Driven Minds LMGT3 Challenge: Round 2 - Portimão
Race 1 - Day
Qualifying
32 cars lined up for the second round of the Driven Minds LMGT3 Challenge. I ended up P22 in qualifying—not great, not terrible. The only way was forward.
The Race
The lights went out, and I survived Turn 1 without drama by staying wide on the outside—lessons learned from Portimão’s past chaos (shoutout Sunrise Trilogy). I did get a light tap into Turn 3, but nothing serious—ironically from the same driver I hit in that infamous first corner months ago.
Then into Turn 5, I gently tapped a McLaren ahead. It didn’t look major, maybe just a bruised bumper, and I hoped the stewards would see it as a minor lap 1 racing incident. I gained two places and started Lap 2 in P20.
But then came Turn 15. The McLaren and Mustang ahead had a small moment, and a gap opened up on the inside. I was alongside the Mustang’s rear axle, so technically I had a right to be there—but it wasn’t a move worth making. I lifted… but too late. The Mustang came across, tagged me, then the other McLaren hit him. The Mustang survived, but two McLarens went skidding of track.
This time, I remembered to hold the brakes. The other McLaren didn’t, slammed the wall, and lost his wing. I rejoined in P30—damage limitation time.
The comeback began. I picked off an Aston Martin and joined a heated four-way scrap with three other McLarens fighting for P25-P28. (What do you even call a group of McLarens? A menace? A litter? A murder?) Eventually, we reeled in more traffic and I found myself in P23, now in a real fight with an Inception-liveried McLaren.
Around halfway, the tyres—bruised from the spin—started protesting. Still, I kept up the pressure and tapped another McLaren in Turn 8. My bad, but luckily the stewards let it slide.
The car ahead slowed, I passed him for P21, but now had a BMW and Ferrari breathing down my neck. I knew they were fast and probably only behind me due to earlier incidents. The fight was on.
The BMW got by when I overcooked Turn 3, but I stuck with him. He slid wide later on, and I clipped him trying to avoid a bigger hit. Ferrari behind me was now locked on target. My tyres? Fully checked out.
Despite some scrappy moments, I reclaimed the spot from the BMW, lost it again after more back-and-forth battling, and crossed the line in P22—exactly where I started.
Then the stewards did their thing… and I got promoted to P20. Not a bad recovery from dead last on Lap 2, and honestly? Some of the most fun racing yet.
Race 2 - Night
Quali - Rush Hour in the Pitlane
Normally, qualifying is set to private—each driver gets the track to themselves for a clean lap. But this time? Nope. Everyone was dumped into the same session, and with only five minutes to set a time, it turned into pit lane gridlock.
Fortunately, I got out early—just two cars ahead of me at the pit exit. Even better, they were two of the fastest drivers in the championship, so I wouldn’t be catching them anytime soon. Behind me was a driver I knew I had the pace on. Ideal buffer zone.
As chaos unfolded behind me, I stayed clear of traffic and put in a solid lap. Qualified P18—four places up from Race 1. Honestly? I kind of like this format. Adds a little tension to quali, and if you play it right, it can really work in your favor.
The Race - Pain
Where do I even begin?
Probably at the start—because that’s where it all went wrong. Possibly my biggest mistake in sim racing yet. Flat-out embarrassing.
After my best qualifying result of the season, I was lined up and laser-focused on the starting lights. Eyes locked. Finger twitching on the pit limiter. The moment they go green, I’m gone.
Then I see the 60 km/h sign pop up on screen.
Full send!
Except... the lights weren’t green. I’d jumped the start. Nearly rear-ended the car ahead, swerved to avoid it, and frantically tried to re-engage the limiter. In my panic, I double-tapped it. Off, on, off again. Absolute disaster.
Drive-through of shame..
By the time we got to the straight after Turn 4, I was down to P27—and to top it off, I’d been handed a drive-through penalty for jumping the start. Yep. Drive-through. For the one time I actually qualified well.
Luckily, there was a bit of carnage at the end of lap 1, so I dove into the pits from P24 and rejoined in... P27. Again.
With cold tyres and a cooked brain, I half-spun trying to rejoin. Damage limitation mode: activated—for the second race in a row.
Honestly? It was just one of those nights. I finished P22, and was later promoted to P20 after stewards' decisions—but that hardly made it feel better.
Am I cursed in this championship? Maybe. Or maybe just due for a redemption arc.
Post-Race - Reset and Focus
The custom SRR liveried 296 I’m switching to
Even if Portimão wasn’t my proudest moment, I’ve now got the new Sim Racing Rookie Ferrari 296 LMGT3 on track, and that alone gives me a boost. Mistakes happen—but I’m learning from every single one.
Next up: Interlagos. A track I’m not amazing at, but I absolutely love driving. And hey—fresh round, fresh start.
Want to see the action live?
Check out the official GRDC livestream with commentary from @kotks and @maxring18 on YouTube. You won’t want to miss it!
