Liam Lawson has rounded out the inaugural 2KCUP iRacing Sunday League Championship with back-to-back victories.
After eight hotly contested rounds, 2KCUP regular James Watson was crowned eseries champion despite suffering a near race-ending crash in the event’s second race.
Competed on a virtual Silverstone circuit, Lawson proved untouchable in the night’s opening affair once gaining control of the race in its early stages.
However, a thrilling season-finale would have four drivers within earshot of victory, before a shrewd move by Lawson on race leader Matt Stevens at the penultimate corner allowed the Red Bull driver to snare his second victory.
Race One:
Starting from tenth, Lawson survived the opening lap carnage that ensued when Chris Symon spun on the exit of Copse, compelling several drivers to take evasive action.
Sum Dunstall thus gained control at the head of the field but quickly came under fire from Lawson and a hard-charging Antal-Rafael Sabo.
Lawson briefly claimed the lead with an opportunistic move at the Vale chicane but relinquished the position back to Dunstall a corner later.
However, Lawson was not prepared to play second fiddle for much longer and on his fourth tour he made his move for the lead stick at Abbey.
Without the challenge from series rivals Matthew Payne and Shane Van Gisbergen, Lawson cruised home unrivalled to a 6-second victory.
The battle for second livened up as the race wore on. Sabo, Dunstall, Matt Stevens and Zach Thompson were trading positions on every corner which almost ended in tears when Sabo was forced off the road at Maggots and Becketts.
With the chequered flag in sight, Dunstall attempted a bold move for second at the penultimate bend but ran wide and dropped to fifth.
Consequently, Stevens and Sabo were gifted the final two podium placings with Thompson coming home in fourth.
Champion-elect James Watson avoided a big scare when an out-of-control Brock Trainer veered across the track at Vale, narrowly avoiding tagging Watson in the process.
Unfortunately, Warren Crowther did not suffer similar fate and was collect blindsided, dropping the duo 15th and 16th
Race Two
Alister Hawkins got the jump on the field off the line in the reverse top-Ten race but briefly surrendered the lead to entering Maggots and Becketts.
Unfortunately, Watson had seemingly consumed all of his luck in race one and was taken out at Abbey when an unruly Sabo drove into the rear of his rival.
Race one winner Liam Lawson capitalised on the early incidents to find himself sitting comfortably in second, 1.4s adrift of leader Hawkins.
Lawson inevitability latched onto Hawkins, dragging himself to within contention by lap three.
But uncharacteristically, once Lawson gained control of the race, he failed to break the tow, keeping Hawkins, Stevens and Huynh in touching distance.
What ensued was an incredible tussle between the top-four which saw paint traded several times with Lawson never able to restrain the challenging pack.
Stevens edged ahead of the Red Bull driver with a handful of corners remaining on the final lap, but a wily lunge into Brooklands allowed Lawson to slip up Stevens’ inside and snare back-to-back victories.
Huyuh would pounce on the situation to clinch second while a disappointed Stevens was made to settle for the final podium position after such a promising race.
Despite being victimised in a lap one collision, Watson would cross the line in 13th and secure the inaugural 2KCUP iRacing Sunday League championship.
With the event proving to be exceptionally popular amongst the kiwi racing community, the series has already published dates for two further month-long seasons to take place over the coming winter period.
Likewise, after the success of the Bathurst Six Hour enduro, plans are afoot for Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps event to be held in early August.