Barry Takes iRacing Off-Road Championship Points Lead at Wild West; Splits Wins With Liebert

Defending iRacing Off-Road Championship Series title winner Connor Barry is back on top of the series standings after scoring his long-awaited first win of the 2023 season on Wednesday night at Wild West Motorsports Park. After coming up just short of top rookie Jarrett Liebert of Team Rogue in the first race, the Nitro Circus Sim Racing Team led just one lap of the second—the most important one—after an exceptional battle with longtime rival Keaton Swane of Factory Simsport that was decided in the closest finish in series history.

With all 24 drivers back on the grid after last week’s Pro 2 exhibition round from Crandon, Liebert posted the top qualifying time for the second time this season and led wire to wire in the first race. The top six starters stayed in that order throughout the 16-lap showdown, with seventh place finisher Josh Edmundson the biggest mover towards the front after gaining six spots in the first two laps. After finishing sixth, Swane would have an easier path to the front for the second race after the eight-truck invert, but Barry’s second place gave him the points lead and Liebert’s win would also allow him to sneak ahead of Swane briefly on points.

When the action resumed, Team Gold’s Justin Kaye would draw pole after the invert and hold it for the first 11 laps. Swane used a great start to get into second, just moments before contact in Turn 2 briefly put Edmundson on his roof and out of contention. He’d finally make his move into first on Lap 12, but Barry would quickly follow him past Kaye and set his sights on the win. The duo fought tooth and nail on the final lap, with Barry finally grabbing the inside line off the final corner and muscling past to win by just .023 seconds.

iRacing Off-Road Championship Round 9 results from Wild West Motorsports Park were as follows:

1. Jarrett Liebert, 16 laps
2. Connor Barry, -0.315
3. Killian Dall’olmo, -1.207
4. Quentin Dall’olmo, -1.454
5. Joel Blewitt, -2.842

iRacing Off-Road Championship Round 10 results from Wild West Motorsports Park were as follows:

1. Connor Barry, 16 laps
2. Keaton Swane, -0.023
3. Quentin Dall’olmo, -0.789
4. Joel Blewitt, -1.528
5. Killian Dall’olmo, -2.274

iRacing Off-Road Championship points through 10 rounds are as follows:

1. Connor Barry, 459
2. Keaton Swane, 447
3. Jarrett Liebert, 438
4. Joel Blewitt, 425
5. Killian Dall’olmo, 366

In the All-Star Pro 4 action, it was a race sweep for defending series champion Luke Knupp. He led fellow Pro eSports drivers Zachary Drapkin, Scott Kerr, and Blake Reynolds across the line in the first race, with Celebrity winner Trever Teal completing the top five. Knupp came from last to first in the second race, finally passing Celebrity winner Wes Graham to lead the final four laps. Mia Rose completed the podium to put two Celebrity racers on the box overall.

iRacing Off-Road All-Star Series Pro 4 Pro eSports division points are as follows:

1. Luke Knupp, 208
2. Zachary Drapkin, 186
3. Scott Kerr, 170

iRacing Off-Road All-Star Series Pro 4 Celebrity division points are as follows:

1. Keenan Kusan, 161
2. Trever Teal, 155
3. Adam Briggs, 148

The 2023 iRacing Off-Road Championship Series continues next Wednesday with a return to Bark River International Raceway. Coverage will kick off once again at 8PM ET across iRacing social media channels with the All-Star action, followed by the sim racing pros at 9PM ET.

For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.

Images via Justin Melillo

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