seron and his buddies.

Qualifying
1. Seron/Chalise/Basnet - Himalayas - 1:55.621
2. Voeckler/Fisichella/Bruni - IBR - 1:55.853
3. Caffi/Chiesa/Guglielminpietro - IBR - 1:56.253
4. Tajner/Witzberger/Mueller - Dofasco - 1:56.583
5. Toreno/Hibiki/Ceara - Samurai Rocket- 1:56.807
6. Jiménez/Adhikari/Sitoula - Himalayas - 1:57.226
7. Vaille/Guile/Fukami - Samurai Rocket - 1:57.703
8. Broniszewski/Malinowski/Stapel - Dofasco - 1:58.164
9. Brown/Bastürk/Senna - Euromotor - 1:58.462
10. Vercuisse/Lance/Rojas - Euromotor - 1:58.773
11. Power/Baromono/Blog - Tassie - 1:59.352
12. Whincup/Lowndes/Moyenmoutier - Tassie - 1:59.855

[dr-baker]

2016 SARS Kenvelo Czech Grand Prix - Qualifying

=== PROTOTYPE ===
If you would looked at qualifying a few minutes before it had ended, you would have switched the channel, disappointed with a West Cliff 1-2.

Now I know what it's like to dominate and not find it boring whereas all around me might...

[Klon]

2016 SARS Kenvelo Czech Grand Prix - Race

=== PROTOTYPE ===
As if the trio was angry about their team mates completely outperforming them in qualifying, it were Kikkawa, Hirate and former Williams driver Ide who conquered the Czech Grand Prix. In the early stages, a few brave passes moved them up to the lead, where they easily remained for the rest of the day. What's more important than the winner is perhaps what happened to the West Cliff of Melanie Bourne and her partners. The usual loss of speed that affected the West Cliff cars all season came into play, but today, the women were not willing to accept it. The Schröder car of Dong-Geon/Coelho/Fabián, who had an amazing run, tried to take their place and a collision happened with the obvious results: both cars out. Alberto Fabián was rightfully angry, given as his chance to finally get a proper result in this catastrophic season came undone. The drivers of the #8 were sentenced to a suspended race ban, which might not mean much, given the rumours of a SARS buyout by the ACO. This accident has significant championship implications: at the final round, the entire top 6 of the championship can still win the title. Furthermore, the difference between first and fourth in the team championship is only 360 points, i.e. a fifth place.

Race
1. Kikkawa/Ide/Hirate - Onyx - 6:23:25.837
2. Sarrazin/Gauthier/Tucker - Gauthier - +1 Laps
3. Lebone/Wood/Park - West Cliff - 2 Laps (+43.623)
4. Moreira/Horford/Premat - Pulsar - 2 Laps (+8.660)
5. Vranes/Enge/Matsuura - Onyx - 4 Laps (1 Lap)
6. Luskausis/Jankstrom/Lotterer - Pulsar - 4 Laps (+1:14.767)
7. Torres/Latif/Nthala - Schröder - 5 Laps (+32.533)
DNF - Dong-Geon/Coelho/Fabián - Schröder - 81 Laps (70 Laps)
DNF - Isles/Bourne/Dorra - West Cliff - 81 Laps (28 Laps)
DNF - Davidson/Edens/Adél - Gauthier - 142 Laps (+37.236)

FLAP - Moreira/Horford/Premat - Pulsar - 1:39.742

Championship Standings (Drivers)
1. Sarrazin/Gauthier/Tucker - Gauthier - 2250 points
2. Isles/Bourne/Dorra - West Cliff - 2190 points
3. Moreira/Horford/Premat - Pulsar - 2110 points
4. Kikkawa/Ide/Hirate - Onyx - 1910 points
5. Vranes/Enge/Matsuura - Onyx - 1750 points
6. Lebone/Wood/Park - West Cliff - 1340 points
7. Lukauskis/Komarek/Jankstrom/Lotterer - Pulsar - 1190 points
8. Davidson/Edens/Adél - Gauthier - 1120 points
9. Torres/Latif/Nthala - Schröder - 840 points
10. Dong-Geon/Coelho/Fabián - Schröder - 210 points

Championship Standings (Teams)
1. Onyx - 3660 points
2. West Cliff - 3530 points
3. Gauthier - 3370 points
4. Pulsar - 3300 points
5. Schröder - 1050 points

