The 2016 GPVWC International Touring cup is halfway over already. The team struggled to finish in the points regulary and is looking forward to an improved performance in the second half of the season. Here is our midseason report.

The team decided to keep the All-Peruvian lineup with Diego Carranza and Carlos Andres Ladines for their inagural season in the International Touring Cup. They also had talks with Nico Barclay to be their reserve driver and officially signed him after Round One.

The first three races took place at Donington Park. Qualifying saw the two STAX Racing cars near the back of the grid, as Diego Carranza was unable to set a time and Carlos Andres Ladines qualified 24th with a gap of almost five seconds to the Pole sitter. Unfortunately, things didn’t improve much during the first race, and the STAX Racing cars crossed the line in P23 and P24. In Race Two, both drivers gambled and put on wet tyres, but a drying track meant that they struggled to challenge for points. Carlos Andres Ladines finished in P19 while Diego Carranza was classified in P22 in the end. In Race Three, both drivers were able to make up two places compared to their starting positions, but ultimately the team left Donington Park without points on the table.

For Round Two at the Autódromo do Estoril, Nico Barclay substituted for Carlos Andres Ladines with very short notice. He qualified P12, while Diego Carranza started from P17. The team had high hopes to bounce back from the “pointless” opening round, however in the frantic first race they finished in P17 (Barclay) and P21 (Carranza), unable to score any points. With both drivers starting near the back of the grid, points would be hard to come by in race two. However, Nico Barclay had a race to remember, gaining 17 positions in an eleven lap race, finishing P7 and scoring the team’s first points in the International Touring Cup. Diego Carranza had to retire after he took a curb too aggressively and flipped the car. Connection problems meant that he did not start Race Three, while Nico Barclay scored more points by finishing in eight position.

The next round at Tor Poznań saw the team struggling again. In the days before the race it became apparent that neither Diego Carranza nor Carlos Andres Ladines would be able to make it to the race because of work commitments. Since the team management was on vacation with limited access to the internet, it was unable to secure another substitute driver alongside Nico Barclay. This meant that for the first time ever, STAX Racing was unable to field two cars for a race. Nico himself reported issues with his internet connection prior to the Polish Touring Cup and had limited time to work on a setup, so expectations of scoring much needed points were low. Nico qualified in P15, starting in the midfield. Unfortunately, he had connection issues and, just as the race was about to start, he timed out. Race Two was a bit better, but not by much, as he timed out after driving 200 meters and right before the first corner. Subsequently, he decided against starting the third race.

For the upcoming fourth round, Rob Mason will take over Carlos Andres Ladines’ seat. The Peruvian asked the team to find a replacement for him because he can’t guarantee that he can train for or participate in the upcoming rounds. We want to thank Carlos for his services in this series and are looking forward to work with him in the future.

The next round will be the French Touring Cup. It will be held on the Bugatti Circuit at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans on October, 3rd 2016 (19:00 GMT). You can watch the race live at www.gpvwc.com/tv.