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Round 6 Preview: High Speed and High Stakes at Road America

We’re back on the saddle! Just three weeks after Spa, and with Jerez to come before we see out July, it's the highest density point of the season. 10 weeks covered the first four rounds of the championship, but between the end of June to the end of July we get three races in five weeks.

Also of note is the critical juncture in the season; Road America marks the 6th round of the championship and the halfway mark in terms of race counts. With the True Force Endurance Cup covering Rounds 9 to 11, there is still plenty more action ahead when considering the remaining race distance too.

Road America marked the conclusion of the first half of last year's championship, but the headline on that occasion was a new lineup for Lobs Esports. Griffin Gardiner stood up on debut for the team and landed the car on pole position, but struggled to get the car rolling off the line before heavy contact with Marcello Rivera massively hampered both cars.

This year is going to be massively different, so let's get into the format and I can show you why.

  • 2023

    Pole - 2.03.168 Jarrad Filsell

    Race - Brady Meyers

    Format - Sprint - 43 Laps - 280km

  • 2024

    Pole - 2.04.355 - Griffin Gardiner

    Race - Jarrad Filsell

    Format - Sprint - 43 Laps - 280km

  • 2025

    Sprint - 35 Laps - 227km

Once again, Filsell dominates the stat charts here, and I wouldn’t doubt that to continue with the current mechanical prowess the Lobs Esports team continues to display. But – and this one’s a doozy – there’s a strong chance we see the wet tire at some point this time around.

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This is the rain forecast for the afternoon of the race. Practice and qualifying don’t offer anything in the way of precipitation, but as the race commences in the afternoon, the chance of rain builds to a peak of 65% about two and a half hours into the race.

Importantly, this rain chance builds aggressively 15 minutes prior to the start of the race and maintains from there. Testing sessions appear to be showing moderate to heavy rain intensity.

After the extreme fuel limitations failed to generate a convincing split strategy at Spa, we return to the previous tank size of 93 Litres for this round. The tricky thing about the fuel is going to be the changeable conditions; reduced throttle percentage and progressive application as drivers deal with the puddles is going to swing that fuel number wildly! 

Speaking to some drivers, we’re seeing differences of up to 0.4 Litres per lap. That could mean stints are extended up to two laps longer in heavy wet conditions.

There’s also a chance some of the drivers may opt to leave a wet tire on and not go for a tyre change. This will be based on three factors:

  1. Rain Intensity – Fresh tread blocks clear more water and bite harder into the track surface. With light rain, the outright challenge is reduced lap to lap, and there’s less of a concern for things like standing water and ridiculous amounts of spray. 
  2. Upcoming strategy – Could we see a short stint before rain clears and see a transition to a dry tyre? If so, there might be a window to maximise the warmer tyre.
  3. Cold tyre warmup phase – During initial testing on the iRacing Gen3 wet tyre, the car felt horrid before getting into its temperature window. If there is enough of a time loss in reaching that window, and it matches a hole in the weather and fuel, you might just take a quicker launch in a stint.

Could wet weather finally impact a V8PRO Race at Road America?

Primarily though, this all boils down to what the clouds have in store for us. Fuel range on full burn is looking like 16-17 laps, just shy of the halfway mark; with two compulsory pit stops in effect, drivers can’t just pit from here and get to the end. 

My thoughts are that drivers will opt to go light-on with fuel in the first pit stop to not only try and gain track position, but also have an easier-to-stop car. Alternatively, weight over the rear of the car can also help in generating traction, so it will be interesting to see if this is a consideration for race strategy.

Visibility is going to be a huge issue as well. Good thing we’ve got a lot more vision than the drivers to call it through in the commentary box!

Get set for the Logitech V8 Pro Invitational from the rain soaked Elkhart Lake this Wednesday night from 7.45pm AEST - see you there!