=== ROAD ===
The battle for the win in the road class proved much more exciting today, with the Himalayas cars taking an early lead that appeared insurmountable, but was later eaten up by the combined effort of Jeremy-Etienne Voeckler, Giancarlo Fisichella and Gianmaria Bruni who indeed managed to go past Ganesh Basnet after he ran out of track at turn four. The Hyundai-supported team then decided to not try and retake the lead since the #114 IBR had taken their lead, but not their FLAP. That was crucial, because with those additional 150 points, Basnet could just nurse the car home and thereby make himself and his two co-drivers, Laurent Seron and Raju Chalise, the first official Siemens Ausdauer Reject Series champions. Their main competition was uncompetitive (the #104 Dofasco) or was taking out by technical gremlins, as IBR suffered a terminal multi-part engine failure.

Race
1. Voeckler/Fisichella/Bruni - IBR - 186 Laps
2. Seron/Chalise/Basnet - Himalayas - +11.235
3. Jiménez/Adhikari/Sitoula - Himalayas - +14.841 (+3.606)
4. Vaille/Guile/Fukami - Samurai Rocket - 1 Lap (+1:49.732)
5. Power/Baromono/Blog - Tassie - 1 Lap (+35.476)
6. Toreno/Hibiki/Ceara - Samurai Rocket - 2 Laps (1 Lap)
7. Tajner/Witzberger/Mueller - Dofasco - 2 Laps (+17.352)
8. Brown/Bastürk/Senna - Euromotor - 4 Laps (1 Lap)
9. Vercuisse/Lance/Rojas - Euromotor - 4 Laps (+22.457)
10. Whincup/Lowndes/Moyenmoutier - Tassie - 44 Laps (40 Laps)
DNF - Broniszewski/Malinowski/Stapel - Dofasco - 94 Laps (50 Laps)
DNF - Caffi/Chiesa/Guglielminpietro - IBR - 156 Laps (62 Laps)

FLAP - Seron/Chalise/Basnet - Himalayas - 1:58.011

Championship Standings (Drivers)
1. Seron/Chalise/Basnet - Himalayas - 3040 points - CHAMPION
2. Voeckler/Fisichella/Bruni - IBR - 1950 points
3. Tajner/Witzberger/Mueller - Dofasco - 1890 points
4. Power/Baromono/Blog - Tassie - 1760 points
5. Caffi/Chiesa/Guglielminpietro - IBR - 1480 points
6. Vaille/Guile/Fukami - Samurai Rocket - 1510 points
7. Jiménez/Adhikari/Sitoula - Himalayas - 1150 points
8. Toreno/Hibiki/Ceara - Samurai Rocket - 980 points
9. Brown/Bastürk/Senna - Euromotor - 860 points
10. Whincup/Lowndes/Moyenmoutier - Tassie - 630 points
11. Broniszewski/Malinowski/Stapel - Dofasco - 420 points
12. Vercuisse/Lance/Rojas - Euromotor - 350 points

Championship Standings (Teams)
1. Himalayas - 4190 points
2. IBR - 3430 points
3. Samurai Rocket - 2490 points
4. Tassie - 2390 points
5. Dofasco - 2310 points
6. Euromotor - 1210 points

[AustralianStig]

The championship is ours! What an incredible journey, remembering it wasn't long ago that a group of race-hungry monks in the Himalayas got together with a seemingly ill-fated attempt to take on the world of endurance racing. This stands us is great stead for the inaugural ACO Le Mans season - we have no doubts we will continue to be a top team!

[Onxy Wrecked]

Got 4th and 5th in the car championship but as a team Onyx was a champion.

[Salamander]

Got 4th and 5th in the car championship but as a team Onyx was a champion.

Not yet.

[Onxy Wrecked]

Got 4th and 5th in the car championship but as a team Onyx was a champion.

Not yet.

I guess my chickens have yet to hatch...

[FantometteBR]

Last... as it was expected

[Klon]

2016 SARS Mitsukoshi Japanese Grand Prix - Qualifying

=== PROTOTYPE ===
Talk about an anti-climax. The topic of a sub-minute lap was on the table all throughout practice and thus Wood went out and did a sub-minute lap for West Cliff on his second try. After that, many attempted to get close but it was not to be. The second West Cliff win pole and thereby keep their title dreams alive. Still, it's gonna be a damn long road for the West Cliff team, although it got reasonably easy, given as their main competition struggled in qualifying.

