After a classic Kyoto Ring Grand Prix, won by ZFRL Thehemuli in the last few meters, beating Mazdarati on the line, expectations were very high for the next event!

27 Retro Drivers presented themselves at the gates of the Berlin Retro Circuit, one of the most unique challenges of the season, with a huge parabolica corner, reminiscent of the old AVUS, combined with dangerous and tight street sections!

The race was expected to be action packed and rich of attritions, and it just delivered that, in what was the most dramatic round of the season yet, with plot twists lap after lap!

you can relive the entire event on SBTV!










We came into the Berlin event with ZFRL Thehemuli on a very good championship position: having won 4 out of 5 races, the finnish superstar had to gain 10 points over the championship rival, RG^RONY, to take the championship crown with one round in advance.

But we know the Racing Gods have a good sense of humor, as multiple big contenders presented themselves at the LMP1 paddock, ready to make life difficult for Thehemuli.

First of them was S1DUS Gàbor, back in the LMP1 car, ready to challenge the championship leader, this time on a McLarry veichle: but there were more contenders, with S1DUS Unite trying to get his first finish of the season and YES LAGOOGA, a super fast
driver, looking to get some McLarry action after his troublesome debut in Fern Bay with Group 5.

Pole position was set by S1DUS Gàbor, a man of many talents, fast in all veichles this season: the S1DUS ace started well from P1, but Thehemuli managed to get a good draft between the Parabolica and the Village corner, and took P1 back
from Gabor, who was also briefly passed by team-mate Unite.
Lagooga had to start from the back of the field due to a penalty taken in Fern Bay, so he started climbing back up the field with patience.
LG Mies, on the second Zafiralis machine, had a clean get off and positioned himself well up in the order after the first few laps.




Soon, the McLarry strenght started to creep out as Gàbor utilized all the immense horse power available on the vintage car, taking P1 back from Thehemuli on the main straight!

The S1DUS ace managed to start create a gap over the Zafiralis driver in the next few laps, but Thehemuli was good with P2, enough for him to take the title over RG^Rony, who was behind on track.

But the Retro Race Gods threw another twist in the championship fight, as champ leader Thehemuli suffered a lag spike in the most dangerous section of the track, smashing into the tyre barriers and barrel rolling out of the circuit.
The finnish driver had to jump back in the pit-lane and start again, losing a full minute before re-joining the action.

Gabor flew away solo in the lead of the race, with Unite in provisional P2: at this point, RG^RONY had a golden chance to finish in a good position and steal precious points from Thehemuli to keep his championship hopes alive going
into the Season Finale 2 hours, double points round.

But yet another shocker hit Berlin, as Rony started to struggle to keep his car on track in the last part of the race: he spun into the Brandeburg's Gate plaza first, before crashing into the tyres barriers at the exit of the section.
At that point, the veteran Race Green driver reversed back on the racing line, without noticing that a full speed race leader Gabor was coming hot: the contact was violent, sending both cars airbone, with Gabor landing on his roof.







The S1DUS ace was forced to jump back into the pits and loose a full minute of time, before rejoining the track, while Rony was able to continue and repair the damaged car in the pit-lane.
Further drama erupted as the leader of the race Unite, had to pit for big damages, losing 51 seconds between the incident and the double pit-stop.

At that moment, a race of hotlaps started, with the protagonist on track virtually on the same lap despite the issues: Thehemuli and Gabor started pushing wildly fast, virtually still racing for the win despite the lost minute, while Unite tried his best to go as fast as possible!

S1DUS Unite took the chequered flag first on track with his first finish of the season, a big effort for the S1DUS star, but a look at the total laptimes told another truth: with its monster pace, Gàbor still managed to win the race,
with over 30 seconds over the second classified driver, who is THEHEMULI, win an heroic effort and a fastest lap after his early crash, and Unite slots in third, further 7 seconds back.

P2 on the road and a fastest lap means that Thehemuli is crowned as the NEW PROTOTYPE 1 champion, a much deserved title after a glorious campaign for the Zafiralis superstar, with 4 victories and still counting!
Two back to back LMP1 titles for Thehemuli who proves once again to be the complete package when it comes to Endurance Racing!

Just who can beat him next season?
We're sure there will be plenty of pretenders for the main Retro Cup crown, and surprises may come already in the next and final race of the season, at Westhill de la Sarthe!









