Thomas Freeman has continued his move forward in the Motorsport Australia Logitech G Pro Invitational Cup after a 14th place finish at Watkins Glen moved the Fishy Motorsports driver into the top 20 of the 2023 championship on Wednesday night.

Freeman’s 2023 season to date has has seen the Fishy Motorsports driver collect consistent results with a best result of 21st position at the season opening Turn In Race Apparel Sebring Sprint.

Although 23rd in qualifying at Watkins Glen didn’t look spectacular, being just a mere .306 of a second away from Jarrad Filsell’s qualifying time of 1;07.250 puts into perspective how close performance was throughout the 41 car strong field.

Freeman took advantage of early incidents, along with making great strategy calls to promote himself up through the field. Late race drama with Wayne Bourke of Synergy Sim Racing almost put an end to Freeman’s day, but the Driver of the Fishy Motorsports machine got his elbows out to bring home a great result for himself & his team.

Not only does 14th place at Watkins Glen firmly cement Freeman into a transfer spot in the Motorsport Australia Logitech G Pro Invitational Cup, More importantly, this turn of form has come at a critical point of the championship, as we prepare more towards the back half the the 2023 Motorsport Australia Logitech G Pro Invitational Cup.

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Back from a 7 week hiatus, drivers returned to the grid at Watkins Glen for the 5th round of the Motorsport Australia Logitech G Pro Invitational Cup on Wednesday night.

Qualifying report:

The Watkins Glen Cup layout provided yet another close qualifying session with Synergy Sim Racing’s Jarrad Filsell setting the benchmark late in qualifying with a 1:07.250 snatching pole position from his teammate James Scott by .087 of a second.

Dylan Rudd put on a impressive display in qualifying, slotting his 9ine 5ive SimSports Commodore into third, followed by Trans Tasman Racing’s Madison Down in 4th & Dylan O’Shea rounding out the top 5. Ethan Grigg-Gault would line up in 6th, followed by Jake Burton, Meyers, Freer & Anderson rounding out the top ten for the 77 lap encounter.

Race Report

As the green flag waved it would be Dylan Rudd leading the field into turn 1, closely followed by the SSR duo of Scott & Filsell as they prepared to charge up the hill & through the esses for the first time. Madison Down was lucky to escape early chaos, slight contact between himself and Dylan O’Shea on the opening lap saw the driver of the #77 in trouble through the first stage of the esses complex. Wrestling the car back into control, Down would escape with only a few positions lost.

Dylan Rudd would continue to lead the way through the opening laps as drivers settled into a rhythm throughout the early stages, still being trailed by the SSR duo of Scott & Filsell who chose to sit back and let Rudd dictate the pace of the race.

It didn’t take too long for trouble to brew in the train though, with lap ten holding the key to one of the major incidents of the night. An attempted move from Andrew Gilliam at the beginning of lap ten on Madison Down would set off a chain reaction behind, causing a bottleneck through the Esses on the run to the Bus Stop. Entering the Bus Stop Pursuit Sim Racing’s Jobe Stewart would collide with Jordan Ross’s Synergy Sim Racing Mustang who in turn would take Tom Freer & Jake Moloney out in the same incident. Stewart would find himself penalised for the infringement, while all 4 drivers involved would go on to have a difficult night as a result.

It was still smooth sailing at the front of the field for the time being, Dylan Rudd continuing to lead the way from James Scott & Jarrad Filsell.

Dylan O’Shea came out on top for the time being in his battle with Madison Down on lap 12 for 6th, shutting the door on Down through the Esses as he set his sights on moving forward. O’Shea received a return of serve from Madison Down no little than a lap later, Down placing a perfectly calculated move into turn 1 leaving O’Shea little to no reply. O’Shea tried his best to crowd the apex making Down’s exit difficult, but found himself dropping slightly down the order as a result.

Jake Burton also made a move on lap 13 over Ethan Grigg-Gault into turn one, promoting himself to the tail of the podium, a position from which he could battle for the race win.

James Scott made his move for the lead on lap 14, Filsell following suit into the bus stop shuffling Dylan Rudd onto the back of the podium. The two SSR teammates Scott & Filsell re taking control of the race for the point in time.

Cars continued to follow one another line astern before the first round of pit stops triggered by Ethan Grigg-Gault on lap 35. Rudd would be the next to follow on lap 37, with the remainder of the lead pack consisting of Filsell, Burton, Scott & Down transiting the lane at the completion of lap 38. Down & Burton lead the race off pit lane, with both Scott & Filsell opting for a unusual strategy call taking all their required fuel in the first stop, placing them down the order as they resumed the race.

