After joining the Logitech G Pro Invitational series over the mid season break with the Premier Racing Team, Ric Kuznetsov has done nothing but show he belongs amongst the very best. 

With Premier Racing Team disbanding in early November, Kuznetsov became hot property on the driver market, quickly being snatched up by 9ine 5ive Simsports, a move that will lead to success for both the team and driver.

Impressive on debut at Spa with a 9th place finish along with another top 10 at the inaugural ASRG Bathurst 1000, it’s been a difficult initial stint for the Ric Kuznetsov we all know. A driver more than capable of been a podium and top 5 threat week in and week out.

Belle isle was no exception for this rising star, with pace to burn and exceptional attacking flare Ric will be ruing the missed opportunity to convert on the pace he was able to show, finding himself unfortunately being caught out in late race drama along with teammate and team owner Shawn McNamara and Synergy Sim racing driver Jack Boyd. Although this resulted in a poor final finishing position, Ric again was able to show the potential and speed he has to offer.

We spoke to Ric Post race to hear his thoughts on how his season is going along with what 2023 has install for the 9ine 5ive driver.

Unfortunately a tough race for you at Belle Isle, but a lot of positives to come from it also. What in your thoughts do you think you can take away for future rounds and 2023?

Belle isle we showed good race pace but had a poor qualifying. For future rounds it’s definitely gonna be trying to optimise quali as best I can so I’m not in the chaos in the mid pack of the grid

Obviously disappointing to see the disbanding of Premier Racing Team. How are you finding being apart of the 9ine 5ive squad and how are you fitting in?

9ine 5ive have treated me awesome! Super thankful for Shawn giving me the opportunity to race in his team. It’s only been less than 3 weeks since I joined and I feel super comfortable with the whole team, got a bunch of great drivers in the team and we are all pushing each other for better results.

Your season so far, is it what you expected? How do you feel your season since joint has been?

The Logitech Pro Invitational definitely met my expectations, 40 of the best drivers in Australia battling it out for the top spot. I feel my season so far has been pretty solid, couple of top 10 finishes since I joined which was my goal when joining the series mid season.

You’ve got an excellent bunch of drivers within your team, along with some strong prospects for the immediate future. What sort of role do you depict yourself playing in helping develop these future stars?

Feel my role is to work with everyone in the team to push each others limits and work together to optimise the best possible result for the team

Finally 2023, what sort of expectations do you hold for the qualifying series?

My expectation is to make 2023 grid of Logitech pro invitational so need to get solid results in the qualifying series.

Thank you for your time Ric, it’s been great to watch your growth since joining the Logitech G Pro Invitational Series. All the best for the remaining race and we look forward to seeing you in full flight for the 2023 qualifying series.

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A best finish of 20th at Spa, Greg has searched to improve and well and truely break into the top half of the field. Although results of late have been lean, the pace has definitely improved with Greg slowly moving more consistently into the mid field.

Most notably the performance of Greg and his Co Driver Rehan Liyanage at Bathurst was a standout, running deep inside the top 15 until a late race mishap put an end to their Bathurst result, nevertheless the potential didn’t go without notice.

Although Favelle’s season has been faced with many hardships he’s ability to stay persistent and keep adapting and improvising is a credit to both Greg and Tiapan Esports.

With automatic promotion to the 2023 series no longer possible, Greg’s attention will turn to 2023 and the Qualifying series set to begin on the 1st of February at Phillip Island. With one round remaining in the Logitech G pro Invitational Series, Favelle and Tiapan Esports will be looking to end the season with a solid result, taking their momentum into the 2023 Logitech Pro Invitational Qualifying series.

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For the penultimate round of the Logitech G Pro Invitational Series, the teams rolled into Detroit to tackle the Belle Isle concrete jungle. Jarrad Filsell entered the round with a healthy lead in the championship, having to finish only 23rd to wrap up the title. A maximum points haul from the two endurance races had Jarrad in the SSR/Boost Mobile Commodore looking good to take out the inaugural title.

Jarrad would have been forgiven if he rolled around just to secure the title, but that’s not Jarrads style. Pole position would signal his intentions and show that if someone wants to beat him, they have to get near him. Andrew Gilliam locked out the front row aboard his Pursuit Sim Racing Machine, looking comfortable on the bumpy streets of Detroit. Burton locked down a top three in qualifying, and having Burton in with a shot is always a guarantee of a good race. Coby Jones surprised the field by securing fourth on the grid, a season high for the SSR young charger.

Madison Down would round out the top five, the TTR #77 always fighting near the front. Behind, Gardiner, Ryan, Hamstead, Grigg-Gault and Anderson would fill out the top 10, whilst some notable absentees were Brady Meyers, Wayne Bourke and Luke Rosella from 26th.

From the green flag it was the #94 who led them away, Burton immediately taking second from Gilliam. Jones, Down, Hamstead and Gardiner would give chase, whilst Spa pole sitter Marcelo Rivera would run into problems at turn one and drop through the field. As the field settled down, EGG in the ERT Soldier On Commodore was applying the pressure to the SSR #88 of Hobson for P10, whilst further back a missed braking marker for Mitchinson saw his car and the HJR Jinx Shifters Racing entry of Coxhead make heavy damage with the wall, both sustaining terminal damage.