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by Scott Rankin

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Save It or Send It: Spa Becomes a Game of Strategy

With two consecutive races in the land of the free completed, the Logitech G Pro Invitational Series roared back to Europe for the first time since the opening round in Austria. It’s Spa week!

Not only is Spa-Francorchamps a complete opposite in character to the previous venue of Detroit Belle-Isle, but so would be the race format for this Wednesday night dogfight. This time, the series returned to the traditional format of one race including two mandatory stops.

If you couldn’t make the broadcast on Wednesday, not to worry! Here’s all you need to get caught up from Round 5 of the Logitech G Pro Invitational Series.

Fuel a Key Factor in Pre-Race Discussions

There was an ominous vibe to the afternoon before the drivers had even hit the track for qualifying. With an eye-watering 40% fuel tank cap applied to the cars - on a track with the most full-throttle time on the calendar - spotters were in for a long night of decision making based on track position and slipstream.

With two mandatory stops in place, teams would have to be on their feet to decide if avoiding a third stop was possible. It would require an impressive conservation effort from the drivers, but it was possible. Let’s not forget the race-winning strategy from last time out that saw Brady Meyers reign supreme!

The Run through Eau Rouge

Getting Down to Business in Qualifying

Championship leader Jarrad Filsell topped the board in the first run of qualifying laps; he would be looking for a strong comeback after his incident with Madison Down at the conclusion of last round that saw him plummet down the order late in Race 2. Down would trail Filsell for the moment in second place, separated by just 0.037 seconds.

With Spa being such a long lap, it is crucial to execute a smooth qualifying without wasting too much time. One invalid lap might not seem so bad, but with tyre wear and a no-reset rule in effect, missing one hotlap immediately rids a third of your attempts - and, inherently - a third of your time. The pressure from having no laps on the board only compounds as the 20-minute session ticks away.

Sebastian Varndell, Jake Blackhall, Ryan Jones and Lachlan Caple were among the names with no representative lap to offer with just 5 minutes remaining.

Just half a second separated the top 10 when drivers began their final laps, with James Scott pipping Emily Jones to 10th by just 0.002s. But the order would shake up immensely as cloud cover cooled the track in the dying stages.

Spa Delivers Most Exciting Qualifying Conclusion of the Season Thus Far

Jarrad Filsell would take jabs at Madison Down throughout the session, eventually crossing the line on his final lap to grab provisional pole by just under a tenth. But Down had one more ace up his sleeve when he stormed across the line to claim pole position by 0.061s over the LOBS eSports superstar. In doing so, Down would claim the first non-LOBS Playseat Pole Position of the year.

Luke Rosella and Zach-Rattray-White would line up on the second row within 0.083 of Down’s pole time, followed by Andrew Gilliam, Damon Woods, Brady Meyers, Jake Moloney, Josh Anderson and Beau Albert to round out the top 10.

Kody Deith would line up in 14th, but was handed a 10-second penalty for impeding Ryan Jones.

Madison Down leads off from Pole Position down to Turn 1 on the opening lap

Titans Trade Blows in Exhilarating Opening Sequence

32 gruelling laps of action awaited the drivers as the lights came on in Spa - Green Flag in Belgium!

Filsell got away perfectly with a smooth drop of the clutch that saw him inch ahead of Madison Down on the run to Turn 1. But with a taily exit on the gripless left-hand side of the track, Filsell emerged behind Down on the run to Eau Rouge for the first time of the afternoon.

Filsell would ride the TTR Camaro’s bumper for the entirety of the opening two laps, even unsettling his own car with contact through Bruxells on Lap 2.

An equally exciting battle further down the order erupted on Lap 3, when Jordan Ross was forced to back out on the entry of Eau Rouge – tucking under the wing of Hayden Veld. Just ahead, Christopher Ireland would be forced to serve a slow down penalty. That tempted Ross back down the inside of Veld at the entry of Le Combe, but neither of those two would emerge unscathed.

