As anticipation builds for Round 5 of the 2024 Logitech G Supercar Pro Invitational Series at Watkins Glen Raceway, Hayden Veld shares his insights and strategies for mastering this iconic track. 

Known for its challenging turns and high-speed straights, Watkins Glen demands precision and skill. Learn from Hayden who outlines his five key points for conquering the Glen, offering a glimpse into the mind of a top-tier sim racer preparing to tackle one of the most demanding circuits on the calendar.

Qualifying

With this track being the shortest on the 2024 calendar qualifying here is so important. Not just for the track position but also to get out of that mid/tail-end pack. The walls are so close here at Watkins so it will be so easy to get caught up in other dramas. With split qualifying this round it will be interesting to see which teams can find a way to work together.

Strategy

With the mandatory two stops, it opens up so many possibilities with strategy. It can be quite difficult to pass here so getting the strategy right to maximise the new tyres is crucial to working your way up the grid, or, maintaining position at the front. Pitlane is not too long so there are plenty of options here to be aggressive if you need to.

Track Position

Drafting is easy here, but passing is difficult. You need to find a way to avoid being stuck in a draft train so there are ways to avoid this. Pitstops, which may not work are always an option. Alternatively, fuel saving and being smart about how to maintain position is an option.

Championship Points

The top 20 is a challenge in itself, but with a higher likelihood of now having DNFs there will need to be races where you just try and maximise the number of points that you get. Zero points are on offer if you do not cross the finish line at the end so at times you may need to be a bit more conservative to ensure that your points haul is moving in the right direction.

Car Damage

The new damage on the car is one of the biggest changes that iRacing has bought to the series since its inception. Suddenly cars will be more heavily penalised for receiving damage. The days of having rear wing damage with no consequence are gone. Having cars now lose wheels and be stationary will no doubt keep the Race Control and Safety Car drivers on their toes. DNF will mean zero points so there may be some changes in how drivers take on the challenge of Watkins Glen, and the rest of the series.

Published on

As the 2024 Logitech G Pro Invitational Series reaches the one-third mark of the season, the spotlight increasingly turns to the top 20 positions in the standings, which determine who will earn automatic promotion to the 2025 Series.

With that in mind, let's focus on the driver currently sitting right on the bubble: Trans Tasman Racing's Jake Burton. Despite a season marked by ups and downs, including a victory at Phillip Island in round two, Jake finds himself precariously perched just inside the cutoff for promotion. This surprising position adds extra pressure as the competition intensifies.

We took a few minutes to chat to Jake about his season so far:

How do you feel about your performance so far this season, especially being on the cusp of the top 20?

Not great, at this point of the season for the last two years I’ve either been leading the championship or deep in the Top 5, so it’s without a doubt my worst start to a season to date and 20th doesn’t feel like where I belong. Winning again at Phillip Island was obviously a huge moment, but my preparation for the other rounds really hasn’t been good enough, and it shows in the results.

What have been the biggest challenges for you in the first four races?

Honestly, time and motivation. My life outside of sim racing has been extremely busy this year, from work to real life racing commitments. That combined with some of the stewarding decisions in the opening two rounds really made it difficult to get excited about racing.
Effort equals results, this series is extremely competitive, and you can see that the likes of LOBS and others are just doing a better job at the moment. If I don’t put the time in, I’m not going to get the outcome, so I need to step that up to have any chance of taking it to LOBS (or staying in the Top 20 for that matter) this year.

What are your goals for the remainder of the season, beyond just maintaining your current position?

My championship hopes are over this year, so I’d really like to try and perform well in the enduros. It’s been a weakness of mine for the last two years, and to finally get a good result at Bathurst would be nice. In addition to that, it’d be nice to win more races. Phillip Island was great, but if I could make the most of my other strong tracks and steal another win or two that would be awesome.

Is there a particular race so far this season that you would approach differently if given the chance, and why?

Jerez for sure. That wasn’t a track I had ever seen before prior to the official practice session, and it surprised me how technical and challenging it was, especially with the hot track conditions. It’s a track that demanded really accurate and consistent driving, which I just didn’t have on the night. I think if we visit there again I need to really explore different setup options and do a lot more laps to work the place out, at least if we want to challenge LOBS.