Grigg-Gault would get the move done on Hobson, whilst Kuznetsov would make contact with Ross on lap 10, damaging the #143 and earning Kuznetsov a penalty on his first ever appearance at 9ine 5ive Sim Sports. Back at the front, Filsell had streaked away to a healthy lead, Down had made his way up to fourth and Gilliam was looking rock solid in third positon as we headed for our first round of stops. It was Wayne Bourke from the back of the top 10 that would kick off the first round of stops on lap 18, whilst Burton would be next to fire in on lap 20 whilst locked in an intense battle with Pursuits Gilliam for second, but on lap 21 a safety car brought the entire field in for the stranded Taipan entry of Greg Favelle who had blown his engine on a down change into turn 1.

After the first round of stops, the top 10 was Filsell, Burton, Gilliam, Down, Bourke, Jones, Meyers, Gardiner, Anderson and Hamstead. Bourke’s early stop working out well for the #89, jumping a few positions. From the restart, the top six would get a good jump on the field and pull a small margin to the following. On lap 28, Down would take his TTR Commodore back up into third from Gilliam, a small mistake from the Pursuit driver enough for Down to capitalise, whilst Meyers sustained heavy damage to the #22 and would pit for repairs from eighth.

Dylan Rudd was on a charge, the 9ine 5ive driver continues to impress late this season by making a clean and aggressive pass of Hobson for a position just outside the top 10, whilst a bunch of SSR cars ran together flanked by another 9ine 5ive car of Kuznetsov. Up front again and Filsell had once again shown a clean set of heels and drove away from the field, whilst Burton in second through to Ethan Grigg-Gault in 10th all ran within 5 seconds of each other.

A lap 34 safety car for a stranded TTR car of Leigh Ellis would cleanse the field, with Brad Ryan at the front of the field, taking advantage of early safety cars to get his CPS completed early. Filsell would be right behind off the restart to challenge Ryan for the lead. Ryan got a great restart and caught the field napping, extending an early lead whilst Down would make a move for P2 on lap 38, Filsell immediately fighting back. The tussling allowed Bourke to steal a position from Down, whilst Gilliam made contact with the wall. Luckily he escaped with minimal impact but Burton was back in 14th!

On Lap 41 Filsell would make a clean move into turn 3 for the lead, immediately followed by a controversial move by Bourke on Ryan, sending Ryan into the wall and earning Bourke a Podium killing penalty. Further back, Hamstead and Gardiner made contact, damaging the TTR Mustang on lap 46. The top 10 at this point was Filsell, Down, Bourke (with penalty to come), Jones, Anderson, Gilliam, Grigg-Gault, Gardiner, Hamstead and Burton. Jack Boyd and Dylan Rudd had run close to the top 10 all night, and both were in with a chance to secure a top 10 position by the end of the race, but they would have to fight it out. And Fight it out they did in an epic display of door to door racing.

Harrison made heavy contact with the wall on lap 47, ending the Send it Sim Sports drivers race after a move by HJR’s Brett Loxton ended in unfortunate wheel contact, it was a disappointing end to a promising race for the much improved Harrison. Josh Anderson has had it tough of late, but with ten laps to go he was looking at a solid top four result, which Josh will take after a tough endurance season.

McNamara and Kuznetsov would make contact whilst racing hard for positon with Boyd, ending with both 9ine 5ive cars in the concrete walls, a bitterly disappointing end for both Ric and Shawn who battles tirelessly for the entire race. Further back, Ross and Stenberg made contact, resulting in damage for Stenberg and a post race penalty for Ross, whilst Anderson and Gilliam made a clean move on Bourke to take fourth and fifth respectively.

Jones had started to close in on Down as the race was coming to an end, but ultimately it wasn’t enough. Jones secured his first ever podium in what was a break out performance for the young SSR driver, whilst Madison Down fittingly crossed the line this time behind his long time sparring partner and the new inaugural champion, Jarrad Filsell. The #94 SSR/Boost Mobile Racing driver did it in style, displaying a dominant performance to put the result in no doubt as to who the 2022 champion is.

Positons four to 10 were Anderson, Gilliam, Grigg-Gault, Burton, Gardiner, Hamstead and Rudd who capped off another fantastic result for his team.

Congratulations Jarrad Filsell on becoming our first Logitech G Pro invitational Supercar Champion!

We finish the year off at Phillip Island in just a couple of weeks where TTR, ERT, Pursuit, 9ine 5ive will all be looking to lay a foundation for next season and stop the SSR/Filsell juggernaut.

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Using the track

Bell Isle being somewhat the concrete canyon of iracing there is not a lot of room for error. Running the car as close as possible to the walls to open up the corner entry and exits. Overstep the mark and you can find yourself in the wall.

Tyre life

With there being lots of slow speed corners good drive traction and side bite is crucial. set the car up to aggressive and you could find yourself battling to keep the car of the walls.

Strategy

There will be a variety of different strategies on race day but Gaining track position over the competition after the final pit stop will be key for getting a good result at the end of the race.

Traffic

Managing traffic from lapped cars, incidents and lap 1 chaos, will be one to be very mindful of as it could end your race very quickly if caught up in them. car placement is crucial because there is no runoff only concrete walls either side which will make it tricky to navigate through any sorts of traffic.

Qualifying

0x's and cars on slow outlaps will be things to watch out for in qualifying. Setting a banker lap early will make sure you have a time on the board at the end of qualifying and not left with no time from being borked from other cars and getting 0x's from making mistakes and pushing too hard at the end of qualifying

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