Even before the season all the bookmakers knew that Mazdarati was going to be the man to beat this year.
A Live for Speed ace, capable of insane race stints, back to LMP2 after a season in LMP1, trying to compete against the faster McLarrys and Beta cars despite the inferior Wessex machinery!

Arriving at Berlin, Mazdarati only had to score 7 points more than his historic rival, RG^LORENZO, to claim the title with one race in advance.

But the italian of Race Green had all the intentions to make it hard for Mazdarati, and take the championship battle to Westhill de la Sarthe: RG^LORENZO started aggressive, sitting in the tail of Mazdarati in the Parabolica corner, before diving on the inside line in the big braking zone of the Village corner.

Wheel to wheel action for the title, as Lorenzo overtook Mazdarati and tried to create a gap in the first few laps of the race!

Behind the two leaders, [SQUID] SIMOX started well, fighting with RG^Rayman and the class newcomer, W/ Naluyluka, a well known fast driver in the LFS community.



But the title drama erupted ahead: RG^LORENZO was actually creating a gap over Mazdarati in the first few laps, pushing hard, maybe too hard.
The italian encountered Road Traffic in the final few corners, and as soon as he jumped on the brakes the rears locked up, sending him into a wild spin into the wall, damaging his clutch.

Mazdarati saw the drama and overtook Lorenzo, launching himself into the lead of the race: Lorenzo had to pit to repair the terminal clutch damage, losing lots of time: that means SIMOX, Rayman and Naluyluka jumped in P2, P3, and P4 provisional.

But further drama happened in lap 4, as Naluyluka misjudged the Brandenburg's gate plaza hairpin, touching the back of Rayman and sending him rolling over the asphalt.
Race was basically over for both of them at that point.

This means Mazdarati was solo on the lead by Lap 5, followed by [SQUID]Simox who started showing really great pace, lap after lap, keeping Mazdarati on target for the vast majority of the race.

Eventually, Mazdarati kept his cool all day, despite all the Berlin drama and traffic dangers, taking the finish line with his hands up as he took the chequered flag as the NEW LMP2 CHAMPION!

Another incredible season for Mazdarati, who confirms to be the Wessex Whisperer, with 5 races out of 6 so far, almost never putting a wheel off the track, always delivering great performances!

P2 on track for a superb [SQUID]Simox, in his best race of the season so far after another good showing in Blackwood, where he recovered from the back of the field to a podium.
Final place on the podium for RG^LORENZO, who recovered well after his early spin: the italian has to abandon his title campaign, but he tried everything he could in the first few laps to dethrone his historic rival Mazdarati!









The Group 5 title battle is getting more and more interesting race after race.

The story of the season so far have been intriguing, with [SyN] HIWATT, always showing good performances from Day 1, and scoring consistently in every round despite never showing race-winning pace.
Behind him, a list of contenders showed up, but almost none of them showed the consistency needed to fight for the title.

Among them, [MRC]TimDC was looking like one of the main candidates, but dropped out of the season early despite good performances, while S1DUS Gàbor was unbeatable when present, but he lost many points while racing
in other classes, chasing for glory.

Only one of them showed title winning consistency, and that's [MRC]Cride, who showed great speed from Day 1 in the Group 5 class, and started to gain back lots of points to Hiwatt, race after race, winning 3 events in the process.

We arrived in Berlin with the two of them separated by just 1 point: [MRC]Cride took a commanding pole position, ahead of [CM]AkaiAP, who showed good things already in Kyoto Ring, and HIWATT slotting in P3 ahead of the newcomer [MRC]Samet.



Hiwatt had a better start than his rival Cride, as the two of them went almost side by side at the Parabolica, with HIWATT launching an attack under braking towards the Village corner: but Cride kept his cool and outbraked the rival, defending his P1.

In all this action, Hiwatt lost position to Akai too, who slotted in provisional P2, trying to match Cride's pace: but the leader was unstoppable today.

Driving his purple retro-wave colourful Ford Mustang (already one of the main candidates for livery of the year!), Cride started to create a gap over Akai, lap after lap, and most importantly he kept it clean all race long.

Behind him, Akai and Hiwatt exchanged position a couple of times, and eventually came to the blows by mid race, with Akai pulling off a spectacular overtake into the Parabolica corner.

Samet had a very promising first stint, not far from the drivers ahead, but eventually damaged his car and was forced for long repair works, losing precious time.
He was also involved in a controversial crash with Rony, at the center of the Stewards target in Berlin.

