2014. Despite the year for TUSN starting in April, it was an active year for the company. A lot of championships, and a lot of stories. So, where we should begin?
First, we are starting with Formula GT Championship, from World Motorsports Federation. Twelve drivers, six teams, ten racetracks, one champion! How it happened? Well, let's find out!
Before reviewing the races, let's start obviously with the beginning! From March to May, the teams confirmed their participation and confirmed the drivers.
Back in March, Skacel Racing, Axion Motorsports, AMI, Inc. confirmed their participation, with AMI already confirming Jodie Hill, and No Name Racing, who brought the 18-year old Alex Julià. In April, No Name Racing, Team Hurricane, Winged Eagle Racing and A-B Motorsports confirmed their participation, with the latter one fusing with AMI, Inc., becoming AMI, Inc. / A-B Motorsports. Then, many drivers were confirmed, in April. Drivers such as Tomas Meilutis, Tuomas Sembrant, Daniel Forster, Martjin Bresler, Alex Florentino, Michael Bootsma, Jonathan Ledecky and Kyle Ledecky. In May, Alex Palotta was the penultimate driver to sign. Two days later, the final driver to sign was Akira Tanahashi, 20 days before the first race.
Let's talk quickly about the teams and drivers before the season review begins:
- No Name Racing = Alex Julià (Andorra) and Alex Florentino (Namibia) = Julià was 18 years old and Florentino was 23. There was a lot of controversy about Julià because of his age and lack of experience. It was thought that Florentino was going to lead the team and Julià would learn from Florentino.
- Axion Motorsports = Michael Bootsma (United States) and Tomas Meilutis (Lithuania) = Bootsma was 25 years old and Meilutis was 26. Bootsma is an aggressive driver, while Meilutis has a smooth driving style. Anything could happen here, because of Bootsma's short fuse in his temper that could destroy his chances for a championship win.
- Winged Eagle Racing = Jonathan Ledecky and Kyle Ledecky (both from United States) = Jonathan, who was 25 years old, and Kyle, who was 22, are brothers, and the owner of the team is their father. A family team, needless to say. Jonathan, more experienced, was the one that would lead the team.
- Team Hurricane = Tuomas Sembrant (Sweden) and Alex Palotta (United States) = Palotta was 23 years old, while Sembrant was 29. An enigmatic team, due to lack of patience from both drivers, when they try a move, like an overtake. A risky move from the team owner, but it could work.
- AMI, Inc. / A-B Motorsports = Jodie Hill and Daniel Forster (both from South Africa) = Hill was 25 years old, and Forster was 24. The favorite team to win the drivers and teams championships. Hill, despite being a very aggressive driver, can alternate aggressive with smooth driving at the right moment. Forster is an aggressive driver, as well, but can have his moments of smooth driving.
- Skacel Racing = Martjin Bresler (South Africa) and Akira Tanahashi (Japan) = Martjin was 31 years old, while Akira was 25. Martjin is very experienced and could not only lead the team but could help Akira, a very aggressive driver, who has a horrible habit of suffering accidents.
There would be 2 groups with 6 drivers each:
Group 1: Akira Tanahashi, Alex Florentino, Alex Palotta, Tomas Meilutis, Daniel Forster and Jonathan Ledecky
Group 2: Martjin Bresler, Alex Julià, Tuomas Sembrant, Michael Bootsma, Jodie Hill and Kyle Ledecky
The first round was on May 23rd, 2014 (Friday), at the Anj street circuit. Surprisingly, Akira Tanahashi and Tuomas Sembrant won the races. While Tanahashi had a tough race with Alex Florentino, who finished 2nd in the group 1 race, Tuomas Sembrant won with a 4 second gap over Martjin Bresler. Daniel Forster and Sembrant scored the fastest laps, but since Forster had a faster lap, he was the one who got the extra point.
Drivers standings (Top 6) : Akira Tanahashi and Tuomas Sembrant 30 points, Alex Florentino and Martjin Bresler 18 points, Tomas Meilutis and Alex Julià 15 points
Teams standings (Top 3) : Skacel Racing 48 points, Team Hurricane 35 points and No Name Racing 34 points
Round two was on June 7th, 2014 (Saturday), at the Cam street circuit. Both race winners had tough races, with Akira Tanahashi defeating Jonathan Ledecky by 0.12 seconds in Race 1, and Jodie Hill defeating Alex Julià by 1.16 second, after a vicious battle during the whole race. Akira Tanahashi and Tuomas Sembrant were the drivers who scored the fastest lap, but Tanahashi had a faster lap, so he got the extra point.
Drivers standings (Top 6) : Akira Tanahashi 60 points, Tuomas Sembrant and Jodie Hill 40 points, Alex Julià 33 points, Jonathan Ledecky 28 points and Tomas Meilutis 25 points
Teams standings (Top 3) : Skacel Racing 83 points, AMI Inc. / A-B Motorsports 58 points and No Name Racing 56 points
Round three was on June 28th, 2014 (Saturday), at the USA oval circuit. Race 1 was unbeliveable. During lap 1, there was a collision involving Akira Tanahashi and Tomas Meilutis, that directly affected both drivers, but they made a huge recovery during the race. The gap between the winner Jonathan Ledecky and fourth place driver Daniel Forster was 0.92 seconds. (1st J.Ledecky, 2nd Florentino +0.51, 3rd Palotta +0.83, 4th Forster +0.92). Race 2, however, was less troubled, with Michael Bootsma winning the race and the extra point for the fastest lap.
