Prior to Wednesday night’s racing action we have had one of the weirdest season’s of sim racing to date. So, how would another 276 kilometres of the Red Bull Ring add into that equation? Who would stand atop the pace pile at the end of the night? And who would lead the championship?

Qualifying

James Scott would punch in a 1:29:582 around the halfway mark in the session. This would be good enough for pole and James took the opportunity from here to attempt to assist the Speedcafe Lobs Esports squad with their remaining laps.

That now means the team have taken all 3 pole positions from the season thus far, with Scott taking two and Jarrad Filsell the other.

Ethan Grigg-Gault would also launch in a phenomenal time to start off the outside of the front row. This would be critical in setting up his night, thus far Ethan’s 2024 season has been more unlucky than most, and required a strong showing to get his aspirations back on track.

James Scott and Ethan Grigg-Gault locked out the front row

Dylan Rudd and Andrew Gilliam would also star in qualifying to make up the second row of the grid. With a championship title to think about, Rudd's qualifying would have been worth a sigh of relief after disastrous campaigns at the Austrian circuit in both ‘22 and ‘23.

Ric Kuznetsov would be 5th and also setup a strong race with solid qualifying pace.

Jarrad Filsell would fail to show the pace he is capable of in qualifying and start out of 17th, right in front of fellow Speedcafe Lobs Esports driver Luke Rosella who hadn’t finished a race thus far in 2024.

Failing to get a valid lap time and starting from the rear of the field would create problems for both Sebastian Flock and Thomas Freeman.

Race

Lights out and the run to turn one would see strong starts from both drivers on the front row.

James Scott would settle into the lead, and Ethan Grigg-Gault would be keen to follow with a view to setting up the back half of the race.

Dylan Rudd would fight vigorously to hang onto third at the first turn with a fast-starting Andrew Gilliam taking a dive for the spot.

The field thunder into Turn 1 on the opening lap

Deeper in the pack our championship leader Robert Gibbs would get tagged by the #951 entry of Shawn Mcnamara and save the car, albeit losing 4 or 5 spots in the process.

If you thought turn one was clean, turn three never is and the Red Bull Ring delivered.

Two cars would end up spun with Luke Rosella triggering contact into the rear of Zach Rattray-White, sending Rattray-White around and to the rear of the field. Damien Johnstone would also get turned and at the back.

From here 3 distinct trains of cars formed with Scott and Grigg-Gault clear at the front. Andrew Gilliam would enter a dogfight with Dylan Rudd and cause them to lose the tow of the front two. This pack would run from 3rd down to 15th.

The next pack would be split with fighting for 16th and run back to the mid 20’s. A third pack would form as well.

From around lap 7 the race would start to settle down as targets would turn to a little bit of saving of the machinery, tire and fuel. Marcello Rivera would make a move to settle into 4th spot for the laps through to the first stops, making his way past Andrew Gilliam.

Contact on Lap 1 saw Zach Rattray-White backwards at turn three

A group of drivers would try the undercut starting on lap 16, but pace really hadn’t fallen off enough for there to be much time gain. What it would do is break up the packs that had formed.

Of the lead pack it would be Gilliam who would be the first to have a crack at the alternate strategy and severely underfill the car at the first stop to try and run light and quick for both the remaining stints.

Overall James Scott across the course of the race was just about untouchable. If you closely inspected his race there would be minor lockups and slight misses of apexes. However, that was all masked by a driver in supreme control of his machinery. How the field will find a way to match both Scott and teammate Jarrad Filsell will be the key question moving into Jerez in a few weeks time.

Marcello Rivera had great speed in his ANZAC inspired ERT Commodore

Ethan Grigg-Gault would end up with driver of the day for his first finish with a clean car of the season. Pace wise he would have known he was capable of such a finish thus far, but to see him drive a speedy and smart race was the strong return to form for the ERT driver who has been shaking up the world of Hyundai Excels of late.

Jarrad Filsell has again shown an ability to rebound from a poor qualifying performance. If we see a return to the execution of his pole lap from Phillip Island there is every chance he might become the number one driver over at Speedcafe Lobs Esports, particularly when Scott and Filsell are just two points apart in the championship standings.

Dylan Rudd would drop off in terms of pace late, and lose a small amount of ground to Ric Kuznetsov. These two drivers will continue to keep a close eye on each other as they moved to first and second in the championship, with a margin of 8 points favouring Rudd at this juncture.

Championship Standings

Keep an eye on the Madison Down, Brady Meyers, James Scott, and Jarrad Filsell battle for championship standings. TTR’s Down and Meyers sit tied on 400 points with the Speedcafe Lobs cars only just over 20 points further back.

With a quarter of the season done the margin from these 4 to the top of the standings has now closed.

Either Kuznetsov or Rudd are capable of winning the championship, but from here on out I want to see them beating their rivals at least one race from three to be in contention.