Qualifying
1. Lebone/Wood/Park - West Cliff - 59.834
2. Kikkawa/Ide/Hirate - Onyx - 1:00.134
3. Isles/Bourne/Dorra - West Cliff - 1:00.375
4. Luskausis/Jankstrom/Lotterer - Pulsar - 1:00.778
5. Vranes/Enge/Matsuura - Onyx - 1:01.224
6. Dong-Geon/Coelho/Fabián - Schröder - 1:01.423
7. Moreira/Horford/Premat - Pulsar - 1:01.678
8. Torres/Latif/Nthala - Schröder - 1:02.431
9. Sarrazin/Gauthier/Tucker - Gauthier - 1:02.477
10. Davidson/Edens/Adél - Gauthier - 1:02.653


=== ROAD ===
The Prototype class produced an anti-climax and the road class didn't want to miss out on it, with IBR completely destroying the competition in a twisted act of revenge for having lost the drivers title to the underdogs from Nepal. Speaking of which, they rather struggled, finishing only fourth and seventh respectively, perhaps being a bit complacent with their title have hurt their qualfiying performance. This could prove fatal in securing the team championship, but the race will be very long.

Qualifying
1. Voeckler/Fisichella/Bruni IBR - 1:10.007
2. Caffi/Chiesa/Guglielminpietro - IBR - 1:10.068
3. Broniszewski/Malinowski/Stapel - Dofasco - 1:10.573
4. Jiménez/Adhikari/Sitoula - Himalayas - 1:10.641
5. Tajner/Witzberger/Mueller - Dofasco - 1:10.833
6. Vaille/Guile/Fukami - Samurai Rocket - 1:11.386
7. Seron/Chalise/Basnet - Himalayas - 1:11.432
8. Whincup/Lowndes/Moyenmoutier - Tassie - 1:11.631
9. Power/Baromono/Blog - Tassie - 1:11.979
10. Brown/Bastürk/Senna - Euromotor - 1:12.354
11. Vercuisse/Lance/Rojas - Euromotor - 1:12.987
12. Toreno/Hibiki/Ceara - Samurai Rocket - 1:13.456

[Klon]

2016 SARS Mitsukoshi Japanese Grand Prix - Race

=== PROTOTYPE ===
What a showdown! Unfortunately, a poor performance by the #8 West Cliff and the #2 Gauthier left their title hopes at the mercy of Mary Lebone, John Wood and James Park. This led to amazing scenes in the final stretch of this race: the aforementioned cars battling for sixth, four laps down, as Yuji Ide hunted the leaders, looking for his shot at the championship. With a breathtaking pass with only four laps to go, Ide got past the West Cliff and managed to hang on, despite a few chances for James Park to take the lead back. This meant that, despite the #8 West Cliff keeping Gauthier at bay, it was all for nought as Akinori Kikkawa, Yuji Ide and Kohei Hirate earn the honour of being the first (and only) SARS prototype driver champions. In their struggle to defend the lead, the #9 West Cliff somehow managed a FLAP which was sufficient to deny Master Spark Onyx the team championship and bringing that title to the Isle of Man.

Race
1. Kikkawa/Ide/Hirate - Onyx - 6:24:37.121
2. Lebone/Wood/Park - West Cliff - +2.532
3. Luskausis/Jankstrom/Lotterer - Pulsar - 1 Lap (1 Lap)
4. Dong-Geon/Coelho/Fabián - Schröder - 1 Lap (+44.473)
5. Vranes/Enge/Matsuura - Onyx - 2 Laps (+26.251)
6. Isles/Bourne/Dorra - West Cliff - 4 Laps (2 Laps)
7. Sarrazin/Gauthier/Tucker - Gauthier - 4 Laps (+3.326)
8. Torres/Latif/Nthala - Schröder - 7 Laps (2 Laps)
DNF - Davidson/Edens/Adél - Gauthier - 116 Laps (109 Laps)
DNF - Moreira/Horford/Premat - Pulsar - 281 Laps (165 Laps)