What are you most looking forward to in the upcoming races, and which track do you think will be your strongest?

I think not being in championship contention actually takes some pressure off. I’m excited to just try and enjoy my racing and perform well when I’ve got the time. The next round at Watkins Glen has always been a happy hunting ground for me, I won there last year and it’d be great if I can repeat that in 2024.

With that we say thanks to Jake for his time and wish him the best of luck for the reminder of the season. We look forward to seeing if he can back up for 2023 Watkins Glen form next week when we head back to North America.

Published on

When you think of winter getaways, the end of the Spanish Spring is always worth a shout. Sand, surf, sun and Supercars, it's a match made in heaven. Well, unless you’re a tire, in that case, hot temperatures and racing is not something you appreciate.

Track temperatures from the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto were into the mid 50’s, something that is becoming a new challenge with the iRacing weather system update. Whilst we may not have rain in the Supercar as yet, we have a wider variety of weather conditions and that is providing a new challenge. When you head to a new circuit for the series, trepidation is always common up and down the field, but throw in the weather and confidence of the drivers was not high.

Qualifying would create a couple of notes that are worth keeping track of as the season progresses.

1. Good luck stopping Lobs Esports. 12 rounds in the season, 4 down and they’ve claimed 4 pole positions. Could we see all 12? You’ve got Bathurst in there and that could be the one that doesn’t go their way. Are we seeing the next Hybrid era Mercedes? Do we have our own Max Verstappen? Even better, we’ve got 2 of them! Can you imagine if Dylan Rudd continues his progress and we end up with 3?!?!
   
   
2. Evolution Racing Team (ERT) are looking more consistent than they have of late. Ethan Grigg-Gault has been a mainstay inside that top 5 for as long as I have been around, but Marcello Rivera has been in and out. He looks back, he looks quick again and that motivates those around them. Keep an eye on another name from ERT to push forwards later on in the year.
   
   
3. Vermillion Motorsports are doing much the same as ERT of late. The bigger concern for their rivals is that the team is larger and all of them are improving. The pace is coming from this team, if they keep this trajectory imagine the results from the final few rounds. I’m going to go on record and say I was critical of this partnership and change in its early stages. I was wrong, and I love being wrong when it creates a tasty prospect like this!!!

Lobs Esports continue to dominate qualifying with 4 from 4 so far this season

Another pole position for Jarrad Filsell to show outright pace, but there’s so much strength in the team at the moment that they locked out the front three spots in qualifying.

Marcello Rivera showed enough one lap speed to make it onto the second row, followed by Andrew Gilliam, Ethan Grigg-Gault, Zach Rattray-White, Griffin Gardner, Ric Kuznetsov and then the first of the Trans Tasman Racing (TTR) cars with Brady Meyers rounding out the top 10.

Race

The biggest issue in racing is surviving lap one and hanging onto your position, and for both Jarrad Filsell and Dylan Rudd they wouldn’t stay where they started on the run to turn one.

Rivera got the jump on Jarrad Filsell, but that would be reversed early. Rivera consciously made a decision to look after the tires and not fight too hard. For Rivera the focus was on trying to get the podium at the end of the night and fighting with Filsell would compromise the stint more than it would help.

Lots of wheelspin for Dylan Rudd took him off the podium and deposited him behind a very fast-starting Madison Down. Down would jump 5 spots on the opening lap from 11th on the grid to 6th. Whilst Rudd would lose 4 spots from 3rd to 7th. This would be the key battle in the opening stanza of this race that probably saw Down wear his tires off the car too aggressively in his defence and struggle for the bulk of the first stint. It would take until the hairpin on lap 13 for Dylan Rudd to get by, but he’d lost so much time to the pack ahead and would spend the rest of the night trying to recover.

Dylan Rudd and Madison Down fighting hard

Once one car got past Madison Down, the rest of them would queue up for their opportunity. Griffin Gardiner would fire by on lap 14, then it would be Ric Kuznetsov and Brady Meyers on Lap 16.