While Veld was able to escape with minor damage, Ross was sent spinning across the track and into the gravel trap on the opposite side of the road. Somehow, no other cars were involved and a safety car was avoided.

Ross and Veld come to blows on Lap 3

Lead Change Sparks Strategy Brawl

After 6 laps of tailing Down, Filsell would make the move for the lead at Le Combes. It was a decisive moment of the race that meant the race leader was notably disinterested in the prospect of fuel saving for at least the first stint.

On schedule with the lack of fuel save were the first pit stops. On lap 9, Filsell pitted from the lead followed by the majority of those that were battling within the top 10. Everyone that pitted with the leaders on this lap immediately took themselves out of contention for the two-stop strategy. Zach Rattray-White and Damon Woods managed the extra lap for Eclipse Simsports, along with most of the field behind.

All that work would be for nothing for Rattray-White, who lost 10 seconds in the pitlane after not noticing he had missed his pit box. Tyson Broad stayed out another lap to make himself the lead car of those yet to pit, clutch lifting immensely to wrestle his Orbit Drop Bear Camaro to the pit box at the end of Lap 11.

Lead cars on the lane for one of 3 stops in the 32 lap race

Filsell Returns to Strengths as Race Hits the Halfway Mark

With the second stint well underway, Filsell made the most of the opportunity to use the clean air in front. By the time the second batch of pit stops began on lap 18, Filsell had clawed out the gap behind to nearly three seconds over Madison Down, Luke Rosella and Andrew Gilliam.

Madison Down would take more fuel on board compared to all of the LOBS cars, meaning the polesitter would lose track position and emerge the pitlane in effective fourth place. Luke Rosella’s pit stop was longer than it needed to be after he overshot his pit bay, but he too emerged ahead of Down regardless.

With seven laps remaining, Andrew Gilliam and Luke Rosella would tear into the pitlane for their final stop of the afternoon. Once again, it was Filsell and Down leading the race, staying out a few laps longer from the extra fuel taken in the second pit stop.

Rosella would eventually pay the price for missing his pit stall, falling off the back of his teammate Gilliam before being put under immense pressure by Eclipse Simsports’ Damon Woods.

When Madison Down pitted with six laps to go, Andrew Gilliam emerged just ahead – a defining moment in the race that put the extent of Down’s fuel advantage on the backburner. Putting on a brutal defence for the entirety of his out-lap, Gilliam was able to hold up Down just enough for Filsell to retain the race lead when he pitted with four laps to go.

Kody Deith and Beau Albert scrapped in the battle for ninth place. The pair would begin trading places in a gloves-off battle through Bruxells and No-Name, which erupted again on the same lap when they arrived at the bus stop chicane. Deith looked to be victorious in that dispute with a neat cutback at La Source, but was forced to give the place back to Albert at the top of the hill after cutting the track at Raidillon.

Deith and Albert in a door to door battle in the late stages of the race

A Champion Comeback From a Champion Driver - Filsell Wins at Spa!

With a winning margin of 2.088s over an ominously quick Madison Down, Jarrad Filsell claimed Logitech G Pro Invitational Series victory for the fifth time this season – a phenomenal record that now sees him eclipse the series table by 110 points over TTR’s Josh Anderson.

Andrew Gilliam and Luke Rosella would complete the “LOBS Sandwich” in third and fourth, followed by Damon Woods, Josh Anderson, Brady Meyers, Zach Rattray-White, Beau Albert and Dylan Rudd concluding the top 10.

Honorable mentions!

It’s impossible to not commend the efforts of Shawn McNamara this time out, moving his 9INE5IVE Simsports Mustang from 26th to 14th.

Orbit Drop Bear’s Tyson Broad was another big mover in the pack, making the most of a creative alternate strategy to move from 36th to 25th.

An underappreciated drive was that of Andrew Gilliam. While only moving up onto the podium from fifth, he also played a key role in Jarrad Filsell’s victory over Madison Down, which could have easily gone the other way had it not been for Gilliams' sharp defending.

