- iRacing.com Announces iRacing 2.020,809
- Dave Kaemmer Comes Clean on Dirt13,679
- iRacing.com to create virtual McLaren MP4-12C GT312,169
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- The iRacing.com Protest System – May, 201210,590
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- iRacing.com to Build Digital Honda for New Super GT Series7,599
- License Levels and Promotions7,406
- Towler, Wood Suspended from Upcoming iWCRR Events 67
- Dave Kaemmer Comes Clean on Dirt 44
- iRacing.com Announces iRacing 2.0 41
- The iRacing.com Protest System - May, 2012 33
- Bathurst Coming to iRacing! 30
- iRacing's Corvette: Good Enough is Not Good Enough 23
- Scanning What’s in Store for iRacing with Tony Gardner 22
- iRacing, McLaren Electronic Systems Partner in Online Racing Data Analysis 16
- The Customer is (Nearly) Always Right 15
- V-Sunk 15
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David Phillips
Editor and ChiefDavid Phillips is a long-time contributor to print and electronic publications in the U.S. and abroad, including Racer, Autosport, AutoWeek, Motor Sport and SPEEDtv.com, oversees the daily updating of news stories and assigns, edits and contributes feature material for inRacingNews.com.
Chris Hall
iRacing.com Series WriterChris Hall has been writing since the nineties and moved into motorsports reporting in 2005, covering series such as ALMS, British GT, FIA GT, Le Mans and 2CV racing for Full Throttle magazine, Motorsport.com, The-Paddock.net, GTGateway.com, L' Endurance and, of course, inRacingNews. During 2008 and 2009, he worked with the RSS Performance Porsche Carrera Cup Team (and former British GT(C) champions) as a data engineer for a variety of drivers and models of 997s.
Jameson Spies
Contributing Writer19 years old, Jameson Spies lives in Quartz Hill, California. He grew-up surrounded by racing. His mother raced late models throughout Southern California while his father built and setup the car. Not surprisingly, Jameson began racing go-karts at the age of 13, and is now racing Spec Trucks at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. He has a passion about all forms of racing and hopes to make a career out of it.
Jason Lofing
iRacing.com Series WriterJason is 21 years old and was born and raised in Elk Grove. California. A big time NASCAR fan, he hasn’t missed a race on Sunday in years. Lofing is also a huge San Fransisco Giants fan and tries to take in at least a couple games a year. Other than sim racing, his biggest (and far more expensive!) hobby is photography. Although he is rather new to sim racing, Lofing has already accomplished some pretty impressive results, qualifying for the 2011 iRacing Oval Pro Series in Season 1, 2011, winning the inaugural Landon Cassill Qualifying Challenge and finishing runner-up in the second one.
David Ifeguni
Contributing WriterI was born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1988 and moved to Midland, Michigan when I was two years old. I stayed there until third grade when I moved to Farmington Hills, Michigan and now I currently live in Naperville, IL where I'm attending Metea Valley High School as a 9th grader. In the past, I have participated in soccer and this year I plan on joining swimming or water polo. My family includes my 15 year old sister, a 7 year old sister and my mom and dad. I have been writing since 6th grade and have participated in many writing contests in my school and have received several awards for writing.
My fascination for motorsports began when I was nine. The first NASCAR race I watched on TV was the 2009 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway, won by Kasey Kahne. My favorite NASCAR drivers are Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Jimmie Johnson. I have watched all the races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series since 2010. I currently have three wins on iRacing, two of them in the Nationwide car at Daytona and one in the Street stocks at Charlotte. My favorite car and type of track on iRacing is the Nationwide Series (B Class) car and superspeedways.
Katier Scott
Contributing WriterI am a veteran sim racer who first started racing way back in 1993 on the SPRTSIMS section of Compuserve with a league who can trace themselves all the way to the present. Within that league I act as Chief Steward and try to bring the unique viewpoint that this experience gives me into my articles.
I have a BA (Hons) in Journalism and Editorial design and have been writing for seven years and currently cover the Lotus 79 CTC and Radical series alongside my freelance work. Living in the UK, as well as motorsports I love Photography, Arts and Crafts and reading.
Dylan Sharman
Contributing WriterI was born in Adelaide and we moved-out for Angle Vale for a few years until I was about 7 years old, when we moved to the Barossa Valley where I live now. I'm 19 years old and currently traveling back and forth weekly as I'm studying for a Diploma of Furniture Design and Technology.
I've always had a love for racing as my close family did some racing and we were always out at the local dirt track. I joined iRacing back in 2010 and slowly but surely got the hang of it as this is my first experience with sim racing and am loving it each time I race. I've won two SK Modified titles (almost had three in a row but finished P2 in 2011 S4), an inRacingNews Challenge championship (2012 S1 Mazda) and was also an AustralAsian Intel GT Series Finalist.
