Robertson Wins Second iRacing Rallycross World Championship Round in Atlanta in Two Years

Last year’s iRacing Rallycross World Championship round from Atlanta Motor Speedway saw Jon Robertson take the first feature win of his career. This year, it was a little bit of déjà vu, as Robertson took the checkered flag once again—although that outcome was anything but certain.

For most of the 10-lap feature, it was Elliott Sadler eSports’ Vicente Salas in control, fighting to fend off defending series champion and Robertson’s teammate Yohann Harth of Subaru Motorsports USA. Harth would briefly make a pass with two laps to go, but Salas would fight his way back in front. The resulting contact would open the door just enough for Robertson to take advantage, saving Atlanta’s massive and impactful Joker for the final lap to jet out ahead of the pair and take the checkered flag. With the race win and third place last week in Daytona, Robertson also took over the championship lead heading into next week’s event at Iowa Speedway.

Yokohama Pole Award: Robertson was also this week’s Yokohama Pole Award winner, turning a top time of 44.064 to beat Hansen Williams Esports’ Jarno Leskinen for top honors by just .074 seconds. Daytona polesitter Jonne Ollikainen of SET Esports was fourth. All 27 drivers to turn a qualifying time were within .995 seconds of one another.

DirtFish Rookie of the Year: The number of rookies in this week’s final jumped from two to four, as Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Kevin Ellis Jr., Jim Beaver eSports’ Toni Lahteenmaki, and Nitro Circus’ Luke Crouse joined Leskinen in the feature. Leskinen nipped fellow JBeS driver Alex Bergeron in their last chance qualifier in a battle of the two rookies to make the Daytona final. Ellis was the top finisher of the group in fifth, while Leskinen leads the rookie class in points, sitting sixth overall with 23.

The 2021 DirtFish Rookie of the Year will receive a complimentary Three Day course from DirtFish, the Official Rallying School of iRacing Rallycross. To sign up and get behind the wheel yourself, visit drive.dirtfish.com.

Hard Charger Award: Lahteenmaki was also this week’s Hard Charger, qualifying 19^th but making his way through the last chance qualifier to finish seventh in the final and gain 12 spots. Loenbro Motorsports’ Tommi Nukarinen equaled the gain from 25^th in qualifying to third in his LCQ and 13^th overall.

iRX All-Star Invitational: Two rounds, two completely different podiums have made the latest edition of the iRX All-Star Invitational as compelling as it gets. This time out, it was Best in the Desert racer Luke Knupp scoring the checkered flag, holding off Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup standout Zac Campbell in an intense fight to the finish. Campbell sought multiple times in the closing laps to make the pass on a slightly slower Knupp, setting the fastest lap of the race in the process, but couldn’t complete the move.

Team Fordzilla’s GoProLopez completed the podium, moving up from eighth on the inverted grid thanks to a heat win, while Daytona podium finishers Craig Williams of Craig’s Setup Shop and ARX2 champion Conner Martell (winner of the first heat) completed the top five. Last week’s winner, ARCA Menards Series driver Parker Retzlaff, finished seventh, behind second heat winner Keenan “MrAeroHD” Kusan. NHRA champion Ron Capps, Super Late Model star and former eNASCAR pro Landon Huffman, and Pro Lite racer Connor Barry completed the top 10.

iRX World Championship presented by Yokohama feature results from Atlanta Motor Speedway were as follows:

iRX World Championship presented by Yokohama driver standings through two rounds are as follows:

1. Jon Robertson, 49
2. Jonne Ollikainen, 45
3. Vicente Salas, 39
4. Yohann Harth, 35
5. Tommi Hallman, 34
6. Jarno Leskinen, 23
7. Kevin Ellis Jr., 20
8. Jake Robertson, 20
9. Rasmus Tuominen, 15
10. Josh Fox, 15

iRX World Championship presented by Yokohama team standings through two rounds are as follows:

1. Subaru Motorsports USA, 84
2. SET Esports, 69
3. Elliott Sadler eSports, 47
4. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 40
5. Hansen Williams Esports, 38
6. SET Esports Team GRX, 28
7. Jim Beaver eSports, 27
8. Nitro Circus, 18
9. 3 teams tied, 15

iRacing Rallycross presented by Yokohama continues next Wednesday at Iowa Speedway. Coverage kicks off with the All-Star Invitational at 4PM ET and continues with the World Championship at 5PM ET, and will air across iRacing’s Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube. iRX will also be covered in Finnish by the Finnish Sim Racing Association, in French by BenjxMotors, and in Norwegian by the Norwegian SimRacing Channel.

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

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