On the other side of the coin, Jake Moloney and James Scott both had nightmare outings - dropping 29 and 26 places respectively.

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The Ardennes Awaits: Previewing a Belgian Battle

After a few weeks off we’re moving into the busy season of the Global racing calendar, both physical and simulated. So what a time to be visiting a jewel in the international racing crown. The Logitech Pro Invitational series rolls into virtual Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on the same day practice begins for the 24h of Spa. What a combination!

I might be biased, but I think the racing we have is better! Who can forget the final moments of the season in 2024. We all bid farewell to the Gen 2 Supercar, more importantly to the Holden brand. 

What about the circuit, what makes it unique? Fast and flowing, up until 2 weeks ago the longest GP circuit on the iRacing service; that's now been claimed by The Bend Motorsports Park’s GT Layout.

Spa is dominated by medium to high speed corners. It’s all about having a car with good flow and rotation. The biggest difference we will see compared to last year is going to be the lap speed. There are two primary reasons for that, track length but also the major difference is this track requires downforce which we’re lacking in the Gen3 Chassis. It's actually got me intrigued to see how big the margin is going to be.

This track has featured on the calendar every year of the Logitech V8 Pro Invitational so far, so the style of racing to this point has been a known quantity. Big packs, Big Draft Trains, Bulk Fuel saving. There is definitely an element of those traits still here, but the draft isn’t as strong as the Gen2, the fuel saving isn’t as easy and the pack racing isn’t a certainty to return as a result.

  • 2022

    Qualifying  - Marcello Rivera 2.17.498

    Race  - Jarrad Filsell

    Format  - 39 Laps - 273km

  • 2023

    Qualifying  - Jarrad Filsell 2.16.593

    Race  -  Jarrad Filsell (post race penalty promoted James Scott to the win)

    Format  - 39 Laps - 273km

  • 2024

    Qualifying - Jarrad Filsell 2.16.206

    Race - Jarrad Filsell

    Format - 35 Laps - 245km

2025

Format: 32 Laps - 224km

Spa has been utterly dominated by Jarrad Filsell, where he has crossed the line first every year. Post race penalties in 2023 are all that separates him from the perfect race record.

Worthwhile noting last year’s pole lap was a dead heat to the thousandth of a second with James Scott. They were only broken by 4 ten-thousandths of a second which set the stage for the race really well.

Racing from Spa has trended to the tight, but controversial over the last few years. With the packs of cars running together we’ve ended up with late battles that come down to the wire and see drivers sent to the stewards office. Jarrad Filsell in 2023 was the most controversial, but the hard fight between Filsell, Ethan Grigg-Gault and James Scott went to the final corners last year where Scott and Grigg-Gault would make contact. Scott would be handed a 5s post race penalty, dropping him off the podium after a brilliant battle.

Championship Leader Jarrad Filsell has an ominous track record at Spa

Fuel and strategy wise this is an interesting prospect of a race. Fuel saving is always going to happen with the length of the lap. The undercut has been super powerful, and is likely going to be the trigger for the break in the pack. 

Fuel wise this is going to be an interesting race. There’s been a massive fuel restriction applied to change things up this race. The cars will be restricted to a maximum of 53.2L of fuel which isn’t quite enough for 10 laps. It's going to mean we have ourselves a three stop race. Fuel amounts at the stop are going to vary a little bit. A full burn fuel drop of 123.7L is going to be required. If you can save 2 litres of fuel you can get the 10th lap out of the tank, which puts us incredibly close to chopping out a stop of fuel. If you can save an additional 5.5L you get the lap to get yourself home.

So this is going to be an interesting race. If you can save somewhere in the realm of 800-900mL of fuel per lap you chop a stop out of the race. Some will commit, some won’t and a Safety car decides this race!

So far in 2025 the fuel save races have been classics. Could Spa be another one? Find out Wednesday night from 7.45pm AEST.