The Spanish Hills of Jerez play host to the next round. It's a circuit that the supercars haven’t done a large amount of racing at. This means a larger investment in practice and tuning time from the teams and could lead to an overall shakeup in the pecking order.

Could this be the kind of track that fires off another twist in the tail of Championship Glory?

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by Scott Rankin

James Scott is already a Logitech G Pro Invitational Series Bathurst 1000 winner, a multiple time race winner and easily amongst the fastest drivers in the Championship for 2024.

But there are only truely a couple of giants of our sport, long time rivals each with a long list of achievements which puts the atop the history books with legendary status. Jarrad Filsell and Madison Down are the Brock/Moffat/Johnson/Skaife of our sport, and have accumulated every accolade our sport represents over the past 10 years, these two will be remembered and celebrated when they hang up the gloves as the original titans!

James Scott is staking his claim to stand shoulder to shoulder with those titans, representing the next wave of drivers destined for greatness. Much like Marcos Ambrose took over from Skaife, and Whincup became the dominant force in Supercars, James Scott is fast proving he will be next in line.

2023 Bathurst 1000 Victory is among the many major successes for Scott already

His performance at Red Bull Ring for round three was incredible, dominating proceedings from the front and edging out a large gap at a draft track of all places. It’s the type of drive we’ve seen from Madison Down or Jarrad Filsell in the past. James is going from strength to strength, and when he leads from the front, he is hard to beat!

Starting out in 2018 for Progression Racing Australia, James has driven for some of the best teams in Australia; All Star Motorsport, Evolution Racing Team, Altus Esports, Synergy Sim Racing and now with Lobs Esport, James has accumulated a wealth of knowledge on his journey to where he is now one of the hardest working and persistent in his search for perfection that he can deliver these type of results.

Pole Position and Race Win at Red Bull in dominating fashion for Scott

The burning achievement James desires is to win the Logitech G Pro Series championship, and stand aside Madison Down and Jarrad Filsell as a champion. Coming oh so close in 2023 fuels his fire to get it done, but there is a long road ahead, and a host of exciting talent looking to become the “James Scott”. Brady Meyers is arguably on the same trajectory as James, and knocking on the door is Ric Kuznetsov, Ethan Grigg-Gault, Andrew Gilliam and Jake Moloney, just to name a few.

What do you think? is James the next generational driver? Is James going to be revered in the same way we all admire Madison Downs's endless achievements? Is James Scott in line to take the reins from his mentor and teammate, Jarrad Filsell?

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Logitech G Pro Invitational Series Announces Partnership with OG Gear.

The Logitech G Pro Invitational Series is proud to unveil its latest partnership with OG Gear, an exciting new brand about to hit the world of Sim Racing Apparel. This collaboration marks the beginning of a promising journey, as OG Gear aims to establish its brand presence while bringing innovation and style to the virtual racing community.

As Round 3 of the Logitech G Pro Invitational Series gears up to thrill fans at the renowned Red Bull Ring, viewers will catch the first glimpse of the OG Gear brand prominently featured during race replays in the telecast. As the Logitech G Pro Invitational Series season unfolds, fans can anticipate exciting initiatives and activations as OG Gear enters the scene with a bold vision and ambitious plans to carve out its niche in the competitive world of sim racing apparel.

"As the Logitech G Pro Invitational Series continues to captivate audiences, we are constantly seeking ways to elevate the experience for our fans and participants," said Brenton O'Brien, Co Founder of the Pro invitational Series. "As a new player in the industry, OG Gear brings fresh perspectives and innovative ideas that perfectly complement the high-paced action of the Series. We are excited to embark on this journey together and witness the impact of our collaboration unfold."

Stay tuned for more updates and announcements about the Logitech G Pro Invitational Series at www.supercarsproinvitational.com.au

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2 Rounds behind us now and we power on to Round 3 at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

An important point to make is that this will be the quarter-mark for the season. We’re not going to get a true picture of who is actually in contention until the halfway mark of the year, but the first true picture of the chase will appear after this one.

Driver’s Standings

The margin at the top of the standings has closed. Robbie Gibbs still leads the way, but its down to 6 points to Tom Freer, and 8 points to Dylan Rudd. Rudd made up 20 points on Gibbs and stands a good chance of leading the way come the end of Wednesday night’s action.

Guess what, 5 different Teams inside the Top 5 in points. Oh and the first time in Logitech Pro Invitational history that a Ford has led the way on points. A fact we missed thus far in the coverage. I am appalled that as a Ford fan it failed to be realised. Don’t worry Blue Oval fans, I’ll try and get a Ford stat for the rest of the year. Could be fun! - Credit to Jordan Ross for this fun Ford fact

Just think about 5 different teams in 5 places for a moment. This is the pinnacle of Australian Sim Racing in the Supercar. Here we stand with these guys putting in an immense amount of work just to get here. All those countless hours put into practice laps, data review, fuel number crunching, setup tweaks etc.Add in other people around each of these teams including Spotters, supporters, friends who jump in and keep you sane before race night.

