Evolution Racing team Driver Brad Ryan has been left seething after a controversial stewards penalty left him to start the race from Pitlane. Ryan was deemed to have impeded Luke Rosella on a flying lap and penalised severely prior to the 39 lap race at Spa on Wednesday night.

The Evolution Racing Team cars were fast, which infuriated Brad as the impact of the penalty gave him almost no chance to succeed in the race. Whilst he does not deny he unintendedly impeded the SSR car, Ryan was shocked to learn he had to start the race from pit lane. Ultimately, Ryan was involved in more incidents during the race as he was forced to try and make the best of a bad situation, earning himself more attention from the stewards.

This was the second race that Brad has been at the end of a harsh call remembering the Red Bull Ring when an incorrect penalty that was issued could not be cleared in time resulted n a 40 second stop go penalty. Brads frustration was understandable considering he and the team have found some extra pace but haven’t been able to cash in with the deserved result.

Series Admins and Stewards are looking into the harsh nature of the penalty, but Brad will be looking to hit back at Hockenheim next week. The ERT cars looking fast and good on their tyres at the midpoint of the season, ERT have definitely turned a corner with their car setup.

Tune in to Hockenheim on the Australian Sim Racing Group YouTube page to watch all the action or past events.

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So far, the initial 40 drivers in the inaugural series have put on a great show as we pass the halfway mark of the championship. As we know though, only the top 20 get through. So for that one person in 21st, there will be heartbreak at being so close… yet so far. After each round we sit down and talk to that driver. This week, it’s SSR’s Wayne Bourke.

Wayne, you are our driver “On the bubble” in  21st. The top 20 get through and lock in to the 2023 series, have you been happy with how your championship has gone so far?

It’s been a frustrating season for me so far, felt like we’ve had good pace in our SSR cars just haven’t had the results in the 89 Smith & Son’s car to show for it.

Before the start of the series, what were your goals? What does success in this series mean for you?

I felt before the season that I could be a regular top 10 to top 5 driver and could snag a podium every now and then. I think finishing the championship in the top 10 in points after the start I’ve had would be successful.

You have been very fast at a number of rounds, most recently you were fighting for a podium at Spa before it all went wrong. What will it take for you to get into the top 20?

I think with some consistent finishes I will be able to push into the top 20 in points.

How important is it for you to make the top 20 so that you don’t have to go through the qualifying series?

Pretty important as with a short series like the qualifier you leave yourself open to being involved in trouble which could leave you entirely out of the next season.

And finally what are your thoughts on the series?

I think the series is great, being able to race the same people week in and out. The racing has been really fun with how hard the racing is and the level of competition has been super high.

Thanks for the chat, Wayne, we wish you luck for future races and hope that you can get “off the bubble”.

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The latest round of the Logitech G Pro Invitational Supercar Series highlighted the increasing rivalry between the two heavyweights of Australian V8 Sim racing, SSR and TTR. At the front, not an inch was given as the top drivers traded paint and slogged it out for the win.

In the end it was SSR’s Jarrad Filsell who got the upper hand, surviving two safety car restarts whilst chaos ensued around him. It was TTR’s Ethan Warren and team mate Madison Down filling out the final two positions of the podium.

During the race, there were multiple clashes between SSR and TTR drivers, highlighted by an aggressive move on TTR’s Josh Anderson and Madison Down by Brodie Kostecki at the end of Kemmel straight. The move made it three wide on the entry to the chicane and sent both TTR cars off track, Madison lucky to escape damage as he re-entered out of control into the path of Josh Anderson. The TTR/Cooldrive Mustang spun into the path of the field, collecting another TTR entry of Ellis at the same time. This incident infuriated the team at TTR, labelling the move as ‘crazy and careless’. But stewards didn’t see an infringement, and Brodie pressed on in the fight for a podium.

In the final moments of the race, roles were reversed as Madison escaped penalty for netcode contact with SSR’s Wayne Bourke. The SSR #89 was fighting for a podium when Madison darted out from under the rear wing of Bourke, collecting the Commodore and sending it off the track and out of contention. SSR’s team manager equally as infuriated that Madison escaped a penalty stating ‘Mads somehow got away with murder there, devastated for Bourkey to wear that one. Still plenty of racing to go this season’.

At the flag however, Jarrad Filsell claimed yet another victory only hours after SSR announced Dayne Warren would be pairing with Jarrad for the endurance races coming up, setting the stage for another bumper round at Hockenheim on the 14th of September. Jarrad cheekily admitting ‘I love beating TTR cars’.

See you all for round 6 of the Logitech G Pro Invitational Supercar Series on the Australian Sim Racing Group youtube page. Tune in!

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Round 5 of the Logitech G Pro Invitational Supercar Series brought the field to Spa-Francorchamps in the alpine countryside of Belguim. Jarrad Filsell entered the round with a commanding lead in the championship chase, and he would be looking to put his best foot forward and tighten the screws on the competition. 

This Round he had the added support of real life supercar driver and SSR/Boost Mobile Racing team mate of Brodie Kostekci to help him against the TTR Juggernaut of drivers.

Teams had six weeks to prepare after the long mid-season break and it was ERT who looked to have made the most of that time. Marcelo Rivera laying down a clean lap in qualifying without draft to head the field by two tenths, Marcelo’s first pole position of the series. Lining up next to him was the championship leader Jarrad Filsell, whilst Shane Van Gisbergen secured third on the grid in his throwback liveried ‘BinField’ Commodore. Burton shared the second row with SVG, whilst Madison Down, a Spa specialist featured at the pointy end too.

