CSRO's Caribbean GT3/4 Championship commences tonight...

As was mentioned in a previous article (here), the Caribbean SIM-Racing organisation will, for the first time, have the GT3 and GT4 classifications on the grid simultaneously. Tonight we go racing for the first time in the Caribbean GT3/4 Championship at the Daytona International Speedway out at Daytona Beach, Florida. The organisers have chosen to use the suitable 5.729 km Sports Car Course/ Daytona Road Course, which features 12 turns, three of which are banks ranging from 2-31 degrees. The record lap is set at 01:33.724 by Alex Palou in his Cadillac DPi-V.R in the year 2022. The facility has been open since 1959.

CSRO's Caribbean GT3/4 Round #1 Banner

During their six days free practice session, there has been some controversy as to whether the cars are well balanced utilising the CSRO's BOP (Balance of Performance) methods. At the beginning of the week, several manufacturers had their BOP reviewed and changed in a bid to have closer racing. Simulated runs were utilized in acquiring the new BOP settings and are based on one-stint runs. Officials are claiming throughout the race the dynamic will be very interestingly developed as the drivers go racing for the first time in their allotted machinery.

GT3

Speaking of drivers and their machines here are the times at the end of the six days of the free practice session; Dominic Charles out of Trinidad and Tobago piloted his Audi R8 LMS EVO to the top of the charts with a 1:45.773 even though complaining of balance issues, he said it was unlikely he could keep that pace throughout the sixty minutes of the race. Kurt Moss of Jamaica was back and setting the closest time to challenge Dominic in his Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO; 1:45.973 was the time set by Kurt as he mentioned that time being a very hard one to grab, proving that even the vets in this are having to challenge themselves. Trailing the second position is Jamaican Nathan Bryan in his Bentley Continental GT3 with a time of 1:46.127 in the third position. In the fourth position is Guyanese Oswyne Wilson also driving a Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO with a time of 1:46.678 and to round up the top five is Trinidadian Andrew Marsan in his Audi R8 LMS EVO with a time of 1:46.710. All times were based on 15:00 hours (-4UTC) press time.

GT4

In the GT4 classification, Trinidadian Declan Daniel managed to set a blistering 1:54.629 in his Porsche 718 Cayman Clubsport and has caused some talk in the paddock as to whether the Porsche is evenly balanced. It has caused the technical body within the CSRO to look into the issue. He managed to set himself above and beyond the rest, as the closest time trailing was set by Guyanese Raul Partab at 1:55.674 in his Alpine A110 GT4. Jamaican Sebastian Palmer returned to racing with us and managed third-best with 1:56.187 in his Audi R8 LMS GT4. Jamaican Rojaun Reid is back in racing form and showed out with a 1:56.611 to claim the fourth position in his Alpine A110 GT4 while his countryman Javaughn Taylor failed to set a competitive time to show but did manage the rounding fifth position with a time of 2:00.856 in his Mercedes AMG GT4. All times were based on 15:00 hours (-4UTC) press time.

CSRO's 2022 August Caribbean GT3/4 Championship is a four-round series that will last the month of August with races set for Sundays in the month commencing with a twenty minutes Qualifying Session from 7 pm (-4UTC). For more on the series view its website landing page here: CGT3/4 Landing Page. There are a total of twenty-four competitors signed up separated by the GT3 and GT4 classification boasting thirteen and eleven competitors respectively. You may view every event live from the CSRO's YouTube channel linked here: CSRO's YouTube Channel

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The 2022 August Caribbean GT3/4 Championship's Grid is Set...

The Caribbean SIM-Racing Organisation's (CSRO) 2022 August Caribbean GT3/4 Championship Qualifiers came to an end this past Saturday and the Grid has been set with a total of twenty-three competitors. As mentioned in a previous article (here), it will be the first time the CSRO team will host a mixed grid championship that will place both classifications of GT3 and GT4 competitors to compete alongside each other.

After the completion of the qualifiers, the names of the competitors were then entered into a lottery where their cars were chosen by a random automated system hosted by the staff of the organisation. Several competitors were present and all choices were deemed to be fair and agreed upon for the championship to move forward.

Paying keen attention to the times submitted by the competitors in the qualifiers, the grid was split to ascertain the competitors who will be competing within the GT3 and GT4 Categories. See the following images provided of this:

Competitors and Final Qualifier Times

Competitors in the GT3 Classification.

Competitors in the GT4 Classification.

