- NATIONS CUP
- A Veteran vs Rookie Showdown as Japan's SG_Kawakana Takes the Season 1 Crown!
- 2021 Series Nations Cup Season 1 (Asia)
- 2021/07/01
The 2021 Nations Cup got underway on April 24th. Drivers competed over ten rounds for the right to take part in the World Series Showdown.
Japan's Miyazono (Kerokkuma_ej20), Akagi_1942mi and Yamanaka (yamado_racing38) had already secured qualification for the World Series Showdown, and therefore decided to skip this season in order to focus on the Manufacturer Series.
The early stages saw veterans go head-to-head with newbies as drivers duked it out for Asia's remaining World Series spot. The veteran Japanese driver SG_Kawakana showed good form from the off, scoring 393 points in Round 2 and 357 in Round 4.
His young compatriot tokari71 responded in kind by taking 368 points in Round 3, 364 points in Round 6, and 351 points in Round 8, narrowing SG_Kawakana's lead at the top of the standings. Round 9 saw a remarkable performance from the fourth-placed rookie LG-TakuAn_LBC, who saw off his more experienced rivals to secure an impressive win.
There was an even bigger surprise in the final round, when Japan's RafaIe--M, who was not even in the top 10 going into the race, pulled off a spectacular victory. This didn't affect things at the top of the leaderboard too much, however, and SG_Kawakana's solid performances in earlier rounds saw him finish in first place and earn the right to enter the World Series Showdown.
Season 1 in Asia saw many races where stubborn veterans did battle with up-and-coming rookies. The most eye-catching of the newcomers were tokari71 and LG-TakuAn_LBC, who finished in 2nd and 4th place respectively.
Neither driver is old enough to compete in the World Series and the World Series Showdown, meaning that the opportunities they have to showcase their talents are currently limited, but the pace of their improvement means they'll be racing at the top table soon enough. LG-TakuAn_LBC has only been playing GT Sport for less than a year, making his achievements even more impressive!
The newbies' performances will not have gone unnoticed by the drivers in the World Series, and great things will be expected of them from now on!
| Rank | Driver | DR | SR | Rd. 1 | Rd. 2 | Rd. 3 | Rd. 4 | Rd. 5 | Rd. 6 | Rd. 7 | Rd. 8 | Rd. 9 | Rd. 10 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Japan
SG_Kawakana
|
A+ | S | - | 393 | 353 | 357 | - | 355 | - | - | 346 | 357 | 1462 |
| 2 |
Japan
tokari71
|
A+ | S | 260 | - | 368 | 337 | 130 | 364 | 334 | 351 | 331 | 346 | 1429 |
| 3 |
Japan
blackbeauty-79
|
A+ | S | - | 376 | - | 348 | - | 341 | - | - | 316 | 341 | 1406 |
| 4 |
Japan
LG-TakuAn_LBC
|
A+ | S | - | 331 | 319 | 342 | - | 268 | - | - | 360 | 354 | 1387 |
| 5 |
Japan
ox14445
|
A+ | S | - | 244 | 338 | 316 | - | - | - | - | 347 | 345 | 1346 |
| 6 |
Hong Kong
saika159-
|
A+ | S | - | 330 | 334 | - | - | 328 | - | 337 | - | - | 1329 |
| 7 |
Japan
V1_CRV-KRT86
|
A+ | S | - | 302 | 324 | - | - | 326 | 292 | 361 | - | - | 1313 |
| 8 |
Japan
idedus1517
|
A+ | S | - | 364 | 291 | - | - | 207 | 326 | - | 331 | 264 | 1312 |
| 9 |
Japan
Qui7__SandraP
|
A+ | S | 294 | 360 | 326 | 288 | 234 | 302 | 305 | 255 | 274 | 316 | 1307 |
| 10 |
Japan
Speedy_ki0409
|
A+ | S | 312 | - | - | 232 | - | 301 | 316 | 330 | - | 339 | 1297 |