But ahead, it was CRIDE who was taking the Berlin's win in dominant fashion, putting more than a lap over his rivals and even threatening the LMP2 of RG^LORENZO for overall in the closing stages.
Akai confirms his Kyoto impressions by finishing P2 ahead of HIWATT, while Samet completes a good debut Retro Cup Race in P4.

A masterful performance, that sets CRIDE as the main championship favourite going into Westhill de la Sarthe, but HIWATT with today's P3 is still in total contention, just a few points behind, and will give it all in the finale!









The biblical battle between YES Trespasser and [MRc]Suforr enters a new, exciting chapter in Berlin: these two have been showing some of the best Road Class racing you'll ever see since Round 3 of the season.
From Blackwood to Berlin, passing through Fern Bay and Kyoto, these two have been literally glued between each other every race.

So far, Trespasser always came out as the winner of the head to head battle, but things may change in Berlin, as B2R Stiefla is also back in contention along with the historic group of Road Class elite drievrs,
including S.Martin, Donald, Madjester, M@ci3k, O.A, Hermanni and the newcomer [MRC]Pablo.

Trespasser managed to take Pole Position, but Suforr had a great start, taking the rival's slipstream from the get go and overtaking him into the Parabolica corner!
Trespasser even had to get bit defensive with GUM||Donald, who was looking to get the inside line into the Village corner, while the wild pack of road cars approached the street section.

But drama just only started, and a potentially championship decisive moment, with title contender S.Martin touching the back of B2R Stiefla into the Brandeburg's plaza section, sending him into a spin.
A fair player by nature, S.Martin apologized immediately and waited for the rival, losing lots of positions in the meantime.

This exposed him to the attack of [MRC]Pablo: the newcomer can S.Martin entered the Parabolica corner side by side, with Pablo on the inside, but the rookie lost the back of the car on exit, while S.Martin was trying to get a swich-back: the contact was inevitable, as the two slammed HARD into the barriers.

A racing incident, but with dramatic consquences: S.Martin had compromised suspensions, and was forced to complete a full lap in bad state before entering pit-lane to repair damage.
A moment that could cost Martin the championship.

Meanwhile, at the front Trespasser and Suforr began their own battle, exchanging position multiple times, with fair overtakings, switchbacks and action for the delight of the commentators!





But in Berlin, traffic always plays a huge role in the final result, every year: and was the same this time, as Suforr and Trespasser got involved in numerous dangerous situations with faster cars having their moments, as the gap between the two rivals spread out a bit in the closing stages.

Trespasser was trying to recover a 1 second gap, but made a fatal mistake in the sweeping section of the train station, smashing into the wall hard and losing further seconds from the leader.

This time, Suforr didn't put a wheel wrong all day long, remaining ice cold under pressure as the [MRC] talent took his first, great victory of the season in Berlin!

P2 on track for Trespasser, who is now the absolute championship favourite going into Westhill de la Sarthe with a 24 points lead over S.Martin, who struggled all day long to finish P7 in class.

Road Class podium is completed by GUM||Donald, a great championship protagonist with a win and multiple podiums: P4 for SGR Madjester, back on form, ahead of RG^M@CI3k who's having quite a silent season, stil ahead of B2R Stiefla who had all kind of dramas during the race.

S.Martin and Hermanni completes the finishers, with O.A retired for technical issues.

The championship is going right down to the wire in Westhill de la Sarthe, as we expect another classic, with S.Martin trying everything to repeat the race victory of last year and take the title right down to the wire!














Retro Cup 25 is coming to a closure in less than two weeks, with the most anticipated race of the season, the 2 HOURS OF WESTHILL DE LA SARTHE taking place on Monday, December 8th!

A spectacular location for the season finale, with a track reminiscent of the Circuit de la Sarthe of Le Mans, with super fast, never seen before outskirts sections combined with technical corners and chicanes.

A race that will see the introduction of the Group 4 class, as we expect lots of new faces on the grid, trying to conquer the Group 4 special trophy awarded for the final event!

More details and full info on the final race of the season will be published during the week, but you CAN'T MISS Monday's TEST RACE for the season finale!

A perfect chance to practice the layout, prodecuders and test the new cars one week before the official event!

See you on track this monday for the test, starting at 20.30 CET/19.30 GMT with a 30 min open quali, followed by a 45 min test race, starting at 21.10 CET/20.10 GMT!