We have 10 teams represented up and down the field, and half of those are represented inside the top 5. I love stats sometimes, you get little gems like this on occasion!

I’ll make a prediction here about the driver’s championship. The lead will change hands this week. As for who grabs the lead? The Red Bull Ring leads to surprise results with a high chance to overtake and multi-wide racing. Tom Freer might actually surprise us all and bank enough points to take it. A long shot, but hey sometimes you’ve got to pick the dark horse!

Robert Gibbs heads to Austria with a narrow championship lead

We haven’t touched on the team’s championship as yet, it's a new feature for 2024.

Teams Championship

Vermillion’s big acquisitions lead the way in the 2 car pairings. This one is going to be about getting points on the board in both cars. In the midst of all the drama thus far Andrew Gilliam and Ric Kuznetsov are doing a mammoth job of getting over the line clean. Ric is punching above his weight in the driver’s championship battle and that's contributing.

Of note, no Speedcafe Lobs Esports cars inside the top 10. This comes with a caveat though, the primary team for Speedcafe Lobs, Jarrad Filsell and James Scott, failed to score a point at Sebring. The secondary team, made up of Dylan Rudd and Luke Rosella, has Rosella failing to score a point thus far with two blown engines, whilst Rudd sits third in the drivers championship. This situates the Lobs Esports teams 11th and 13th respectively in the teams championships.

Keep an eye on both championships to receive a major shuffle by the end of Wednesday night’s racing

The Lobs Esports cars have struggled to build points in the opening two rounds

The Track

The Red Bull Ring is one of the highest percentage of full throttle tracks with a length of 4.31km hosting only 10 turns (well…. really 9, who even calls the kink on the run up the hill a turn anyway….).

A wide track surface offers a lot of opportunity to get alongside at Turn 3 and the opening lap can really create a master or disaster style situation. You can get down the inside at T1, T4 and a sneaky late move at T6 are your best opportunities elsewhere on the lap, but T3 is absolutely your best opportunity. The switchback is always on if the drivers get overly ambitious on the brakes and racing here is always a delight!

Expect the front group to stay trained up for the bulk of the race and fuel will be critical. Again its that higher full throttle percentage that leads to draft trains. Everyone will buy into this and the leader will be left out to dry.

Red Bull Ring Form Guide

Single format races across both previous visits to this track means that it's about race smarts. There’s strong finishes in both years from drivers outside the top 20 in Qualifying finishing inside the top 10.

Synergy Sim Racing tend to perform very strongly here and I would be keeping an eye on Jordan Ross to be another outside chance at a podium. Another strong result for himself and Tom Freer could see them bounce to the lead of the teams championship, but it's got to be Top 10 for Ross and teammate Tom Freer.

Synergy Sim Racing have historically performed very strongly at Red Bull Ring

Dylan Rudd is going to hate me for this, but I have to mention it. Bogey track for Rudd? Two finishes in two years outside the top 30 is something he will be looking to shake. Does he make himself aware of this fact and respond by under driving a little and leaving extra room, or does he ignore the stat completely and drive with confidence like he has thus far in 2024? Think of the driver’s championship implications and its very clear this could be the race that decides his attempt at the championship.

Jarrad Filsell has been supreme here over both iterations of the Logitech Pro Invitational, could he make it 3 from 3 podiums? He’s driving out of his skin at the moment and looks strong. I’ve seen his teammate James Scott managing a race comfortably to a win around here recently. These 2 drivers seem to operate with the team mindset of “anything he can do I can do better”. I’ve got Filsell as my favourite.

Kuznetsov is also driving very well. He performs well under pressure and is a very calm driver. This is the best he’s ever looked, and if he can match that race going toe to toe with James Scott will also be a shout of a podium in Austria.

Biggest Stat - the ring never fails to disappoint! Racing is everywhere. You can overtake at any stage in the run, just don't burn off the fuel you need.

Rankin’s Recommendations

1st Jarrad Filsell - Driving amazingly well, smooth, consistent and has done a lot of overtaking. Too good to pass up.

2nd Ric Kuznetsov - This is based on a good qualifying result. Has the required laps to be a huge threat, needs a strong showing. Will he protect his place in the championship and take P2? Good points are too good to pass up

3rd Dylan O’Shea - I love this kid. I’ve had a couple of run ins with him on track but that wasn’t in a Supercar. Has talent at these point and shoot style tracks. Has impressed me out of sight with his ability to finish more races with less scrapes on the car. Won’t challenge to win many, but some races you just have to consider him.

4th Madison Down - will be thinking points. Always thinks big picture. Best driver in the field at ticking the right boxes every race. Needs to claw points back on Kuznetsov and Rudd.

5th Jordan Ross - Too consistent here, taken a podium and a P6. Likely to finish in any slot inside the top 10, needs to look for the right set of circumstances to take advantage. I accidentally called him “Rossi” the other week and he’s not heard the end of it. Hopefully a good night goes a long way to repairing that damage.

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By Scott Rankin