Lap 40 provided plenty of carnage, Jordan Ross finding the rear of Richard Hamstead’s Trans Tasman Racing Mustang on the run up the hill to the Esses, sending both drivers for a wild ride into the barriers. Ross would revive a penalty for the incident which saw both the #29 & #143 mustang’s in the pits and out of the remainder of the race.

Jake Burton & Madison Down continued to control the field from the front in the middle portion of the race, while James Scott & Jarrad Filsell were making easy work of the midfield, slicing & dicing their way back through the field.

O’Shea pitted from inside the top 10 on lap 57, which would prove to be the catalyst for the remainder of the field to start taking their final compulsory pit stops for the night.

Down, Burton & Brady Meyers pitted from the front of the field on lap 59, rejoining the field in 10th, 11th & 12th a mere 30.5 seconds away from the race lead as they waited for the pit cycle to be completed in the coming laps.

Dylan O’Shea suffered a scary moment on lap 62, being turned around at high speed into the Esses at the hands of Josh Anderson, luckily, O’Shea didn’t find the fence, somehow missing both guard rails in one of the great saves of the 2023 season.

Filsell entered the pit lane on lap 64 to complete his pit stop cycle, rejoining the race out of contention. It soon became clear there had been a strategy blunder within the Synergy Sim Racing stable when James Scott completed his final stop laps later. A pit stop glitch for Scott only compounded the issue at hand, finding himself rejoining the race in a lowly 21st position and well out of contention for the race win.

Down made his move for the lead on stablemate Jake Burton on lap 71, making his move into the bus stop taking control of the race with only a handful of laps to go. Logitech G Pro Invitational Cup commentator Steven “Sandman” Clarke summed this moment up by stating -“ Well, no team orders here, Madison Down has gone and pinched it”. This move was short lived, Burton firing straight back at Down the following lap, in a replica move to the one Madison produced a lap prior.

This battle would continue all the way to the chequered flag, Down applying the blow torch to the back of the #8 TTR driver Burton, in what is one of the great battles of the 2023 season so far. Burton withstood the pressure, denying Down of victory.

Jake Burton crossed the line taking his second race victory of the season along with reinstating himself as the championship leader heading into round 6 of the championship at Red Bull Ring, Austria.

Madison Down continues to collect points with another podium finish in second place, along with Ethan Grigg-Gault finalising the podium places. Andrew Gilliam drove another impressive race to claim 4th, Dylan Rudd rounded out the top 5. The remainder of the top ten consisted of Brady Meyers in 6th, Robert Gibbs 7th, Scott 8th, Rattew 9th & Mathew Bowler Rounding out the top 10.

The championship battle remains tight at the top with Burton in control followed by James Scott in 2nd only 24 points behind.

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With the Motorsport Australia Logitech G Pro Invitational Cup heading to Watkins Glen for the first time in series history, we thought we’d sit down and chat with one of the good news story’s of 2023.

After a difficult 2022 campaign, Kurt Stenberg has returned to form across the opening rounds of the 2023 Motorsport Australia Logitech G Pro Invitational Cup. Currently sitting a comfortable 12th place in the standings, Stenberg has found consistency across the opening 3 rounds, firmly cementing himself as a contender amongst the 45 car strong field.

With a strong start under his belt, the driver of the #47 Trams Tasman Racing Commodore will look to continue putting together consistent results as the season progresses.

We took some time to sit down with Kurt Stenberg in the lead up to Watkins Glen on the 28th of June.

R: With the cancellation of Road America we now see the series head to the Watkins Glen Cup Layout for the 4th round of the championship. have you been happy with 2023 so far heading into Watkins Glen?

KS: Yeah I've been pretty happy with my season so far. I had a solid results at Sebring and Phillip Island which I had hoped for in the lead up. I always knew Spa would be my worst track of the season, so to escape it without incident and get points was all I could ask for.

R: You’ve shown your ability to be consistent across a season in the past, for you, what is the key to maintaining the consistency and building a solid championship campaign in 2023?

