Session 8913 - Watkins Glen International, Usa

October 03, 2026 10:48am

Race

Quick Stats

Track Length: 5.434 km
Most Distance Covered: 12 laps, 65.208 km
Simulator Used: GTR2

Race report: Horta Claims Watkins Glen Win But Misses Out on Flying Sol

Chris Durand (Gravity Racing): "We had a highly optimized aerodynamic package today, which unfortunately only served to give us an excellent, unobstructed view of a Corvette pulling away at several hundred meters per minute."

The Formula Duude division descended upon Watkins Glen International for a 12-lap sprint that ultimately demonstrated the efficiency of American displacement over complex European engineering, though not without a minor mathematical insult to the victor.

Fernando Horta, starting from 13th position in the #63 Corvette C6-R, executed a steady progression through the field. While pole-sitter Chris Durand led the opening laps in the Gravity Racing Mosler MT900R, the order behind him dissolved rapidly. According to telemetry, Horta had bypassed the mid-pack traffic to sit seventh by the end of the first lap, and climbed to third on Lap 2 behind Durand and Vlado Kenats. A decisive maneuver on Lap 3 brought the Corvette to second, and by Lap 4, Horta assumed a lead he would not relinquish for the remainder of the afternoon.

The mid-race phase was characterized by Horta extending his margin, much to the quiet concern of his pit wall. Crew Chief Alan Donatellofson, monitoring the telemetry with his trademark lack of enthusiasm, was forced to intervene on Lap 8. Over the radio, Donatellofson sarcastically reminded Horta that he possessed a fifteen-second lead and should focus on staying on the pavement rather than testing the structural integrity of the Watkins Glen barriers.

While Horta maintained his commanding lead to finish 18.3 seconds clear of Durand, the real battle was fought against the stopwatch in the closing stages. Sol Leung, occupying sixth place in the Reiter Engineering Lamborghini Gallardo, had quietly set a blistering pace of 1:44.965. Upon seeing the Reiter entry claim the fastest lap on his dashboard, Horta mounted a late-race charge, pushing his Corvette to its absolute limit on Lap 12. Despite his efforts, Horta crossed the line with a personal best of 1:44.984—falling short of Leung's benchmark by an agonizing 19 milliseconds.

Behind the lead duo, Vlado Kenats secured the final step of the podium for Multimatic Motorsport, resisting a late challenge from Sam Rolfe's Gumpert Apollo. Eric Marecki completed the top five in the Phoenix Racing Audi R8, finishing just ahead of the flying Leung.

Post-Race Press Gaggle

Barry Cade (The Armco Gazette): Asked if missing the fastest lap tarnished an otherwise dominant victory, Horta was gracious regarding his rival's pace.

Fernando Horta: "When I started the last lap and saw Sol's name there, I pushed like a mad man. Got close, really close, but couldn't beat him. Kudos to him and his insanely fast Lambo!"

Otto Mobile (The Daily Tread): Questioned Durand on the deficit, with the Gravity Racing driver noting that his car ran flawlessly but simply lacked the straight-line speed of the winning Corvette.

Miles Behind (The Backmarker Quarterly): Asked if the team was satisfied, Donatellofson concluded the session by stating he was entirely pleased with the maximum points and planned to catch an early flight home to escape the paddock questions.

Ps. Mansell, your seat is still warm, mostly because someone left the telemetry laptop on it.

Disclaimer: This is a fictional, satirical report of a offline race against AI-driven opponents. All characters are fictional. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental

