SMS-R Driver Network Championship Round 11 Re-Run Results

Last weekend, the SMS-R Driver Network Championship travelled to Spa Francorchamps for the re-run of Round 11. Could the world’s best Project CARS drivers tame the Formula A cars around this legendary and challenging race track?

Once again, they had to get back in the zone with the Formula A cars - a huge change of pace from the previous round of the season in the Renault Clio Cup car!

Often cited as the most popular circuit with pro racers the world over, and certainly one of the community’s favourite tracks in Project CARS as well, all of the drivers know Spa-Francorchamps like the back of their hand, so Round 11 would come down to car setup and who could take the biggest risks in exploring the limits of these famous tarmac hills. As always with the high downforce Formula A cars, the key to a good setup is getting the balance right between low drag on the track's enormous straights, but without sacrificing too much cornering grip, so that you can still keep up the pace through the twisting middle sector.

For the second event in a row, track limits have been a critical factor, with more than 50% of the competing drivers having to be penalised for cutting the inside of some corners, or exploiting run-off areas on the exit of others. As always, the rules & regulations are clear: if you put all four wheels outside the white lines, your lap won’t be counted. Drivers must be at least touching the white lines at the edge of the circuit for their lap to count towards the leaderboard.​

The big story in the Round 11 Re-run is that we have a new leader in the drivers standings! TSRacing's Atho has finally caught and passed SoniK from SDL Motorsport at the top of the table after scoring 40 points for a podium finish this week, while SoniK could only manage 12th place. That puts Atho 14 points clear at the top. He was very lucky to be there though. His fastest lap was about as marginal on track limits as you can get while going through the top of the ultra-fast Eau Rouge corner, but he managed to keep two wheels just touching the white line and his lap was valid.

It was another great race for SennasGhostP1 as well, who took victory at Spa with an astonishing lap of 1.40.583, three tenths faster than any other driver. He was a latecomer to the competition this season, but he clearly has some talent! This was his second win in Formula A and brings him into the top ten in the drivers standings for the first time.

Elsewhere in the Driver Standings, we have another swap of positions in the on-going battles between Team Shark Racing and SDL Motorsport, with Racer passing Rossi46 for fifth place overall. aTTaX boMbaY, BAM Anto, GTz LiQuiD, BAM Commando, aTTaX Johnson and SDL Mixi125 have all dropped one place in the standings accordingly, while David Semperger has dropped two places.

It was an amazing race from Carburateur_83 this week, who jumps from 27th to 16th in the drivers standings after a fabulous 2nd place finish at Spa. His best result so far! Starlux' Gturbo has also jumped back into the Top 20 drivers, at the expense of BAM ASIX13 and EvoNiK who have now been relegated.

In the team power rankings, Team Shark Racing has maintained its lead over SDL Motorsport with a decent performance from all of its drivers at Spa. The gap at the top is now 365 points. Starlux has jumped up to sixth place, knocking EMW down to 7th, and STD-RS has retaken ninth from VIKING Motorsport which drops back down to tenth place.

The next round of the SMS-R Driver Network Championship is the Round 14 Re-Run. Due to disputes between the drivers over track limits in the original running of Round 14, it will now take place at a different circuit and moves to Australia’s legendary Mount Panorama circuit at Bathurst in the Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS GT3. The Round 14 Re-Run will take place from November 20 to 23.

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