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For some drivers, the Nations Cup marked the end of their Top 24 Superstars event. Most of them, however; switched into Group 3 cars to contest in the Manufacturer Series, going from the lengthy Circuit de St. Croix track to the blisteringly quick Autodromo Nazionale di Monza.

After strapping themselves into their manufacturer’s Group 3 machines, they went straight to qualifying for the 14-lap race. Monza is a tricky track, with its 11 corners positioned to challenge the best of the best. And as such, the starting grid for this race turned out to be the closest of the season, with only a half second difference between the top six positions. IOF_RACING17 (Nissan) took the pole in his GT-R GT3 over FT_Ant (Chevrolet) by a mere 0.274s (1:48.307) and avoid any potential Turn 1 heartbreak.

A perfect launch from Turismo-lester (Dodge), in the fourth position, had a near perfect start, as his Viper took the early lead over IOF_RACING17, who struggled to get off the line and got tangled in the Turn-1 crowd. Turismo-lester tried to pull away from the pack, but FT_Ant and FT_NicoR (BMW) kept up the heat, with FT_hellZfirEJP (Citroën) sitting comfortably in fourth place. FT_NicoR was all over the tail of FT-Ant, and it was all FT_Ant could do to use his Corvette C7 to block off any potential passing maneuvers down the wide straight.

As the race progressed, IOF_RACING17 started finding his rhythm, working his way back up the line to tenth place at the end of the second lap. Some good battles were going on just ahead as FT_hellZfirEJP (Citroën), SiiKkaruzZ-_-14 (Mercedes) and GumballCGT (Mercedes) fought for position, but this allowed IOF_RACING 17 to gain even more ground, and as the time for pit stops loomed, the Brazilian had already made his way to fourth place.

OutlawQuadrant (Jaguar) opted not to come in and remained out on track at the start of Lap 8 when other cars pitted. This allowed the F-type Gr.3 to open up a 10-second lead over Turismo-lester and FT_Ant, who had long pit stops. The Corvette C7 of FT_Ant retook the lead, going from third to first on the last corner as OutlawQuadrant dove into the pits. Turismo-lester kept pace right behind FT_Ant, gradually serving his penalty while keeping the race leader in his sights.

GumballCGT held onto third place as IOF_RACING17 sped past FT_hellZfirEJP. Turismo-lester briefly took the lead over FT_Ant, but his move resulted in a penalty.

IOF_RACING17 looked simply unstoppable as the Brazilian moved into third and to within just two seconds of the leaders. With two laps remaining, his GT-R GT3 had a real chance to win, after working his way up the leader board. As IOF_RACING was going at ten-tenths, FT_Ant (Chevrolet) moved past Turismo-lester (Dodge) to retake the lead.

Less than a second separated the top three cars as they made their way around the Parabolica to begin the final lap of the race. IOF_RACING17 was making a move for the lead, when he was forced off track at Lesmo 1, ending his hopes of an amazing comeback.

Staying away from trouble was FT_Ant, who took the checkered flag in his star-spangled Corvette C7, and scoring 3,441 vital points for the hard-fought race win. Turismo-lester and FT_hellZfirEJP finished behind him, in that order, to make up the podium. Both were in contention the entire way, but as we saw with IOF_RACING17, there is never a sure thing in racing.

FT_hellZfirEJP and FT_NicoR crossed the line in fourth and fifth respectively, both of whom exhibited great skill and strategy during the entire race. The rest of the top ten were IOF_RACING17, GumballCGT, OutlawQuadrant, MrStinkyBug and TRL_doodle.

Don’t miss the final Top 24 Superstars event for the Americas on September 8, where FT_NicoR and FT_Ant will be the odds-on favorites, but as we saw in this race, don't ever count out IOF_RACING17.