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GT Worlds R1 – 6th & 20th

Round 1 of the iRacing GT World Championship would kick off at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, with our two Ferrari’s ready to go into battle.

For the Logitech G #43 entry, it was a really strong start to the season. Andrew Kahl got the team off to a great start by putting the car P9 on the grid after the all important qualifying session, and being the top placed Ferrari.

The ASTRO Gaming #83 entry was qualified by Marin Colak into P21 on the grid, with two tenths costing a lot at this level in terms of track position.

Andrew in the Logitech G car got away to a solid start with the goal of jumping the two Porsches that had qualified ahead. This was achieved quite early on in the opening stint, and he was able to build a lead to the chasing pack. Yannick Lapchin would start the race in the ASTRO Gaming car however and put together a strong opening to keep the car clean and move up the order.

We opted to double stint the tyres in each of our 2 hour blocks, with a fairly even fuel strategy across the 6 hours. The strategy however was not so clear throughout the field, with several options being run by teams.

After the opening two hour stint, Andrew would hand over the Logitech G car to Simone Maria Marcenò, with the car sitting in 6th position and in a heavy fight with several cars from Coanda Simsport, Williams Esports, Pure Racing Team and Vendaval Simracing.

Also in the mix was ASTRO Gaming, with Marin taking over the reins for the middle double stint and sitting in a strong P11 before disaster struck. Nearing the end of his double stint, an internet disconnection would kick in and the ASTRO car would tumble down the order and out of top 10 contention. Absolute heartbreak

Thankfully as a pit stop was scheduled, they would avoid having to pit more times than was originally planned, and would lose a little over a minute from the disconnection. Yannick was back in the car down in P36, and would drive into the night on a mission, passing the opposition and ultimately crossing the line in P24. Not the Top 10 that we were after, but a solid recovery after an unfortunate technical glitch.

Over in the Logitech G camp, the race was going far more to plan. Simone would be running a quad stint in the car, running two double stints on tyres. He was able to expand the gap back to the two Coanda Simsport cars and close the gap down to the Williams Esports Razer car, however a lapse in concentration would see Simone spin at the end of the Kemmel straight, and the advantage gained was lost.

A quick refocus and Simone was driven. P6 was there for the taking, and we needed to hold onto our advantage. In the end the final two hours would be a head to head battle with Pure Racing Team’s Jonas Wallmeier, with Simone making the pass stick in the 5th hour and managing to break the draft and get ahead by a critical 2 seconds by the final pitstop. The stops were almost identical, and the run to the line was intense. Laptimes being trading throughout, and with the track in complete darkness, Simone would cross the line in P6 – a great start to the season and a personal best for him.

Congratulations to Coanda Simsport’s Joshua Rogers and Ricardo Castro Ledo on the win, and congratulations also to Pure Racing Team and Red Bull Racing Esports on rounding out the podium.

The next round takes place at the Suzuka on April 20th – be sure to check it out!

Ryno out to Defend World Title

It is that time of the year again – World Championship Series Openers. 2018 iRacing World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series World Champion Tim Ryan is ready to get back into the Sprint Car and take on the best in the world, in an intense 10 week World Championship Series.

Like last year, it won’t be easy and the challenges will be coming from everywhere. The car physics have changed and it has arguably made it closer than ever. Round 1 kicks off tomorrow at 11:45 AEDT on the iRacing Esports Network.

Round 1 (26th March): Volusia Speedway

Round 2 (2nd April): Knoxville Speedway

Round 3 (9th April): Limaland Motorsports Park

Round 4 (16th April): Eldora Speedway

Round 5 (23rd April): Volusia Speedway

Round 6 (30th April): Kokomo Speedway

Round 7 (7th May): Eldora Speedway

Round 8 (14th May): Williams Grove Speedway

Round 9 (21st May): The Dirt Track at Charlotte

Round 10 (28th May): Knoxville Speedway

NEO Endurance & Le Mans Champions!

We did it! We won the RaceSpot 24 Hours of Le Mans, and with it the GT Championship in the NEO Endurance Series!

It was an incredible race against MSI Esports that pushed us all the way, and brought out the very best in all of us. In the end, after 24 hours of racing, we would win the race by a mere 6.44 seconds. Also by nature of our season long battle, we also won the GT Championship with it!

We are a little lost for words, but thrilled to pieces with the result. Many thanks to the entire GT Squad of Simone Maria Marcenò, Yannick Lapchin, Andrew Kahl & Simon Feigl. We won 4 out of the 6 races in the series in the end, and it is a tribute to all of the hard work that each and every one of these drivers has put in on the track and behind the scenes.

We also want to thank our fantastic sponsors. Logitech G and ASTRO Gaming for their tremendous support and excellent products that allow us to excel. Motum Simulation also as our first partner that specialises in motorsport, simulation and esports. Cube Controls who joined us part way through the NEO Endurance Series, and have obviously been a good omen. We won three races in a row since they joined! Lastly, the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport – CAMS and our brilliant painter that definitely has given us a fast livery, ILiveries.