As the drivers got to the end of their first stints the tire fall off to fastest laps was in the realm of 3 seconds per lap. The undercut was key and strategies up and down the field diverged massively.

The big one that I still do not understand was Madison Down falling through the field like a rock at the back end of the first stint elected to stay out. Before cars started passing him on lap 13 he was 6th. He came to the lane at the end of Lap 26 and resurfaced in 26th position. A loss of 20 spots in 13 laps just didn't make sense. The bog standard TTR strategy of run long in the opening stint, followed by two shorter stints to the end only works when you have long run pace. Did the TTR crew have fresher tires to overtake in the back half of the race? Yes. The key factor was the overtaking difficulty, they were just never able to recoup the spots they lost with the long run strategy. Madison would recover to finish 16th at the end, but thats a night that a better points finish went begging.

Following the who is on what strategy battle through the middle of the race was intense as the early stoppers would fall through the field, whilst the longer opening stint would create opportunities for the likes of Jake Burton, Blake Worboys and Josh Anderson in the middle of the race.

Tom Freer would run long in the middle of the race and shorten up his final stint which would give him his second top 10 of the season after 2nd place back at Sebring. Freer is just quietly going about his business and achieving good results consistently. He sits 4th in the championship after a 10th at Jerez and will be looking forward with supreme confidence.

Blake Worboys is another one who is putting in the results and finally got a lot of attention in Spain. His drive through the field was not just a delight to watch, but confidence inspiring, particularly when you note he has no teammates in the only WK & P entry.

Andrew Gilliam I think is Dylan Rudd’s biggest rival right now. He’s put in 2 big finishes over the last 2 rounds and has been moving forward. 

Marcello Rivera showed great pace and ran near the front all race

Rudd is quick, he’s stringing Qualifying performances together, but there’s always a big mistake in the race and he’s struggling to pass drivers. I’ve got to be honest, I want to see Dylan win the championship, that would be amazing…. But I think there’s just too many drivers around that are more reliable. If he can put together all aspects of the race and win one, that changes.

Andrew Gilliam on the other hand did grab a podium. Clean start, pressed forwards and stayed relevant with Filsell and Scott all night. Wasn’t the fastest overall, but is close enough on points and that gets me excited. Can he find the extra few tenths and translate that into long run pace as well? Jury is still out.

Filsell was again supreme on long run pace mixed with fuel saving and would pull off, in my mind, the move of the night to swing underneath James Scott to take the lead on the pit lane exit. From there it was a cruise to the finish with Filsell leading home his teammate for a 1-2 finish.

Another point to note was an odd on track exchange between two drivers late in the piece. There was an on track battle between Thomas Freeman and Brady Baldwin at the tail end of the field. It's obvious to any observer that Baldwin and Freeman are not each other’s biggest fans. They traded blows on a hot track, with hot tires and hotter tempers. Could be something to keep in the back of your mind later in the season. Brady Baldwin’s thoughts on the matter were “Play silly games, win silly prizes.”

As we leave Spain and head to the track touted as the series’ “Bull Ring”, overtaking opportunities will come at a premium and tempers between drivers could boil over. Could we see the end of the Green Flag racing streak that's been going since early at Phillip Island.

What I can say is I will be pondering the next few weeks from the Spanish coast of the Atlantic with a lovely local glass of Sherry.

Published on

by Scott Rankin

After 3 rounds of scintillating action it's time to welcome a new member to the “tracks of the pro series” club. 

Picturesque Circuito de Jerez is located in the wine growing region of Jerez de la Frontera in the South West corner of Spain. Situated halfway between Gibraltar and Seville this mountainous area of Spain is a beautiful summer getaway location just off the Atlantic Ocean.

Temperatures this time of year start to build in the last days of Spring as the venue gets ready to host its round of the Logitech Pro Invitational Series. A Hot destination for hot racing, and a key moment during the series.

Speedcafe Lobs Esports driver Dylan Rudd has just assumed the lead of the championship, after Robbie Gibbs led the opening two rounds, and now has an 8 point margin back to Ric Kuznetsov’s Vermillion Motorsports machine.

However, the pack is coming, and coming fast.