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Belle Isle Delivers Thrilling Action in Detroit

The season is ticking by quicker than you can imagine; When the Detroit Super Sprint saw the chequered flag on Wednesday night, it meant the Logitech G Pro Invitational Series had officially eclipsed the 1/3 mark of the season.

With the series continuing its pseudo double header in the north-eastern corner of the US, drivers returned to the infamously challenging Belle-Isle Grand Prix street circuit for the first of two ‘Super Sprint’ rounds in the exhilarating 12-round calendar.

Here’s the rundown of all the action from the streets of Detroit in Round 4 of the Logitech G Pro Invitational Series!

A quick freshen-up on the format

The Super Sprint race format for this season provides a unique challenge for the drivers, rewarding consistent driving across multiple sessions where rhythm can be hard to establish.

For each of the two races in this format, the grid is set by its own qualifying session prior to each race; that means no reverse grid, and importantly a second chance for drivers that may have had poor fortune in the first half of the afternoon.

To ensure there is enough space on track – particularly here in Detroit where open track is quite the precious commodity – each qualifying session is split into two groups that are selected by splitting the championship order in half, with the bottom half going first. Each group gets 10 minutes to set the fastest laps they can.

Race 1 is a 16-lap sprint with effectively no chance of a pitstop despite a 40% fuel cap; the race winner will score 67 points. Race 2 is a slightly longer 24 laps with a pitstop more than likely, regardless of a mandatory stop not being enforced; the race winner here will score 133 points.

Belle Isle provides some of the toughest track surfaces on the Calendar

Pit Lane Opens – Qualifying for Race 1 Begins!

The bottom half of the championship order took to the track for the first time of the afternoon, and in usual V8Pro fashion, hairwidths separated the running order.

It was Wayne Bourke and Jobe Stewart who tussled for provisional pole, with Bourke prevailing for Vermillion eSports over the proven real-world racer by just 0.046s.

Behind Bourke would lie four consecutive Evolution Racing Team cars in Jobe Stewart, Matthew Bowler, Ian Ford and Lachlan Caple. Caple would bring his session to an early halt when his engine went bang on the run down to Turn 3.

Just 0.635s would separate the 20-car Group 1 at the conclusion of their session.

Group 2 was defined by delivering when it mattered, a trait held only by the very best in the business. There are layers of mental games going on when times are already on the board at a place where track position is so crucial.

It appeared to be the usual script in the first half of the session, with championship leader Jarrad Filsell launching his LOBS Camaro onto the top step with his first lap of the night. Josh Anderson followed closely, trailing by less than half a tenth.

Brady Meyers made hearts drop when he jumped to the top over Filsell by three hundredths – but it was short lived when Filsell put the nail in the coffin to claim provisional pole by a tenth just moments later. James Scott also made a late appearance when he jumped to second place, chipping the gap to Filsell down by fractions.

With Andrew Gilliam also improving on his last lap to put him in fourth, Josh Anderson – who currently sits second in the championship – found himself dropping to the third row of the grid.

Caple's session comes to an abrupt end with a blown motor in Qualifying 1

Green Flag Drops for Race 1!

It was a very clean start for the top half of the field; most notably within the top 10 where the running order remained steadfast from qualifying.

There was a stark contrast down the back though, with a number of cars involved in an incident that began with heavy contact between Brian Borg and Sebastian Varndell on the run down to Turn 3. Brian Borg was also involved in a separate incident with Glen Postlethwaite that saw the Racekraft Simulations driver pointing the wrong way on the exit of the same corner.

Lap 1 collisions didn’t stop in the first sector, with a number of cars also picking up damage on the entry of the technical middle sector. That all started when Jack Widdas lost control at the entry of Turn 7, causing trailing cars to check-up at very short notice.

