JA Thrustmaster Championship kicks off in Germany
Three days after its launch, the Jon Armstrong Thrustmaster eRally Series has received almost 1000 entries for its opening round – Rally Germany.
Twelve fast and technical stages await the Rally2 (R5) drivers in Germany.
Entries include a nice mix of top real-life and virtual rally drivers. Reigning European and British Rally Champions, Chris Ingram and Matt Edwards have shown brilliant pace on other Dirt Rally 2.0 championships this year.
They are joined by virtual rallying stars Quintin Dallolmo, Pedro Silva, and Lukas Mateja. Mateja won the recent MN Chris Ingram Rally Challenge, beating Silva by just 2.4 seconds on the final round in Scotland.
The Baumholder stages provide a challenging mix of dusty asphalt, concrete, and cobblestone surfaces. The cobblestones in particular can be treacherous in wet conditions. Will rain make an appearance this week?
Series organiser, Armstrong, mastered Germany’s stages in the World Rally Championship, setting a fastest stage-time in WRC 2 on his R5 debut back in 2017.
“I recognise the flow and nature of the stages from my real-life experience. In sections, it looks very similar to the real stages which is awesome. There are a lot of junctions in Germany so it is quite technical. You really need to watch out for those hinkelsteins as it is based in a military range. The biggest challenge is picking braking points and getting as close to the hinkelsteins as you dare in order to carry as much speed as possible. For the car’s set-up try to go low and stiff with the suspension.”