Some people might still be wondering “Why DTM-inspired cars?” – it so happens the family we were racing for are big fans of the brands found (especially Mercedes-Benz) in the DTM series. This also helped us build a multi-level showdown that they would enjoy tuning into week after week on Twitch.
“Eric and Brad, Once again, thank you for all you have and continue to do to Make Your Mark on lupus. I’m excited to report that GTM raised $1465! Amazing!!! https://support.lupus.org/site/TR?px=2518875&pg=personal&fr_id=1652 – Thank you for making this happen and for raising funds and awareness for lupus within your community. If there is anything else we can do including any resources we can provide, please let me know. All the best” – Stacey Clark
We’d like to publicly recognize that all the proceeds from this Virtual Racing League are being donated on behalf of Ana Londono (wife of GTM member Matteo F) and their family, and in memory of Janet Novack (mother of Brad N) who passed from LUPUS. Below is a note from Matteo…
“Eric and Brad, I wanted to send you a note to thank you both for being so amazingly thoughtful in setting up a special event to raise money for the Lupus Foundation of America on behalf of Ana. To say that we have been a bit overwhelmed by this disease would be an understatement. That said, wanted to let you know that Ana is beginning to respond to the heavy duty treatment, and showing some improvement. Her kidneys have improved considerably, and hopefully once we get the Lupus flair up under control we will be able to use new meds to keep it under control. We are very fortunate that we live so close to Johns Hopkins and they have one of the best Lupus centers in the Nation. All that said, we are so appreciative for everything you and the GT Motorsports family have done and don’t know how we can ever make it up to you. Thanks again” – Matteo and Ana
Registration is open for the Digital Lupus Advocacy Summit. Join them virtually March 2-4 for the nation’s largest lupus advocacy event where you can learn the latest in lupus advocacy, research, drug development and programs that support people impacted by lupus. Register today!
Our new scoreboard really does explain it all!
If you’re a fan of IMSA-style racing, our multi-class VRL has really become the new norm, it’s challenging but also very rewarding. We brought back the “teaming” concept from Series-4 with manufacturer points as well as GTM vs GarageRiot scoring. This gave drivers a variety of ways to play, represent, and win in all different types of categories.
Congratulations to all the drivers in this series, but especially to Dave S for the overall championship win, his brother Ben S for winning the LMP class, followed by Jordan F taking both the GTLM and B-SPEC class wins. New member Sean R – racing on behalf of GarageRiot – had a great showing, which resulted in a tie between him and Tom W for 2nd in GTLM as well as a 3rd place finish in B-SPEC. Sean has also been recently added to the VRL committee to help plan Series #15! Kudos to “Disco Don C” for achieving something no other driver in the history of our VRL has ever done! Because of his work schedule he wasn’t able to play in person but leveraged our “Phone It In!” system (aka “playing from the PIT”) and managed a 6th place overall finish!
On a personal note, I was excited and proud to represent Ana and LUPUS.org by driving a Mercedes-powered vehicle (which happens to be her favorite marque). Despite the challenges of having limited cars to choose from, keeping them competitive, and balance of performance adjustments our 2nd place overall finish (3rd in LMP class) is a win for Ana, so thank you for letting me represent you in this battle and letting all of us support you in your on-going battle against LUPUS!
If you missed out on the action…
You can view all 8 rounds of racing through our livestream captures.
- Round 1: Daytona & Sebring
- Round 2: Catalunya & Brands Hatch (B-SPEC)
- Round 3: Homestead Roval (B-SPEC) & Laguna Seca
- Round 4: Monza & Mugello
- Round 5: Road America & Long Beach
- Round 6: VIR & Watkins Glen (mini-enduro)
- Round 7: SPA & YAS Marina (B-SPEC)
- Round 8: Championship – Petit LeMans at Road Atlanta
We want to thank ALL of the drivers, sponsors, fund-raisers, the VRL committee (members: Dave S, Tania M, Nicholas M, Don C and Tom W) and our named-partner in this event: GarageRiot!
It was a lot of work, and a lot of fun! We got very close to our initial $2000 goal, but even though we didn’t make it… every bit of the money we raised is going to help support LUPUS.org and aid the doctors, scientists, researchers and #lupuswarriors in finding a cure to this disease! Note: If you’d still like to donate, the campaign will remain open for a while longer, please see the details for donating in the original campaign article.
 for LUPUS, from the Winter of 2021.){kind=link}