Nathan Aljoe
Contributing WriterNathan's passion for motorsport first began in the late 1980s, captivated by the season in which Aryton Senna won his first F1 title with McLaren. Over the years his interest widened to include the British Touring Car Championship, World Rally Championship, NASCAR and various other forms of motorsport. Nathan began sim-racing in the mid 1990s using games developed by Papyrus. He later moved onto SimBim simulations such as GTR, GTR2 and GTR Evolution and has most recently joined the iRacing community.
When he's not working or sim racing, Nathan enjoys spending time and relaxing with his family. Other hobbies include going to festivals, tinkering with his car and doing up his house.
Austin Hartenfels
Contributing WriterBorn and raised in Fredericksburg, Virginia, I have always had a serious passion for cars and motorsports. Hoping one day to become an automotive journalist for a magazine, I constantly crave the exciting competition that comes along with racing and sim-racing. Having participated in a mere test session in a Legends car at Old Dominion Speedway, I have not been able to get into any real-life competition . . . yet.
As a sim racer, my interests date back to "GTR Evolution." My goal is to have fun and win some races. I made it to Oval Pro in 2010, but did not become very successful. I enjoy any mixed road racing competition and love racing the Silverados around almost any track.
Jordan Hightower
Contributing WriterJordan began sim-racing in 2005 with the NASCAR Racing 2003 Season sim and then joined the iRacing community in June of 2008. He hails from Fort Smith, Arkansas where he is currently enrolled at the University of Arkansas Fort Smith, after which he plans to attend the University of Arkansas to earn his MBA. Although he enjoys watching and playing basketball, most of Jordan's focus is on motorsports, particularly NASCAR: "Anything that burns gas and goes fast, I like."
Scott Kelly
Contributing WriterBorn and raised in the greater St. Louis, Missouri area, Scott Kelly has had a love for motorsports ever since his father did the right thing by introducing auto racing into his life. No longer able to quench his need for speed by spectating NASCAR races on TV and watching dirt track stars slide around local tracks, Kelly eventually picked-up sim racing in his teens, wheeling cars found in Ratbag Games' "Dirt Track Racing" and "World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars" while also becoming introduced into multiple Papyrus sim-racing series. Joining the iRacing ranks in late 2011, Kelly set his sights on the short track racing he was familiar with, focusing on the sprint car, while also driving the Legends and street stock in multiple iRacing.com leagues.
Kelly brings not just his enthusiasm for racing to the highest-rated motorsports simulation, but also his B.A. degree in English; he covers the action seen in the iRacing.com Sprint Car Series, while also placing the spotlight on various leagues within the service. Enjoying his start to a career in motorsports journalism, Kelly also doesn't mind visiting victory lane from time-to-time.
Kenneth O'Keefe
Contributing WriterKenneth was born in Smithville, Ontario on December 23, 1994. A major racing fan, he enjoys competitive kart racing in the Rotax Max category at Mosport International Karting. Kenneth also tunes into Formula One and NASCAR races on those Sundays when he is not at the kart track.
O'Keefe has been sim-racing since 2005, starting on the Live For Speed simulator. After moving to iRacing in 2008, he was able to qualify for the NASCAR iRacing Pro Series (NiPS) in both 2011 and 2012. He will continue to compete and write about the iRacing.com Skip Barber Series throughout the coming year before taking another run at the NiPS in late 2013.
Chris Owens
Contributing WriterI was born in Florence, South Carolina in 1989 and have lived here my entire life. I've been around racing since I was a young kid watching with my dad on Sundays. In 2009 and found my local track, Florence Motor Speedway and started working for them as a PR guy the same year. At the end of that season, I started writing for RACE22.com, a Late Model Stock Car news site. In 2010, I picked up my first DSLR camera and started shooting races. To this day, I've experienced some of the best races from behind the camera.
I've been with the iRacing service since its public beta in 2008, back when the top oval car was the Late Model. I've been in over 500 races on the service with 70+ wins on both oval and road. My favorite car on the service is the Chevrolet Silverado. Darlington Raceway and Concord Speedway are my favorite tracks simply because everybody hates them.
George Wood
Contributing WriterAfter beginning his racing career with go-karts at age seven, George then turned wrenches on street stocks until he could finally turn the wheel. Following the successes of his friends and family, George has since retired from real-world racing, where he is now a science and mathematics faculty member for several local community colleges. When George isn't grading laboratory reports or iRacing, he is performing at bluegrass festivals in the Northeast, making fishing lures, playing golf, and rooting for his beloved Baltimore Orioles.
