2011 VERC Round of Lausitz

The 2011 VERC Round of Lausitz was the fourth race of the 2011 Vaughn European Racing Challenge season. It was held at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Lausitz, Germany.

Pre-race storylines
Rick Jarrett Racing debuted its expanded lineup in this race. Drivers were Robert Barnett and his brother Randall. Belgian driver Jacques Boliver also made his debut.

Summary
After being in the top-5 in each practice session, Mike Falls qualified on the pole. Robert Barnett started second.

By lap 15, Falls still held the lead while Jacob Jarrett II and Bill Wainwright battled for second position. Tyler Fortner held fourth and had just broken away from Greg Johnson, Jr., Aaron Fisher, and Mark Nelson, who were going for fifth. Robert Barnett struggled in the opening laps, dropping outside the top-10 after starting on the front row.

On lap 22, while going into turn 3, Falls had to check up as he almost closed the door on the No. 27 of Jarrett who just managed to get underneath Falls. This allowed Jarrett to get a better run out of the turn. Wainwright pushed his way into the battle as well, making it three wide for the lead going down the front stretch. At the line, it would be Jarrett (on the inside) taking over the lead, with Wainwright (in the middle) and Falls (on the outside) just about even for second, but it was Falls was scored ahead of Wainwright. Falls dropped to fifth when he went too wide into turn 1 and got into the wall. Jarrett settled into the lead and was followed by Wainwright, Fisher, Fortner, and Falls in fifth.

Green flag pit stops started on lap 28, when most of the field decided to pit. This includes everyone in the top five except for Falls, Cameron Taylor, Josh Mertz, and Jefferson Mikually.

There appeared to be a problem on James Fortner's and Fisher's cars as both drivers stayed in the pit lane for a long time. Both stayed on the lead lap, but eliminated their chances of a good result. This a shame for both teams, but especially Fisher, who was running in the top five at the time.

When everything settled, it was Jarrett leading, with Wainwright in second, followed by Falls, Fortner, Nelson, and Taylor. Mertz's pit strategy appeared to work out well for him, as he was running outside the top ten earlier in the race, but moved up to seventh after his pit stop. Rounding out the top ten would be Greg Johnson, Jr., Kendall Worthington, and Boliver. Mikually also gained a few positions with his pit strategy, and was battling with Boliver for tenth.

Wainwright closed in on Jarrett and finally made the pass for the lead on lap 37. The two had pulled out to an almost four-second lead over third place. Speaking of third position, Falls had visited the outside wall again and dropped down to sixth, allowing Fortner to take third, with Nelson and Taylor also getting around Falls. Mertz had been passed by Johnson for seventh but held eighth; however, as if Mertz's season has not been difficult enough for the No. 81A team, the one time that they have a good run, the engine blows on the front stretch on lap 37.

After closing back in on Wainwright, Jarrett would have the edge across the line with the white flag in the air, and completed the pass in the exit of turn 1. Jarrett held the lead for the last lap and took the win at EuroSpeedway.

Results

 * For complete results, click here.

Points

 * For the complete points standings, click here.

Falls moved into the de facto points lead by virtue of his victory. (The recently-promoted Jeff Zindler currently leads the points, but since he's in the higher tier he cannot build on the lead.)