Mikhail Charles had Qualified within the GT3 class but due to a computer malfunction, it is unlikely he will be competing. Declan Daniel failed to submit a time and as such, he will be evaluated within the practice format for him to be properly posted to a classification. Competitors are already on track and have been turning over times for the first round of the event, scheduled for this Sunday, the 7th of August at 7 pm (-4UTC) at the Daytona International Speedway. More on this in a follow-up report but for now, we are eager to go racing again and in this format, we hope you're just as eager to watch it go down live on our YouTube Channel. Don't forget to Subscribe and be sure to pop that Like button, it helps, like, seriously... really, like every video on our channel... please... thanks!

YouTube Channel Linked here: CSRO YouTube Channel.

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Competitors in Focus - Dominic Charles...

We've sat down with Trinidadian Dominic Charles before, but not in the context of Competitors in Focus where we let you get to know our competitors as they share a bit of insight into themselves. Stefan Gajie: Dominic, thank you for sitting down with us, again. We did speak to you before, but that was prior to our Competitors in Focus category which did not focus on your much. Please, introduce yourself to our Audience and tell us, how long have you been SIM-Racing and what made you get into it?

Domini Charles: Hi, thanks for having me. My name is Dominic Charles. I'm 21 years old and currently reside in my home country of Trinidad and Tobago. I guess you could say I've been sim-racing since I got my first wheel, an old Logitech GT Pro at the age of 5. I'm 21 now so that seems like forever now (haha). I've always been into cars but my interest in motorsport really took off when I got a copy of Gran Turismo 4 as a child. Being exposed to the rich history of racing and the car culture through that game has changed my life. Since then, I've done a bit of karting, -a LOT of- sim racing, and most recently, I have been coaching some drivers in real life thanks to the knowledge of setups and driving dynamics that came with my experience in my kart, in my sim-rig and through many, many hours of reading and studying the physics behind racing. After starting Calypso Racing Community with my friends, I've been doing my best to bring awareness to our region's sim racers. Luckily, that has also brought me here to CSRO, where I am happy to see the passion for racing going as strong as ever.

Stefan Gajie: GT has played such a major part in getting most of us interested in sim-racing, I see its the same with you as well. As per the Caribbean, where do you see sim racing within the next few years?

Dominic Charles: With the right guidance, and a lot of hard work, we can definitely make our presence known internationally. I'd like to see sanctioned events, online driving academies and an overall increase in the volume and quality of racers in our region.

Stefan Gajie: With that being said, what would you say are some of the benefits of sim-racing for the region in relation to motor racing?

Dominic Charles: I'll give a hot take and say that many drivers do not properly understand the racing line and their own platform's dynamics. I believe sim racing is the closest we'll get to "cheap" motorsport experience. Considering that F1 drivers use it to gain experience and familiarity with cars and tracks, it certainly has some similarity to real life. We can use sim racing as a level playing field to help drivers learn lines, defensive and overtaking maneuvers and most importantly, etiquette. Discipline and etiquette are the cornerstones of a proper racing driver, which we currently lack as a region. I say this as someone who frequently interacts with professional foreign racing drivers. Also, the fun aspect and inclusivity of sim racing is certainly a benefit to growing motor racing.

Stefan Gajie: It is indeed! We are happy to hear that response from you as we share similar sentiments. Let's now turn to your recent championship win in our Caribbean Single Make Championship. Walk us through that series and your thoughts on it.

Dominic Charles: Well, that series has been fun. I always love a spec series because it boils completely down to skill. The Porsche is certainly not a car that suits my driving style but I very much welcomed the challenge. After winning the first two races, I took time off of the game to handle my real-life racing and it certainly came back to bite me with the spin at Long Beach haha. I missed the final race to attend an important event but thankfully I had enough points to secure the championship regardless. Next time I plan to make it to every round. As always, a very well put together event by CSRO and I'm looking forward to the next championship. Stefan Gajie: Thank you for the kind words as we close off this interview just briefly touch on the competition you've faced from the guys here at CSRO and a word of confidence for them in the upcoming championships. Dominic Charles: For the most part, very good, clean racing from the drivers I've run with thus far. I hope to see all of the guys racing in the GT3 championship and the continued improvement of our driving as a region. Lastly, I encourage anyone who can to come race! At the end of the day, it's all about fun and competition. Stefan Gajie: Well, once again, thank you, Dominic we appreciate the time taken here with us today, see you on the track!

Photo of Trinidadian Dominic Charles

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