iRacing Rallycross presented by Yokohama Preview: Daytona

Images via Dane Baird

It’s a double feature of rallycross action on Saturday afternoon, as the iRacing Rallycross World Championship presented by Yokohama is joined by the return of All-Star Invitational action from Daytona International Speedway. Real-world stars like Travis Pastrana and Scott Speed will join World Championship front-runners like Mitchell deJong and Hell Lankebanen winner Ilari Lamminsivu for back-to-back races from the World Center of Racing. Here’s what to watch for this weekend:

ALL-STAR INVITATIONAL PREVIEW: After six exciting races in the spring, the iRX All-Star Invitational presented by Yokohama makes its return this week with a stacked entry list. Travis Pastrana and Conor Daly continue their friendly iRacing rivalry, established during the spring series, after taking on the NASCAR Truck Series together at Las Vegas Motor Speedway two weekends ago. They’ll join returning iRacing regulars like Scott Speed, Conner Martell, Sage Karam, and Ron Capps, as well as All-Star newcomers like Steve Arpin, Bucky Lasek, Ed Carpenter, and Fraser McConnell in this week’s race.

Drivers expected to compete in Saturday’s All-Star Invitational include the following:

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW: Ilari Lamminsivu won the opener, but Mitchell deJong carries the championship lead into the second round of the iRacing Rallycross World Championship presented by Yokohama. The lone visit to Daytona for the series this season will use the track’s longer layout, giving those drivers who prefer running in the dirt an extra loose-surface section to make moves on their counterparts.

deJong enters Daytona as the odds-on favorite to win, as the only driver who has ever taken the checkered flag on this layout in WCS competition, but don’t sleep on defending series champion Sami-Matti Trogen, who returns to the grid for the first time this weekend after a real-world ride in the 24 Hours of Nurburgring led him to miss the opener. Trogen and Bobby Zalenski completed last year’s podium, while Yohann Harth also has a podium on this track from 2018. Alongside Lamminsivu, Jonne Ollikainen appears set to be one of the top rookie challengers after showing plenty of speed in the opener.

YOKOHAMA POLE AWARD: Subaru Motorsports USA’s Mitchell deJong earned the first Yokohama Pole Award of the 2020 season at Hell Lankebanen, posting the top time in qualifying and converting it into a heat victory, runner-up series finish, and the series points lead. The driver who scores the most poles over the course of the season earns the Yokohama Pole Award, a custom trophy presented by Yokohama Tire.

DIRTFISH ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: CR22 Motorsports’ Ilari Lamminsivu became the third straight driver to win an iRX World Championship season opener in his first career series start from Hell Lankebanen, and became the top-scoring rookie in the process. All three rookies who made the main event—Lamminsivu, his teammate Tommi Makinen, and Andretti Autosport’s Beau Albert—finished in the top five in the race. They’re joined in the top 10 in series points by SET Esports’ Jonne Ollikainen, who scored a healthy batch of points in the preliminary rounds despite not making the final. The DirtFish Rookie of the Year Award will go to the top point-scorer over the course of the season, and includes a free three-day course at DirtFish Rally School.

MARWIN SPORTS: CR22 Motorsports’ Tommi Makinen and Loenbro Motorsports’ Garrett Lowe won the Marwin Sports Last Chance Qualifiers at Hell Lankebanen, while Ilari Lamminsivu earned a race winner’s prize pack from Marwin Sports by virtue of taking the checkered flag.

iRX All-Star Invitational and World Championship presented by Yokohama action kicks off on Saturday, October 10 at 1PM ET (17:00 GMT) on the iRacing Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube pages, as well as across a number of industry and competitor Facebook pages. A Finnish-language simulcast will air on YLE Areena and YLE E-urheilu.

The iRacing Rallycross World Championship presented by Yokohama is supported by Yokohama, DirtFish, and Marwin Sports. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.

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