ISRA – Grand Touring Championship Season Three Review
by Colin MacLean on April 20th, 2011
ISRA – Grand Touring Championship Season Three Review
Epic. The most over-used word in motorsports. However, as hard as I try I cannot come up with any other word that so perfectly describes Season Three of the International Sim Racing Association’s (ISRA) Grand Touring Championship (GTC).
This season had everything and then some. It had 40+ drivers every race with a waiting list. It had incredibly challenging racing at some of the greatest virtual tracks around the world. It had three wonderful cars, the Late Model, Mustang FR500S and the Mazda MX-5. It had more passes and side-by-side action than you could possibly imagine. It brought together a vast array of talented drivers from both the real and virtual worlds. Every race had plenty of excitement and drama. In short, Season Three of the GTC Championship was the pinnacle of multi-class sim racing.
The ISRA made a bold choice with their car choice. Returning from season two were the Mustang and MX-5. These two cars co-exist incredibly well in multi-class racing as their lap times are well separated and the Mustangs have enough scoot to drive by the MX-5 on the straight. Looking for a replacement for the V8 Supercar the ISRA settled on the Chevy Late Model after extensive testing. What may have seemed a strange choice at first turned out to be a revelation. This car is the perfect combination of easy to drive, quick and above all incredibly fun. Furthermore the speed differential between the Late Model, Mustang and MX-5 ensured the racing was guaranteed to be close, tight and thrilling.
The Late Model proved an inspired choice as the third car in ISRA's Grand Touring Championship.
Going into the opener at Sebring it was anyone’s guess who would dominate in each class. In the GT class the season two GT class champion David Sirois looked to be the man to beat. His experience in the GT class would give him a leg up on the competition. Hot on his heels was season two ST champ Colin MacLean. Sure to challenge for the podium was hotshoe Eric Palacio whose pace in the MX-5 last season raised a few eyebrows.
The ST class running the MX-5 was definitely going to be interesting with season two standouts Kevin Savoie and Mike Young. Newcomer Russell Kao signed up late to the series and threw a wrench into the works for Savoie and Young’s two-car battle.
The GS Mustangs were, without a doubt, going to be the cars to watch. Season One Daytona Prototype champion, Jaymz Mynes joined Season Two standout Daniel Graulty and the always quick Mike Kelley as the favorites in the class.
The season would comprise nine races over some of the best virtual race tracks in the world. Highlights of the season would include an enduro at Sebring, the GTC’s first visit to Silverstone and the iRacing road-racing bullring of Barber Motorsports Park. Every race went off smoothly and the grids were full every race. Looking back on this season, no matter where they finished every racer should be justifiably proud of their contribution to one of the best multi-class road-racing seasons ever. The ISRA members put together dozens of videos showcasing the racing and those speak volumes.
David Sirois took a well-deserved championship in the GT class.
After nine hard-fought races Sirois took home the crown in the GT class. He faced stiff opposition from MacLean and Palacio but over the course of the season he took home the most wins with six, earning himself a deserved championship. Sirois’ combination of speed and consistency was unmatched by any other driver and his mistake-free season was impressive to watch. Palacio finished second in the championship followed by MacLean in a close third place. Alex Ulleri and John Middleton impressed with their pace challenging the top three at many tracks this season.
Mike Young won the ST class title in convincing fashion,
The ST class was tighter with Young and Savoie bringing home three wins apiece. Vincent L’Herbier would join the ST battle with a couple of solid wins mid-season. Russell Kao also joined ISRA mid-season and managed one win. At the end of the season Young took the championship with a comfortable lead over Kao in second and a consistent Dean Ayer in third place. Savoie could only manage fifth in the championship after missing three races.
Jaymz Mynes bested Mike Kelley and Daniel Graulty in a fierce battle for GS laurels.
The GS class championship was one for the record books. Rarely do two drivers so close in pace battle it out over the season and in this case there were three. On many occasions Graulty, Mynes and Kelley qualified literally within thousands of a second of each other. Graulty would start off the season with a bang taking home three successive wins. Determined to fight back, Mynes stepped up his game mid-season with two wins of his own at Spa and Road America. At Barber, Kelley took the victory really closing the gap in the championship as Graulty faltered in fifth. The Watkins Glen Enduro was a big win for Mynes but Graulty came back with a vengeance at Silverstone. Going into the last race Mynes and Graulty were almost neck and neck in the championship with Kelley poised to leapfrog both should they both DNF. At the checkered flag of a dramatic race Mynes took the championship win with a third place finish as Kelley took second and Graulty recorded a DNF. A special mention goes to John Roussetos who took the victory in the GS class at Daytona lifting him to a great fourth position in the championship.
As the sun sets on this season and we look forward to the next, we wonder if it’s possible Season Four could match the drama and excitement of Season Three? We hope it will be, as you say, Epic.
Brian
April 21st, 2011 at 12:12 amI need to get into this!