The big key here is the changing Margins and I’ll highlight 8 drivers to really set the tone:

If the entirety of the Lobs Esports outfit have another strong race from Jerez it's very likely that they draw level with the Trans Tasman Drivers of Madison Down and Brady Meyers. That could be critical at this early juncture in the championship and gives them some leeway to have another off round.

On to the track!

It's a tricky little circuit! It has flow, corners that double back on themselves and the critical aspect of setup is the mid corner rotation. The corners are extremely long, and the load on the tire is immense. 

13 corners over a 4.42km lap, 8 to the right and 5 to the left.

Lots of run-off areas means the chances of a safety car go down, and we could end up with 3 races on the trot without one. 

250km of racing across 57 laps. Fuel tank range without saving is going to be 31 Laps, with some saving you could easily extend that out to 33 or beyond. It's a long stint, and it's not likely to happen.

Even stint length is 19 laps, expect undercuts to start from lap 15. If you’re in a big pack and you can’t make ground as the tires wear off (particularly if you’ve been able to look after the tires well).

Keep in the back of your mind whilst watching any car that hangs onto its tires. Why? Better long run pace gives you options. If you fall off on lap time by 0.2s per lap less than another car you can undercut them and not be punished by it.

Whilst on the topic of pit lane, pit entry here is difficult. Going over the white lines on the way in is one of the easier ways to kill a strong result. It's very tight, and on the surface looks simple… Until you get suckered in and have to serve a penalty. I’d expect at least 2 pit entry penalties, could easily be more.

Setup and driving style are basically a flat Phillip Island. Longer corners means setting the car in the mid corner is the focus and trying to drive as straight on the exit as possible on the exit. Drivers are looking to preserve tire in the curved acceleration zones out of the corners and that might be critical.

Corner entries to prioritise lap speed are actually wider than you might expect, that's an invitation to slice down the inside and get a move done. Could this result in a busy night for the stewards? We always hope not, but it is relevant to the racing regardless.

I’ve got Luke Rosella down to finally finish a race cleanly. He has a rear of grid start for multiple driving infringements from Red Bull Ring. Tough season surrounded by a new team and a huge opportunity. I’ll follow his night because driving from the back of the field proves a driver’s mettle. I want to see him tame it down a little, get things back on track and then press forwards again.

Brenton Hobson sits 10th in the points, but has run quiet races. The difficulty for Hobson is he relies on experience and staying clean to finish well. A newer track requires a bulk amount of laps he’s not capable of and I expect a worse finish as a result. Outside 20th, is my call, but if chaos breaks out expect Hobson to be the driver that comes out the other side.

Will Jerez be where we see Brenton Hobson fall down the standings?

Ethan Grigg-Gault is a tricky driver to evaluate. When he’s good he’s winning races. When he’s average he fills out the top 10. Something about this track is just crying out at me that he is on for two podiums in a row. Where he is on the podium I am very unsure about.

James Scott and Jarrad Filsell should be talked about as a compare and contrast situation. Scott is Mr Qualifying at the moment and his races reflect his outright speed, but also a free track around him. We are yet to see him in a cluster of cars and making his way through. How he handles that will define his season.

Filsell on the other hand is Mr Race Pace. Rear of the field to front at Sebring before the race exploded, P2 at Phillip Island from pole (arguably his worst drive of the season), and
Red Bull Ring he was on a charge, fastest stint pace in the field whilst making overtakes. Supremely impressive, honestly at this stage I have him down to win the title, but boy is it going to be tight!

Do they round out the podium? Maybe. Trans Tasman’s pace at Phillip Island was better and that's our best judge for pace. One of this pair on the podium, the other inside the top 5.

Andrew Gilliam is my pick to be the outside threat. His strategy gamble at Red Bull Ring paid off and he improved his race at the cost of middle stint pace. He’ll do something different again for sure! I’d love to see another Gilliam podium, but that's a brave call. I’ll back him in this week though, 3rd it is!

Who are your driver’s you want to watch? Is there someone I haven’t mentioned?

Hit up the comments, I’ll be keeping an eye on this one and will keep a closer eye on your picks!

Published on

by Scott Rankin