The long nature and severe off tracks at Spa meant there were a few fast cars buried in the grid after poor qualifying runs. Ethan Warren would line up only 14th, whilst Richard Hamstead could only muster 17th ahead of his TTR team mate Meyers. Griffin Gardiner and Tom Freer, top 10 championship cars were also buried even deeper in the field.

In the pre-race interview with Marcelo Rivera he seemed nervous, but that didn’t stop him nailing the start to lead the field away. At the famous turn 1 McNamara was the first victim as he was spun to the back. Up front though, Rivera did a brilliant first lap to settle into a long race ahead of Filsell and a bit further back, Van Gisbergen. The field staying close, and benefitting from the draft train, it was Ethan Warren who began to use his top speed down Kemmel Straight to make passes and edge his way into the top 10 by lap three.

ERT’s Ethan Grigg-Gault and Vendavals Jake Burton came together on the exit of Bruxelles and on the run back down the hill, EGG coming off second best. In the upcoming laps, EGG would attempt a pass on Ross at the final chicane and in the process tagging Burton into a spin and causing Ross to lose many positions having to take avoiding action. EGG would earn the wrath of the stewards, issued with a drive through penalty shortly after.

Further back, a close pack of cars scrapped for mid field positions and pit strategy would be critical to jump clear of your competition. Kuznetsov, a newcomer to the series was beginning to slice his way through the Pack, guiding his Premier Racing Team Commodore past his closet rivals. Up front again and Madison Down managed to find his way past SVG on lap seven, his tyre life starting to show as he was banking quick lap times.

Team Jinx Shifters HJR Driver Chris Coxhead was one of the first to stop and everyone was watching his lap time gain post pitstop, it was going to be telling as to whether the undercut was valuable. And it was, the lap time gain was significant out of the pits and Coxhead's pit stop would kick off a raft of stops. On lap 18, the top 5 were separated by only 0.9 seconds, incredible after this amount of time, so pit stops were going to be the deciding factor. Marcelo would pit from the front on lap 18, looking to maintain his track position and defeat any undercut from the trailing pack. But Drama for Rivera in his pit stop as his car would go back up on the jacks again after dropping, blowing valuable time and dumping him down the field, exiting the pits in effective mid teens!

The following lap, Filsell and SVG entered the pits not knowing the Rivera drama. They were looking to draft back up to Rivera after the stop, and continue to fuel save. SVG performing a sneaky block on Madison at Pit entry, the TTR driver unable to enter the pit lane as SVG placed his car that gave Madison no option. The games were on at the front!

Kostecki was in the next lap, hoping to join back up with team mate Filsell, and share each others draft. Madison changed his strategy on the run, and opted to stay out longer in the hope he could use his fresher tyres after the stop to keel a battling pack back in. But, Madison changed the strategy again, pitting later, and taking less fuel to maintain the lead. A bold strategy allowing others to draft him on a lower fuel load.

Pursuit’s Andrew Gilliam was on a charge, making his way through the field his car was once again fast, but in need of a safety car to get him back in the top battle. Passing a lot of cars, by lap 26, he was ninth and chasing down TTR’s Moloney. Lap 27 and a safety car is called for a stranded Sebastian Flock. This forced the entire field to complete their CPS obligation, and it would cleanse the field.

When they all exited the pits, it was Kostecki who had the lead ahead of team mate Filsell. The top 10 at this point was Kostecki, Filsell, SVG, Down, Bourke, Warren, Anderson, Rosella, Rivera and Gilliam. The restart was exciting with Kosteki deciding to take the field all the way to the start/finish line before accelerating. SVG took advantage of this by timing his run and passing them all for the lead into turn one, followed by Bourke who was equally as aggressive at the restart. As chaos ensured behind, Ryan spinning Hamstead, the top 10 order exiting turn one was this, SVG, Bourke, Filsell, Anderson, Kostecki, Down, Rosella, Warren, Rivera and Gilliam!

Kostecki was straight back on the attack, taking it three wide with Anderson and Down at the end of Kemmel Straight, with Down getting pushed off the track and across the grass into his TTR/Cooldrive team mate. Anderson coming off second best after running inside of the top 10 all race, it was over as his Mustang was heavily damaged retired from the race. Another TTR car of Leigh Ellis a victim in the same incident. A safety car was called again, the race had gone off!

SVG headed the field, and at the next restart he would get away cleanly, whilst SSR team mates Bourke and Filsell raced into turn one. An eight car breakaway raced away at the front as behind Gilliam's run came to a halt at Eau Rouge, an incident ending with another TTR car in the wall.

Bourke, Kostecki, Warren, Down, Rosella and Burton were all fighting for track position, allowing SVG and Filsell to skip away at the front. Warren eventually securing some track position in third, whilst Down and Bourke continued to scrap it out for fourth as the laps ticked down. Contact between Down and Bourke on lap 37 ended Bourke’s race, but it was still on for the win, and still on throughout the field.

A lap 38 incident between SVG and Warren almost guaranteed Filsell the win with only a lap to go. It put Warren under pressure to maintain his podium position as he re-entered the track. It was on for young or old all the way to the finish line, no one willing to give an inch. Filsell would cross the line once again for another round victory, ahead of SVG and Warren. Behind, Kuznetsov and Gilliam were able to make a pass at the final chicane to move themselves forward whilst a commendable top 10 result by the small WK&P team to bring home Worboy’s inside the top 10.

Post-race penalties were applied and the results are now live on our website. It was an action and drama packed round and we can't wait to see what these 40 best Supercar drivers have in store for us in under two weeks' time at Hockenheim.

The top 10 in the championship is as follows, Filsell, Warren, Burton, Maloney, Meyers, Down, Ross, Hobson, Freer and Anderson. Can anyone stop runaway leader Jarrad Filsell?

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