Portland’s atypical track layout, featuring mostly fast corners and few heavy braking zones, meant drivers faced tight energy-saving requirements, effectively forcing them to circulate far off their real pace in the first two-thirds of the race before upping the pace.
Lap times were as much as 10 to 12 seconds slower than the pole time set by Jake Dennis initially, leading to constant position changes and scenes of cars running side-by-side as drivers jostled for position without using too much energy.
Nissan’s Sacha Fenestraz, who lost any chance of a strong result after damaging his front wing following early contact with team-mate Norman Nato, was one of the most vocal in his opposition to the style of racing seen in Portland, highlighting Nico Muller’s crash while racing in the pack.
“So many things were happening, I had no clue where I was in terms of position,” Fenestraz told Autosport. “At times we were five, even six-wide. It was not an enjoyable race.
“I’m not a fan, it’s just too dangerous. We saw what happened to Nico, it was a huge crash. Luckily he didn’t come back on the track with another car coming.
“We are coming next year again, but hopefully we can change some things.”
Source: Autosport