Classification

Position	Driver	Team	Car	Laps	Gap	Grid	Best Lap
1	FERNANDO HORTA	CORVETTE RACING	CHEVROLET CORVETTE C6-R GT2	12	0:21:30.296	13	1:44.984
2	CHRIS DURAND	GRAVITY RACING	MOSLER MT900R	12	+ 18.372	1	1:46.557
3	VLADO KENATS	MULTIMATIC MOTORSPORT	PANOZ ESPERANTE GTLM	12	+ 19.827	3	1:46.485
4	SAM ROLFE	HHF HYBRID RACING	GUMPERT APOLLO	12	+ 22.753	4	1:46.507
5	ERIC MARECKI	PHOENIX RACING	AUDI R8 GT3 LMS	12	+ 29.385	8	1:47.135
6	SOL LEUNG	REITER ENGINEERING	LAMBORGHINI GALLARDO LP560	12	+ 29.970	10	1:44.965
7	JON WATHEN	MASERATI CORSE	MASERATI TROFEO LIGHT	12	+ 35.293	5	1:47.578
8	DAVID POEL	SPYKER SQUADRON	SPYKER C8 SPYDER GT2-R	12	+ 37.938	9	1:46.873
9	BRAD MERYS	CHAMBERLAIN MOTORSPORT	TVR T400R	12	+ 38.445	2	1:47.854
10	LOU MASCIARELLI	JMB RACING	FERRARI F430 GT2	12	+ 38.808	6	1:46.649
11	CHRIS MOSES	BMW MOTORSPORT	BMW E46 M3 GTR	12	+ 39.600	7	1:47.578
12	GUP DOUGLAS	BMW MOTORSPORT	BMW E46 M3 GTR	12	+ 39.955	11	1:48.358
13	GILLES CHEVRIER	AF CORSE	FERRARI F430 GT2	12	+ 40.288	15	1:46.592
14	MITCH VAMOS	KRK RACING	VIPER COMPETITION COUPE	12	+ 42.217	14	1:47.503
15	JOHNNY LUGNUTS	JMB RACING	FERRARI F430 GT2	12	+ 42.861	23	1:46.733
16	MARTIN CHEVRIER	MULTIMATIC MOTORSPORT	PANOZ ESPERANTE GTLM	12	+ 43.198	18	1:47.428
17	DREW LIDKEA	HEXIS RACING	ASTON MARTIN DBRS9	12	+ 43.645	25	1:47.820
18	SIMON GOODWIN	HEXIS RACING	ASTON MARTIN DBRS9	12	+ 44.474	12	1:48.154
19	TONY ATKINS	ROCKETSPORTS RACING	JAGUAR XKR GT	12	+ 45.193	17	1:48.103
20	TRACY NOLTE	AF CORSE	FERRARI F430 GT2	12	+ 45.630	20	1:47.767
21	CHUCK CARTER	MASERATI CORSE	MASERATI TROFEO LIGHT	12	+ 46.110	16	1:47.468
22	VINCENT LOI	REITER ENGINEERING	LAMBORGHINI GALLARDO LP560	12	+ 46.523	28	1:47.784
23	THIAGO CANOLA	FLYING LIZARD MOTORSPORT	PORSCHE 996 GT3-RSR	12	+ 47.223	24	1:47.732
24	ROBERT OTTO	DRAYSON RACING	ASTON MARTIN VANTAGE GT2	12	+ 47.927	27	1:48.232
25	DAVID CANAVAN	SCHUBERT MOTORSPORT	BMW Z4 GT3	12	+ 48.265	19	1:47.516
26	GREGORY MYERS	KISSLING MOTORSPORT	CHEVROLET CORVETTE ZO6R GT3	12	+ 48.743	26	1:48.363
27	ROY SIMMONS	ROCKETSPORTS RACING	JAGUAR XKR GT	12	+ 49.772	21	1:48.460
28	BJÖRN HEHMANN	GRAVITY RACING	MOSLER MT900R	12	+ 50.068	29	1:48.565
29	KURTIS CHANDLER	SCHUBERT MOTORSPORT	BMW Z4 GT3	12	+ 50.348	30	1:47.977
30	RICH HROMIN	MATECH MUSTANG RACING	FORD MUSTANG FR500-GT	12	+ 51.403	22	1:48.472

Lap Chart

Position at the end of every lap, FERNANDO HORTA highlighted. Hover a line or a name to follow a driver, click or tap to keep it highlighted; dashed lines are cars that retired.