FLAP - Lebone/Wood/Park - West Cliff - 1:00.525

Championship Standings (Drivers)
1. Kikkawa/Ide/Hirate - Onyx - 2610 points - CHAMPIONS
2. Isles/Bourne/Dorra - West Cliff - 2540 points
3. Sarrazin/Gauthier/Tucker - Gauthier - 2530 points
4. Lebone/Wood/Park - West Cliff - 2270 points
5. Vranes/Enge/Matsuura - Onyx - 2170 points
6. Moreira/Horford/Premat - Pulsar - 2110 points
7. Lukauskis/Komarek/Jankstrom/Lotterer - Pulsar - 1740 points
8. Davidson/Edens/Adél - Gauthier - 1120 points
9. Torres/Latif/Nthala - Schröder - 1120 points
10. Dong-Geon/Coelho/Fabián - Schröder - 700 points

Championship Standings (Teams)
1. West Cliff - 4810 points - CHAMPIONS
2. Onyx - 4780 points
3. Pulsar - 3850 points
4. Gauthier - 3650 points
5. Schröder - 1820 points

=== ROAD ===
While the prototype class was a thriller, the road class was a total blowout. These times are not even remotely representative of the way IBR controlled the race. After learning of Asim Adhikari's engine failure and the struggle of the already-crowned drivers champions, they went to full cruise mode, thereby allowing the competition to take their FLAP and allow surprise podium finishers Whincup, Moyenmoutier and Lowndes to get back on the leading lap. Still, IBR made clear that they were the superior team this weekend and that they more than deserve the team title they won. On other teams, we have Euromotor getting at least some solace after their season of misery and Dofasco jump on the championship podium, that'll be good news after their RWS1 team went down the drain.

Race
1. Caffi/Chiesa/Guglielminpietro - IBR - 262 Laps
2. Voeckler/Fisichella/Bruni - IBR - +36.736
3. Whincup/Lowndes/Moyenmoutier - Tassie - +58.511
4. Broniszewski/Malinowski/Stapel - Dofasco - 2 Laps (2 Laps)
5. Brown/Bastürk/Senna - Euromotor - 4 Laps (1 Lap)
6. Tajner/Witzberger/Mueller - Dofasco - 4 Laps (+22.213)
7. Toreno/Hibiki/Ceara - Samurai Rocket - 6 Laps (2 Laps)
8. Seron/Chalise/Basnet - Himalayas - 7 Laps (+47.362)
9. Power/Baromono/Blog - Tassie - 55 Laps (48 Laps)
DNF - Vercuisse/Lance/Rojas - Euromotor - 99 Laps (44 Laps)
DNF - Jiménez/Adhikari/Sitoula - Himalayas - 142 Laps (43 Laps)
DNF - Vaille/Guile/Fukami - Samurai Rocket - 155 Laps (13 Laps)

FLAP - Tajner/Witzberger/Mueller - Dofasco - 1:10.262

Championship Standings (Drivers)
1. Seron/Chalise/Basnet - Himalayas - 3350 points - CHAMPIONS
2. Voeckler/Fisichella/Bruni - IBR - 2730 points
3. Tajner/Witzberger/Mueller - Dofasco - 2240 points
4. Caffi/Chiesa/Guglielminpietro - IBR - 2180 points
5. Power/Baromono/Blog - Tassie - 1900 points
6. Vaille/Guile/Fukami - Samurai Rocket - 1510 points
7. Brown/Bastürk/Senna - Euromotor - 1280 points
8. Toreno/Hibiki/Ceara - Samurai Rocket - 1260 points
9. Jiménez/Adhikari/Sitoula - Himalayas - 1150 points
10. Whincup/Lowndes/Moyenmoutier - Tassie - 1070 points
11. Broniszewski/Malinowski/Stapel - Dofasco - 910 points
12. Vercuisse/Lance/Rojas - Euromotor - 350 points

Championship Standings (Teams)
1. IBR - 4910 points - CHAMPIONS
2. Himalayas - 4500 points
3. Dofasco - 3150 points
4. Samurai Rocket - 3120 points
5. Tassie - 2970 points
6. Euromotor - 1630 points

[AustralianStig]

Well that's a very disappointing result, to miss out on the team's championship by failing in the last race. We have been taught an important lesson as rookies today, and we will go into the 2017 Le Mans Cup much better prepared as a result. Thank you to the entire team for their dedication, and they should all be proud of our success!