Drivers standings (Top 6) : Akira Tanahashi 65 points, Jonathan Ledecky 58 points, Michael Bootsma and Alex Julià 51 points, Jodie Hill 50 points and Tuomas Sembrant 42 points
Teams standings (Top 3) : Skacel Racing 93 points, No Name Racing 92 points, Axion Motorsports and AMI, Inc. / A-B Motorsports 78 points
Round four was on July 13th, 2014 (Sunday), at the BkH oval circuit. Race 1 had an upset win by Alex Palotta, who was the 11th in the standings before this race. Race 2 had Kyle Ledecky finishing second and scoring the extra point for the fastest lap. But most important, Jodie Hill won the race and became the new drivers standings leader.
Drivers standings (Top 6) : Jodie Hill 80 points, Akira Tanahashi 75 points, Michael Bootsma 61 points, Jonathan Ledecky 60 points, Tuomas Sembrant 57 points and Alex Florentino 56 points
Teams standings (Top 3) : AMI, Inc. / A-B Motorsports 126 points, Skacel Racing 121 points, Team Hurricane and No Name Racing 109 points
Round five was on July 18th, 2014 (Friday), at the JhqBy street circuit. Tomas Meilutis had no problems to win Race 1. Race 2, however, despite being not problematic for the winner as well, it was famous for having the 18-year old Alex Julià as the race winner. Tuomas Sembrant got the extra point for the fastest lap.
Drivers standings (Top 6) : Jodie Hill and Akira Tanahashi 90 points, Alex Julià 83 points, Jonathan Ledecky 78 points, Michael Bootsma 76 points and Tomas Meilutis 62 points
Teams standings (Top 3) : AMI, Inc. / A-B Motorsports and No Name Racing 141 points, Axion Motorsports 138 points
Round six was on July 31st, 2014 (Thursday), at the Germany road circuit. Jonathan Ledecky and Michael Bootsma won Races 1 and 2, respectively, with no problem. Despite having a horrible championship, Martjin Bresler, at least, could have a reason to be happy, as he scored the extra point for the fastest lap.
Drivers standings (Top 6) : Jonathan Ledecky 108 points, Michael Bootsma 106 points, Alex Julià 101 points, Jodie Hill and Akira Tanahashi 95 points, Alex Palotta 80 points
Teams standings (Top 3) : Axion Motorsports 183 points, Winged Eagle Racing 179 points and No Name Racing 161 points
Round seven was on August 8th, 2014 (Friday), at the IronB oval circuit. Tomas Meilutis easily won Race 1, while Jodie Hill won Race 2 after a lengthy battle with Tuomas Sembrant. Daniel Forster got the extra point for the fastest lap.
Drivers standings (Top 6) : Jodie Hill 125 points, Michael Bootsma 121 points, Alex Julià 111 points, Jonathan Ledecky 110 points, Tomas Meilutis 107 points, Akira Tanahashi 100 points
Teams standings (Top 3) : Axion Motorsports 228 points, AMI Inc. / A-B Motorsports 202 points and Winged Eagle Racing 186 points.
Round eight was on August 17th, 2014 (Sunday), at the Kny road circuit. It was the day of the Ledecky brothers, since Jonathan won Race 1 with ease, and Kyle won Race 2 with a bit of challenge from Jodie Hill. Kyle also got the extra point for the fastest lap.
Drivers standings (Top 6) : Jodie Hill 143 points, Jonathan Ledecky 140 points, Tomas Meilutis 125 points, Michael Bootsma 123 points, Alex Julià 116 points and Alex Palotta 108 points
Teams standings (Top 3) : Axion Motorsports 248 points, Winged Eagle Racing 247 points and AMI, Inc. / A-B Motorsports 225 points
Round nine was on August 21st, 2014 (Thursday), at the MsZ oval circuit. Both races were really tight, especially the first one, where Tomas Meilutis won after defeating Akira Tanahashi by 0.07 seconds, the shortest winning difference of the category, so far. Tuomas Sembrant won Race 2, with a 0.41 seconds gap over Jodie Hill. Michael Bootsma got the extra point for the fastest lap.
Drivers standings (Top 6) : Jodie Hill 161 points, Tomas Meilutis 155 points, Jonathan Ledecky 150 points, Michael Bootsma 139 points, Alex Julià 126 points and Alex Palotta 126 points
Teams standings (Top 3) : Axion Motorsports 294 points, Winged Eagle Racing 259 points and AMI, Inc. / A-B Motorsports 245 points
The last round happened on September 7th (Sunday), at the Met85 street circuit. Only Jodie Hill, Tomas Meilutis, Jonathan Ledecky and Michael Bootsma were fighting for the drivers title. Four teams (Axion, WER, AMI/A-B and Team Hurricane) had chances to win the teams title, although, Axion was the odds-on favourite due to having a 35 point advantage over the second place team. Race 1 proved to be amazing for Meilutis, since he won it, while Ledecky was fourth. Now Meilutis would have to wait for Race 2. If Hill won, he would have been the champion. But after a series of mistakes, Jodie Hill could only finish fourth. The race was won by Kyle Ledecky. Alex Florentino got the extra point for the fastest lap.
Final standings: Tomas Meilutis 185 points, Jodie Hill 171 points, Jonathan Ledecky 160 points, Michael Bootsma 154 points, Alex Julià 144 points, Kyle Ledecky 139 points, Akira Tanahashi 135 points, Alex Palotta and Tuomas Sembrant 125 points, Alex Florentino 109 points, Daniel Forster 89 points and Martjin Bresler 73 points.
Final teams standings: Axion Motorsports 339 points, Winged Eagle Racing 299 points, AMI, Inc. / A-B Motorsports 260 points, No Name Racing 253 points, Team Hurricane 250 points and Skacel Racing 208 points.
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