Taking into account everything that’s come before, Series 12 was something special, the committee has been planning it for quite some time, and released it under a bit of duress. With everyone sheltering in place, it was the perfect time to launch what they though might be “the perfect series.” The team even put together a trailer (below) to set the mood for S12.
#SENDIT
Before we talk about who beat who, hot lap times and #POINTS! We definitely want to take a moment to recognize all the hard work that the committee puts into a successful VRL Series. And No.12 was no exception.
Their titles don’t really capture everything they do to put on a successful series. However, these GTM’ers spend countless hours reviewing post-race recordings and incidents, combing over and refining the rules, dealing with objections, penalties and protests, organizing the schedules … the list is huge and there aren’t enough “thank yous” for these folks. A virtual round of applause for the VRL committee! – #thanksworkers
Being Banked!
S12 brought us a whole new phenomenon, something we would *all* become accustomed to, something known as: “being Banked!” or “Banking a turn.” An honor that goes to none other than our very own Andrew B. Take a look at this uncut video – jump to 1:20 – and it pretty much explains it all.
The short of the long … penalty system be damned! #SENDIT – until you hit 12 points and then get DQ’d. Bonus – you might take some folks with ya along the way. #sorry-not-sorry. LOL. #thanksandrew.
No.12
All jokes aside, when the flags dropped … S12 did exactly what it was designed to do: create competition that was pretty intense. Having designed a whole new set of rules leveraging an in-game based penalty system, leveling the vehicle field made for some really exciting racing. As seen (below) in the recap of Opening Night.
After the initial chaos of starting a “new series” drivers really settled into a rhythm – flipping and flopping between Spec Miata’s and Formula Mazda’s paired with short/long tracks (often at the same venue) proved fun and also challenging. Overall the season was hard fought, with lots of position changes during the race, as well as on the leaderboards and standings. The NASCAR IROC exhibition races were a great way to break up the series and earn some extra points. #slingshotengaged #shakeandbake. You can quickly flip through the entire Series using the carousel below.
The Finale
What would a series be without some sort of GRAND FINALE?!? Traditionally, all VRLs up through No.11 have ended at Road Atlanta. But this time, the committee figured VIR was the perfect place to have a final showdown in our Spec Mazdas. It allowed us to have a double SSM race on South and Patroit Course, and a no holds barre showdown on the Full Course in FMs. Check out the Recap video (below).
Looking back, maybe not much changed from opening night but S12 helped unite us, break up the week, and get us through the last couple of months! – In the end, our multi-tasking mad man… Jordan F took a his second VRL Championship, and the overall S12 victory with a record 210 points. We had a total of 18 drivers in S12 and here’s how the final results looked.
| Driver | POINTS! |
| Jordan F | 210 |
| Eric M | 137 |
| Tania M | 112 |
| Don C | 105 |
| Tom W | 65 |
| Brad N | 63 |
| Dave S | 57 |
| Sam H | 52 |
| John C | 49 |
| John R | 36 |
| Andrew B | 28 |
| Jeremy R | 13 |
| Peter B | 8 |
| Steve F | 6 |
| Judd G | 2 |
| Kerwin W | 2 |
| Dave P | 2 |
What’s Next?
If you want to get more involved in VRL be sure to reach out to one of the committee members to talk more about whats involved, and how *you* can help. But the big question remains… Will there be a Series 13 ??? – unfortunately that is still up for debate. But one thing is for certain, we’re definitely going to take a break. Look for one final hoorah with FM7 (like we did for 6) before the “new XBOX” debuts during the holidays with an all new version of Forza.
In the meantime, we’re currently taking suggestions via a “People’s Choice” system so that you can cast your vote for what S13 would look like. Cast your votes here. — But if that isn’t enough, and you need to get your virtual racing fix, be sure to check out our VRL-but not-VRL Project Cars 2 races on fabulous race tracks like “that other one in Belgium, that isn’t SPA.” (below). #checkerflagdropped.
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