Dylan Perera tempted the idea of a safety car when he made monstrous contact with the barrier before Turn 6. The collision left the car with significant damage that somehow avoided the threshold required for a mechanical black flag. Had his engine blown, it almost certainly would have drawn out a Safety Car for the first time this season … no foreshadowing there …

Tension Builds as Race 1 Draws to a Close

The race appeared to be settling at the front with six laps to go, but Kody Deith had other plans — kicking off his late push into the top ten with a launch down the inside of Jobe Stewart at Turn 11. With Stewart left on the marbles for the remainder of the last sector, Zach Rattray-White took the opportunity to follow his Eclipse Simsport teammate through.

That was the catalyst for the most exhilarating battle of the race that wouldn’t finish for another three quarters of a lap. Jobe Stewart would find his way up the road, but Ethan Grigg-Gault and Jake Maloney would trade paint all the way to the back straight. That gave 9INE5IVE Simsports’ Ric Kuznetsov enough time to not only catch the squabbling pair, but pass them at Turn 7 as well!

Meanwhile up the road, Jarrad Filsell stormed to his fourth consecutive victory of the season, crossing the line three seconds ahead of his former teammate James Scott – who now races for

Chiefs ESC. Brady Meyers rounded out the podium in third for Trans Tasman Racing, securing both his personal best result of the season and the team’s first podium of the year.

Filsell's perfect season stayed in tact after Race 1

Qualifying Phase 2 Offers Second Chance

Identical to the first qualifying session, Group 1 peeled out onto the track once again in a fresh server to settle their place on the grid – this time for Race 2.

Hayden Veld took provisional pole over Ryan Jones by 0.072s in Group 1, with the remainder of the top 10 separated by less than four tenths.

In Group 2, Luke Rosella would launch to the top of the board over Jarrad Filsell by about half a tenth. He would hold that place until the session’s dying stages, where a number of improvements saw the entire field shaken up.

Andrew Gilliam would steal the show with a monstrous lap that secured him his first pole position of the season. He would be accompanied by his championship-leading teammate Jarrad Filsell on the front row, with the LOBS takeover also supported by Luke Rosella on the second row in fourth. Griffin Gardiner would be attempting to hold down the fort for Chiefs ESC in third.

Chaos? Try Pandemonium – Green Flag in Race 2!

The beginning of Race 2 was much the same as Race 1. The leaders got away unharmed, but the train of cars behind was ridden with entropy. That started with Ric Kunzetsov being squished against the pit entry fence by Wayne Bourke on the run through Turn 1, leaving the 9INE5IVE driver with significant damage and a drop all the way down the order.

At Turn 3, the ERT Mustang of Ethan Grigg-Gault took to the escape road. Shortly after, nine cars entered the same corner within the same 20-odd meters. That resulted in Vermillion’s Andre Yousiff being guided into the barrier, and others escaping with battered panel work. Dylan O’Shea and Bryan Borg were sprawled across the track at the exit of Turn 6, with Yousiff narrowly managing to avoid the two cars after arriving at the scene late.

The remains of the Jordan Ross SSR Mustang after a huge lap 2 incident

Buckle up ladies and gentlemen; because when an incident in the last sector on Lap 2 saw Jordan Ross, Tyson Broad and Brady Baldwin unable to continue on, it brought out ….

The First Safety Car of 2025!

At this stage, teams were split on the idea of pitting. There was no mandatory stop to be served, but you had to get some fuel in the car at some point to make it home. Given how early it was, stopping this early had only minor gains. You could make it on paper, but it would require heavy fuel saving all the way to the chequered flag.

TTR had faith in the idea with a handful of their entries opting for the fuel splash, but the leaders prioritised track position and stayed out.

Things were civilised on the restart with the field settling into a train. With just half the race remaining, the LOBS pairing of Andrew Gilliam and Jarrad Filsell were slowly building a gap to the rest of the field… but there was one more chapter left in this story.

The Logitech G Safety Car makes it's first laps for 2025

Battles Heat up on Run Home!

