PerezmadeastrongstartfortheBulls,securingtheTeam’sbestfinishoftheweekend,finishingjustoutsidethepointsinthesecondraceoftheeveningwithpotentialtobreakintothetoptwentyafterstewarding.
Rose showed her pace throughout the weekend with a strong qualifying for race one, starting in P19 before a series of unfortunate incidents saw her fall through the pack, not allowing her true pace to show.
Both Rokt Red Bull Racing Esports drivers started the evening in strong stead, setting consistent lap times throughout the practice session, allowing sufficient prep ahead of qualifying. Ultimately, Rose would start in P19 with her teammate a little further back in P25.
The first race start went outstandingly for both Rose and Perez allowing them to gain positions throughout the opening lap with some delicate moves in the busy pack of cars.
The good fortunes were not destined to last forever, however; after five laps of stoic defending, Rose found herself on the receiving end of contact and was pushed off track as a result.
As a result, Rose picked up several in-game warnings for track limits, leading to a slow down penalty which resulted in a P22 finish.
Perez was more fortunate, being able to dance through the field all the way until Lap 12 where she was the recipient of contact at the apex of the penultimate corner, and pirouetted the car in tandem with Micallef.
This dropped Perez through the field and led her to finish just behind Rose in P23. With Race One finishing, Race Two was set to begin with a reverse top eight grid; this did not influence Rose or Perez’s starting position.
Perez and Rose started well, with defensive lines protecting each other from the rivals around.
Perez misjudged the apex for turn four, running wide and losing a couple of positions in the process, falling back down to P25.
Rose was in the thick of it once again with wheel bumping and contact on Lap 1 approaching turn six, however Rose was able to keep the car from severe damage, only losing two positions.
Perez had a fright while battling Harding and Hayward into the chicane, a huge snap for correction kept her pointed in the right way and continuing the charge.
From Lap 4 onwards, Rose and Perez showed fantastic race craft and teamwork, helping each other move up the field in quick succession.
The grid was fluctuating every lap with incidents ahead allowing both drivers to gain key positions towards the top twenty and the all-important points paying positions.
On Lap 10, Rose received a drive-through penalty for exceeding the in-game track limits one too many times by avoiding collisions up front. She served the penalty and fell back through the field.
Both drivers successfully crossed the line in Race Two, with Perez finishing in P21 and Rose P28. A strong day with much to reflect on and learn from as a team.
Perez continued to show her pace and control in the field, scoring points in both races at Thruxton resulting in a provisional P20 finish in Race One and P14 in Race Two.
Rose once again showed strong highlights in qualifying, being able to out qualify Perez, but suffered an unfortunate race ending collision in Race One and further collisions in Race Two limiting her to just a P20 finish.
A less-than-ideal race start for both drivers, jostling for position in the mid-field resulting in a four-wide into Turn 4; Rose getting caught out by some net code and coming into contact with Hayward and spinning out.
The misfortune for Rose was to continue in Race One as there was further contact with Fletcher heading into the Club corner, causing a collision and taking both cars into the barrier and ending Rose’s race prematurely.
Perez was able to keep away from trouble and survived the carnage in the chicane every lap as she danced her car up towards a P20 finish.
With Race One finishing, Race Two was set to begin with a reverse top eleven grid, as decided by the wheel. This had no effect on Rose or Perez.
Race Two kicked off and similarly followed the blueprint of Race One.
Late lunges and contact throughout the grid resulted in Rose picking up wing damage and being spun in Lap 1 on two separate occasions.
Despite the chaos taking place further up the grid, Perez kept her head down and slowly continued to move forwards through the field.
By Lap 12, Rose had caught up to the back of Perez after an unsafe rejoin from a competitor had backed Perez up somewhat, allowing Rose a great run into Turn 1 and allowing an opportunity to pass.
The resulting block from Hull left no room for Rose to react; picking up additional damage and allowing Perez a chance to go on the charge.
Rose did her best to mitigate the damage, continuing at a suitable race pace however inevitably falling back, and Matthews sending a late lunch up the inside on Lap 18 resulting in a mandatory drive through penalty for track limits.
Perez was far more fortunate, able to avoid collisions throughout the race and making it all the way up to a respectable P14 and picking up a decent haul of points in the process, with her teammate not too far behind in P19 and continuing the Team’s 100% point-scoring record.
