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NATIONS CUP
Turning up the heat from Round 3, Nik_Makozi of Australia wins 2 consecutive seasons in a row!
Test Season 13
15/02/2018

Season Digest

The 13th test season of the Nations Cup was held across 6 rounds starting on February 4th to the 10th.

The opening round on Sunday was a Gr. 4 race on the technical Suzuka Circuit. Here, Japan’s tatsurou55 who had seldom been seen in the top group until now achieved a perfect pole-to-win, placing his name on top of the season rankings. More Japanese drivers dominated the top group, with legacy0193 in second place and Created_by_Doll in third.

Round 2 was a one-make race using the Toyota 86 GRMN, and the race was staged on the Tokyo Expressway Central Outer Loop, a track that is notoriously difficult to pass on. While Tatsurou55 lost ground here at 1055 points, Japan’s fd3sr20b0654 and Hong Kong’s Seize_HKS gained momentum. fd3sr20b0654 of Japan also scored high in the following 3rd round of the season (Nürburgring GP / Gr.3), and rose to the top of the point rankings at the end of the first 3 rounds this season.

Round 4 after the break on Wednesday opened on the ultra high speed Monza Circuit, a one make race in the Ferrari 458 Italia Gr. 4. Here, kuro96GT and y_nuno2702 of Japan gained a good number of points in the high speed battles, but Japan’s fd3sr20b0654 remained at the top of the point rankings. Japan’s mish12calsonic also overcame Kawakana222, and rose to 2nd place.

Round 5 was a one make race in the Audi R18 TDI on the beautiful Dragon Trail. There was a major shift in the point rankings here with Japan’s Created_by_Doll winning the first race of the day, while Nik_Makozi who entered from Round 3 places 2nd, outscoring fd3sr20b0654 in the overall season rankings. fd3sr20b0654 dropped to 3rd, with Japan’s Kawakana222 and tatsuro55 in 4th and 5th respectively.

The final round on Saturday was the battle of Gr. 4 machines on Britain’s famed Brands Hatch GP, and top ranking players all gathered in the Top 24 Superstars Race hosted as the 3rd race of the day.
In the race final, Australia’s Nik_Makozi who showed some sharp driving from qualifying continued to exhibit stable performance, winning the race while holding back Japan’s Kawakana222 who chased up the ranks from a 4th place start. In third place was mish12calsonic of Japan who came up from 6th at start, and fd3sr20b0654 ended 12th in qualifying and 10th in the final. The point rankings reflected outcome, with Nik_Makozi of Australia ending the season with a consecutive season victory.

Top 24 Super Stars Review

Starting in pole position, Australia’s Nik_Makozi immediately aimed to pull away from the crowd. The turning point came in lap 2 where Created_by Doll in 2nd place goes out to the gravel and spins, dropping to 10th place.

The fight for 2nd place then fell to Kawakana222 and mish12calsonic of Japan. A close dogfight between two Toyota 86 Gr.4s ensued, but in the meanwhile Nik_Makozi was increasing his lead.

While the top group all began to enter the pit in lap 8, Japan’s fd3sr20b0654 runs on without pitting, successfully raising position up to 2nd place.
But the advance of fd3sr20b0654 stopped there. Unable to maintain pace into the last half of the race, fd3sr20b0654 was passed by the top group on new tires, ending the race in 10th overall in the end.
There were no major changes in position thereafter, and Nik_Makozi ended the race with a massive lead from the others, winning the Top24 and securing the series title for Nations Cup Test Season 13.

Point Ranking (Top10)

RANK DRIVER DR SR RD.1 RD.2 RD.3 RD.4 RD.5 RD.6 TOTAL
1 AUSTRALIA Nik_Makozi S S - - 2211 1686 1998 11010 15219
2 JAPAN Kawakana222 S S 1261 1582 2088 1380 1709 10618 14415
3 JAPAN mish12calsonic S S 1755 1117 1712 1734 1752 10226 13733
4 JAPAN Created_by_Doll S S 1891 - 1965 - 2110 9443 13518
5 JAPAN TOMMYKAIRA_R32 S S - 1688 1827 - - 9834 13349
6 HONG KONG Seize_HKS S S 1765 1437 0 1124 1776 9051 12592
7 JAPAN gouka-108 S S 1657 - 456 1544 1475 8267 11468
8 JAPAN fd3sr20b0654 S S 1728 1633 1946 1638 1797 7484 11227
9 JAPAN poki_kocky S S 1380 945 1719 1572 1332 7876 11167
10 JAPAN Leafa_12 S S 1620 - 1843 1348 1479 7092 10555

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