On lap 16, the lead pair tore into the lane. With four other front running cars following suit, Brady Meyers took the race lead. At this stage, Meyers would need to continue saving as he was to make it to the end, while his adversaries could push all the way to the end.

In a normal situation with the gap that stood from Meyers to Gilliam, the fuel saver doesn’t win. But this was not a normal situation.

Between Gilliam and Meyers stood none other than Madison Down. In a Sergio Perez Abu Dhabi 2021-style affair, Madison placed his car surgically to slow down the LOBS duo for as long as he could. At every major braking zone for all of lap 17, Gilliam attempted a pass on Meyers that simultaneously opened the door for Filsell – but the championship leader waited.

By the penultimate corner, Gilliam’s tyre temperatures were searing. That allowed Filsell to slide down the inside and take what was realistically P2 on the road, and it would be his turn to try and pass the fuel-saving Madison Down.

The Crescendo of Round 4

This is it. This is Supercars action in all of its glory. Fuel savers versus pushers, championship contenders fending off places, anyone trying to knock the championship leader off their perch as the solitary race winner of every race thus far.

At this stage, Madison Down was going as far to fuel save as pulling in the clutch whenever he could. With Filsell and Gilliam already losing three seconds in this two-lap affair with Down, something had to give.

Filsell nudged Down off his line at the exit of Turn 7, and when the TTR veteran attempted to hold his ground through the narrow right hander of Turn 8, the two stars made contact. When Filsell began to lose traction, he kept the throttle on to try and use Down as a way to straighten back up. But with Gilliam claiming the left-most side of the track to force a three-wide situation, all of that force was sent straight back through to Filsell.

Down and Filsell would guide each other into the fence on the right side, tumbling down the order in dramatic fashion as several cars took the opportunity for free places. This was now Brady Meyers’ race to lose. And while Gilliam would claim those two spots instantly, he no longer had the slipstream required to get to the end on his strategy – Gilliam short-fueled to retain his lead over his teammate.

Former Champions collide causing a defining moment in the race

Cinematic Victory for Meyers as Tank Runs Dry

The spotlight now fell on TTR’s Brady Meyers with 2 laps to go. After the calamity of a race that Gilliam and Filsell had, Luke Rosella was now the leading LOBS car tasked with passing Meyers for the race lead.

The gap was closing sector by sector, corner by corner. With the white flag waving, Meyers was still profusely lifting and coasting. Rounding the last corner, the TTR wheeler had done it.

His car may have been out of fuel, but he had just made history in the Logitech G Pro Invitational Series; he became the first driver other than Jarrad Filsell to win a race in 2025.

There were a number of penalties that shook up the order, including one for Rosella that knocked him from second all the way down to eighth. With that, Josh Anderson was next in line on the road to claim second – a crucial swing in the championship story for Anderson, with the gap now just 78 points to Filsell. Griffin Gardiner rounded out the podium for Chiefs ESC in third.

The remainder of the top 10 flowed as James Scott, Andrew Gilliam, Zach Rattray-White, Matthew Bowler, Luke Rosella, Hayden Veld and Kody Deith.

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The Return of the Super Sprint: Previewing Detroit

The beauty of iRacing and what we do is that we can take racing to places that we’ve never been, but at the same time relive racing from a circuit that is no longer in use.

We get to be creative and take Supercars on a journey the world over, all while celebrating a page of history that has turned for the last time.

IMSA and Indycar both ceased racing from this picturesque island in the middle of the Detroit River, but we as a community never stopped embracing this challenging wall-to-wall affair – one that sits just a few hundred metres from the Canadian border.

This race is also going to be the return of the Sprint format, which will sacrifice the strategy game in the pursuit of more racing. We didn’t have Sprint racing in 2024, but this time it returns with a qualifying session for each race. 


We’ve also never done the 2nd qualifying session before, which is going to require the adrenaline of the first race to wear off before drivers hit the track to stake their claim for grid position in Race 2. A reassuring thought from all of this is that a disastrous Race 1 doesn’t mean your night is over.