KS: Honestly, staying out of trouble. In the 2022 season I tended to qualify poorly which put me on the backfoot. I got involved in a lot of incidents being in the wrong place at the wrong time trying to make up positions. The key is to stay out of trouble and finish solidly at the rounds where I'm lacking speed and to try my best to maximise any rounds where it comes together. Not try to make something happen when it isn't your night. The quality of drivers in the field is high so that the difference between a good night and a bad one is only tenths in qualifying. Without a drop round, you really cannot afford a DNF or a bad round in my position when you aren't fighting for wins.

R: What’s your thoughts on Watkins Glen Cup layout? Being new to the calendar in 2023, what challenges do you think it will provide for yourself and other competitors?

KS: I'm a huge fan of Watkins Glen Cup. Anyone who knows me knows I used to do tons of NASCAR Truck Official races there. It's very good to have it on the calendar, probably my favourite addition of 2023. It will be the first time i've seen the new rescan of it run in an iRacing Supercars race which will throw a curve ball for the experienced drivers. Watkins Glen Cup layout always has weird, drama filled races in iRacing Supercars. It's high speed flowing, banked nature makes it a track really unlike any other, the superspeed of road courses you could say. Anything can happen and will. The key will be to get slipstream in qualifying and to qualify well. Then to be patient and let the race unfold and play the strategy well staying in the main train of cars. A huge accident is only 1 small mistake away especially in the uphill esses and bus stop so you need to really pick your opportunities well.

It's been a track that's been very good to me in the past so I'm hoping I can maximise qualifying and try to survive the drama that will happen.

R: your currently in a great championship position sitting 12th, what’s your hopes or expectations heading into the upcoming round?

KS: P12 is above where I could of expected to be at this point. There are plenty of names behind me that I expect to fire and beat me in races this season. If I can leave Watkins in P12 or above then that will be expectations met. That will set me up to be safety in the Top 20 at the back half of the season. I have had a huge break from iRacing since the last round at Spa, not even turning a lap on the sim between rounds until this week. It's been a refreshing break that will help my motivation for the rest of the season. It will just mean I will need some extra laps in the preparation to get re-adjusted and hopefully continue where I left off at Watkins Glen.

As the series sets its sights on another action packed round of racing, be sure to keep up with all the latest at https://supercarsproinvitational.com.au.

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The Logitech G Pro Series is due to swing back into action this Wednesday night after a long break due to the postponement of round four at Road America due to iRacing maintenance. It will end a seven week drought between events, with round four postponed until August 23rd, this Wednesday night, all the action will be coming to you live from Watkins Glen International.

“The Glen” as it is famously known is located just on the outskirts of New York and hosted the Formula One Grand Prix for 20 years (1961-1980). The Pro Series will be running on the “CUP’ layout, a high speed, high intensity lap which will provide close quarter racing. Fuel strategy will play a big part in the results for round five, with drafting and fuel saving a tactic many in the field will be looking to execute. Passing opportunities are few which will promote intense battling through the field.

Tensions between Synergy Sim Racing and Trans Tasman Racing have been simmering away in the early part of this season, with some controversial clashes in recent rounds highlighted by a penalty to Jarrad Filsell for contact with Brady Meyers at round three. The penalty increases the difficulty for our 2022 Series champion to back it up again in 2023, currently languishing back in 28th on the points table whilst his team mate James Scott leads for SSR, closely followed by TTR’s Jake Burton and Madison Down.

Evolution Racing Team and 9ine 5ive Sim Sports drivers have been closing the gap to the heavy hitters and are ready to pounce at any moment. The layout and propensity for a boil over at Watkins Glen might just be opportunity the likes of Ethan Grigg-Gault and Dylan Rudd are looking for to breakthrough for their first win.

As we approach the halfway mark, there are some big name drivers sitting outside the safe transfer spot of 20th position to earn an invitation for the 2024 series, these drivers will need to start delivering results if they don’t want to risk it in the qualifying series next year. Some big names include Jake Moloney (21st), Shawn McNamara (23rd), Joshua Anderson (25th), Jarrad Filsell (28th), Rehan Liyanage (37th) and Josh Muggleton (38th).

Equally, there are some standout performances early in the season which have set guys like Brenton Hobson (7th), Kurt Stenberg (12th) and Brian Borg (15th) up for a great season. But all eyes will be on the battle at the front this Wednesday, with Jarrad Filsell, Jake Burton, Madison Down, James Scott, Andrew Gilliam and Ethan Grigg-Gault all looking to stamp their authority on the championship.

Going out live across all of our platforms, The Logitech G Pro Invitational Series will also be live on the Motorsport Australia Socials for the first time! Action kicks off at 7:30pm, see you there!

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