Winter 2026 DDRS Spec C5 Cup Series - Round 9 Recap

Capping off the 2026 Winter series, round 9 had us back in the USA at Daytona Beach, Florida, for races 25, 26, and 27 of the season. Rather than parrot the AI writing assistant's help—"The track's combination of high-speed banking and tight infield sections provided a great test of the C5's performance and the drivers' skills. The weather was perfect for racing, with clear skies and warm temperatures, and the competition was fierce from start to finish."— I'll just say that it was a great way to end the season. The C5 is a decent fit for Daytona. The long straights let the LS motor stretch its legs. The infield section, when taken with a modicum of care, became a great place for some breathtaking side-by-side racing. Author's note: The AI keeps wanting to talk about how perfect the weather was. It's Daytona, in Gran Turismo. The weather was dry. The only thing that changed was the cloud cover and the wind. And oddly enough, that provided some interesting variety in the racing.

Congratulations

All three race wins on the evening went to itc42. A low downforce setup helped him to keep in touch with Painless on the straights, and a slightly more aggressive approach to the Le Mans chicane (who am I kidding? it's always gonna be 'the bus stop') helped to keep the pressure on. Neither itc42 nor Painless had uneventful races (the tires at the end of the pit wall are a lot softer in reality than they are in the game). As is usually the case, victory didn't go to the fastest driver, it went to the one who made the least costly mistakes.

Congratulations to Hollywood for a solid 3rd place on the evening, and his season highest finishing position of 2nd in race 1!

In a first for DDRS competition, the evening ended with a three-way tie for 4th place between Hprod41, Edminus1, and CaptainSlow420. It was a dead heat, with each driver scoring a 4th, a 5th, and a 6th place finish.

Photos

Thanks to Painless for capturing some action shots from the event!

Results

Pos	Driver	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Points
1	itc42	1	1	1	1050
2	Painless	3	2	2	980
3	Hollywood	2	3	3	920
4	Hprod41	4	6	5	790
5	Edminus1	6	5	4	790
6	CaptainSlow420	5	4	6	790
7	Guckeezy		7	7	480

Bonus Points:

• 40 bonus points to Painless for his clean sweep of the evening: pole and all 30 points for fast laps in each of the three races.

The final three race winner stickers go to itc42.

And that's a wrap!

So what's up for the next season? Hard to tell. I, for one, liked the spec nature of the series: no real tuning, just hop in and drive. We've played with a number of different cars over the years, but the C5 was the first fixed setup car we've tried. Overall, I think it worked, so I'll be inclined to keep an eye forward to continue with that format.

I enjoyed the variety of liveries you all brought to play, and I'm eager to see what you all will come up with for the next season. Those things worked, or so it seemed to me, so I think I'll stick with that format for the next season.

I'll definitely keep the random track picker as part of the formula for the future. The mix of tracks was a lot of fun. Who knew the random number generator behind the track picker would have a disposition to pick the no-chicane variants when given the chance? Le Mans taught us that the C5 can draft well—especially when the aero is turned down—and that the car can be a handful when not treated with at least a little care. Curva Grande at Monza was tantalizingly close to being flat out, and if memory serves only one driver managed it, though many tried.

Let me finish up by thanking everyone for participating in the 2026 Winter DDRS Spec C5 Cup Series. The cars were fun to drive, albeit a little unpredictable at times. Overall, it was a fun season, and I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. Thank you to Painless for his mad photog skilz and for sharing those photos with us.

Enjoy the off season, and I'll see you all in the fall!