The preseason race around the iconic Circuit Paul Ricard served as an exhilarating warmup for the eagerly anticipated start to the fifth season of the TSRC GT3 GT3 Series on Assetto Corsa Competizione. Despite only being a warmup race with no championship points at stake many of the drivers weren’t afraid to trade some paint.

Ethan Faulkner although a newcomer to the series, he made a statement to the series regulars by starting on pole position. Previous overall championship contenders and winners Sir Smoggi and Sam Fleetey only saw this as a new challenge. After a fair fight from start to finish, Smoggi came out on top at the chequered flag. Sir Smoggi will be confident going into the new season with him hoping to secure a third TSRC PC GT3 Series overall championship title.

Many returning drivers took the preseason race as an opportunity to test their new car choices. Highly respected drivers such Jamie Nuttall, Jack Southfield and Maurice Strijker were some of the drivers testing their new car choices, although they weren’t fighting for a win they showed glimpses of strong pace to be at the front again when the season starts.

A new season also means new drivers. Drivers Stuart Prior and Adam Brown have made the jump to this more competitive championship after making great progress in their abilities in the TSRC PC Rookie Series. We also see some completely new contenders to our TSRC championships such Jonas Hartig, Antonio Ferreira and Evandro Martins. Only time will tell how our new drivers will fit into our growing and challenging grid.

Every driver now that the preseason race has been completed will be put into Pro and Am classes, there will be two championships in play as they’re set to share the track in round one at Nürburgring.