Fischer Motorsport qualifies for 2020-21 IVRA ClubSport Series
Based on the two-hour Pre-Qualifying race, the third season for the team in the second-highest series of IVRA promises even tougher and closer competition than before.
A number of top teams qualified for the series, especially in the CUP class that excusively uses the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, promising hard and close battles on the track.
Manuel Mayer and Benjamin Fischer, who have two full iRacing Nürburgring Endurance Championship (NEC) seasons under their belt, driving the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, are set to pilot the No. 84 this season. But this was not something either of the two took for granted.
“We had our hands full Saturday. These guys in the CUP class are insanely quick. We didn’t have the pace to keep up with them. So we focused on trying to land in the top-five, if possible.”
“Our strategy really was perfect. I saved the tires quite a lot early on and then we did our pit stop just before the caution period, but we stayed on the lead lap. That gave us the advantage.”
On the final lap of the race, team-mate Benjamin Fischer lost fifth position to an opponent, but in the end this made no difference as the team successfully qualified for the 2020-21 season.
“We’re super happy, obviously. The ClubSport Series, besides the NEC, has kind of become our second home. Last season didn’t go all that well for us. But we learned a lot. We’re already busy with preparations.”
Things went even better for the No. 85 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup with Pascal Theis and newly hired driver Y. Hignet. Theis started into Pre-Qualifying from second place and was able to establish good position near the front of the CUP class field.
At the start, there was a crash directly ahead, so the team made up a few positions. And while there were some close calls over the course of the race, at the end the team had a solid fifth place finish to show for it, all but sealing a successful qualification.
“I actually had a lot of fun out there. The track wasn’t my cup of tea, but today I had a lot of fun. We had a good balance in the car and I found my rhythm early.”, the Frankfurt, Germany driver said Saturday after the race.
New team driver Y. Hignet: “Some of the fastest cars came up from behind and put a lot of pressure on us, so we had to let them go eventually. But I felt really good. I’m super happy that we qualified and I’m already looking forward to the season.”, explained the Frenchman.
Meanwhile the team is now focused on preparing for the first championship round of the 2020-21 season that is only a mere three weeks away. The IVRA ClubSport Series starts its journey on October 24th in Wisconsin, at Road America and after six championship rounds, will conclude on March 6th, 2021 at Sebring.