So what are the big challenges this time out?

Firstly, it's a street circuit, and it's a known quantity; generally considered to be the best street circuit currently available on the platform (pending the launch of Adelaide later in the year…. we hope) risk levels are high. Overtaking opportunities are few and far between, and racing is likely to lead to contact.

As noted, the race format is also a big one for teams to think about. We welcome back the “Super Sprint” format in 2025, with two rounds changing things up and testing the capabilities of drivers on race starts. Detroit Belle Isle and Road Atlanta have been the tracks selected for the format, and compulsory pit stops have been dropped from the schedule for Wednesday night in favour of an additional standing start. This season has seen multiple issues with spinning tires on lap 1, and with the final drive ratio tuned short for peak performance, Detroit is set to be one of the most tricky starts of the season.

The bumpy concrete surface will be a challenge for drivers

Above all, the racing itself will be the biggest challenge. With short runs between corners, less grip than we have ever had, and drafting not offering the usual opportunities – Detroit is one of the hardest venues to complete a pass. 

So how are the drivers going to get it done? The best chances will come from the mistakes of others, and probably a bit of leaning on each other. The racing product this year has been closer than ever, with drivers able to trade paint way more paint than they could in the delicate Gen2 cars. Here in Detroit, this style of racing will be tested to the maximum.

  • 2022

    Format: 60 Laps (226km)

    Pole Position: Jarrad Filsell 1:27.524

    Winner: Jarrad Filsell

  • 2023

    Format: Super Sprint Round - 2x 28 Laps (105km)

    Pole Position: Brady Meyers 1:29.292

    Race 1 Winner: Andrew Gilliam

    Race 2 Winner: Madison Down

    Round Winner: Madison Down

  • 2024

    Format: 60 Laps (275km)

    Pole Position: Andrew Gilliam 1:27.826

    Winner: Jarrad Filsell

2025

Format: 

Qualifying 1: 25 mins (Split Qualifying)

Race 1: 16 Laps (60km)

Qualifying 2: 25 mins (Split Qualifying)

Race 2: 24 Laps (90km)

Statistically, this is going to be the shortest race meeting we’ve had in the history of the series. Sprint races previously held have been around the 100km mark, but our total race distance this time out is only 150km across the 2 races.

One of the biggest changes to the new Super Sprint format is the separate Qualifying for each race. Race 1 no longer determines your starting position for Race 2, meaning that going for an aggressive move early no longer has the consequences of dooming your entire night.

You combine this with the short race format, and it adds impetus to being more aggressive. After all the banter from Stephen “Sandman” Clarke about the Safety Car, we finally get a round where the stars can align. I would put the potential somewhere around 85%; it’s not guaranteed, but there’s a very strong chance.

Strategy wise, expect no stops in the first race. There’s no gain to be found and the time loss is too significant – unless we get that Safety Car. Even then, track position will dominate and only cars doomed to run at the back of the field are going to take the chance. 

In Race 2, all of that changes. The maximum distance you can go with the fuel limitations is about 16 laps, with the fuel window opening 8 laps in. Whilst there isn’t a requirement to do a pitstop in the rules, tank size is going to force one!

I said it last year and I will say it again. Keep an eye on Andrew Gilliam. 

Speaking to him after Watkins Glen, Gilliam finally felt he found something in the car and its setup, and the results spoke to that change. He was able to take home pole position last year along with a race win despite all of the drama going on around him; keep your eyes peeled for Gilliam to take full advantage of the individual qualifying sessions.

This is going to be a unique experience. Different track conditions for both qualifying sessions means the results are very likely to be different, meaning starting orders could change dramatically.

I’ve heard mixed takes on the format, but let’s not knock it until we try it. Tune in Wednesday night from 7.45pm AEST to catch all of the action!

Published on

by Scott Rankin

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