See you next season NEO. We’ll be back to defend the crown!

The BMW M8 is here!

We have taken delivery of our BMW M8 GTE’s from the ILiveries factory, but we had a little trouble squeezing it into the workshop so just hit the track right away instead, and found two equally large circuits to test it… Circuit des 24 Heures & the Nordschleife.

There’s only 10 days until Round 1 of the iRacing GT World Championship, but before then… we aim to become the NEO Endurance Series Championships in the GT Class. The RaceSpot 24 Hours of Le Mans is on this weekend!

Top 10 in LMP1 Le Mans Debut

Yes that’s right, we’ve entered as a wildcard into the NEO Endurance Series finale in the LMP1 class, on the back of the the OEC truimph for Dayne Warren and his teammates at All Star Motorsports. However, with ASM no longer running, we were offered to enter an Altus Esports LMP1 in its place.

For the car, we opted to be a little different and have a bit of fun, with the Audi R18 LMP1. Often known as a bit of an ugly duckling, ILiveries have done an excellent job of turning it into a masterpiece. We absolutely love it!

The RaceSpot 24 Heures du Mans qualifying was run overnight, and Dayne did an excellent job debuting in the ultra competitive league, qualifying the R18 in 10th place and deep inside the midfield. Joining Dayne in this weekend’s race, will be Zachary Hanlin, Sam Blacklock and Ethan Warren.

Maiden V8SCOPS win for Dayne

Round 2 of the V8 Supercar Online Premier Series took place at Autódromo José Carlos Pace, otherwise known as Interlagos in Brazil. The round format would be a Reverse Sprint, with 3 short races taking place with Race 2 being a partial reverse grid. Representing Altus Esports would be the Warren brothers, Dayne and Ethan.

In qualifying would set times that were a bit off pace when compared with the potential shown at Montreal, however with errors on their opening hot laps there was certainly pace left in the tank.

Race 1 would prove the be somewhat of a calamity throughout the field, and seemingly nobody was safe. There is still much dust to be settled with results still provisional from a points perspective, however Dayne would finish race 1 in 10th place and Ethan falling back to 33rd after being the innocent bystander in a multi-car collision late in the race.

For the Partial Reverse Grid, Dayne was fortunate enough to have had the random reverse pole being position 11, so he would line up on the front row alongside Synergy Sim Racing’s Brenton Hobson. The pair would get off to a strong start, with Dayne getting the slight edge into Turn 1 and streaking off down the road in the lead of the race. Despite pulling a gap over the very fast cars behind, it became apparent fairly early on in the stint that the car wasn’t underneath him to retain this level of performance long term. The car was a handful, and overusing its tyres compared to the chasing Evolution Racing Team cars, and leading that charge was Ethan Grigg-Gault, one of the very best in the Supercar.

The final 5 laps were enthralling, with complete respect shown by both drivers, with Dayne playing the defensive card and hitting his marks, and EGG pushing as hard as he could while keeping it clean. The battle was reminiscent of the Schumacher-Alonso battles at Imola in 2005-06, and it was breathtaking to watch. Dayne was able to place his car perfectly and get just enough traction to hold position and hold the important defensive line, with the battle going all the way to the line in one of V8SCOPS’ memorable moments, most notably for Dayne as he captured his very first win in V8SCOPS, one he has been so close to achieving before. Huge respect for both men on their driving and putting on a great show. Ethan Warren would fight through from 33rd to finish 19th in Race 2.

Race 3 would see Dayne starting close to the front on the back of his Race 2 win, and compared with the earlier races it would be a much more straight forward race. He would gain positions early to find himself in 3rd place, and was able to retain that place throughout the race despite the same tyre wear issues repeating themselves in the longer 18 lap race. The biggest mover of the race was Ethan Warren, jumping up from the second half of the grid to finish the race in 10th place, a great finish to the night!

As mentioned before, championship points results are all provisional, however there were moments that were an exceptional improvement on Round 1, and race wins are definitely what the doctor ordered. Onwards and upwards!

Dayne wins 3rd iRacing V8 Supercars Title

Dayne Warren has won the Aussie Driver Search iRacing Official V8 Supercars series for Season 1 2019, winning the title in dominant fashion taking wins at will, and scoring the highest number of points in an individual season since mid 2015. He took sensational wins the past few rounds out, stamping his authority and winning by a massive margin to the trailing pack.

Dayne has not only claimed championship glory, but with the championship win has also earned himself free entry into the 2019 Aussie Driver Search competition. Congratulations mate – your first championship with Altus Esports!

Marin Qualifies for Porsche Esports Supercup!

It is that time of the year, where the culmination of a season’s work comes to fruition. This time we would like to celebrate the success of Marin Colak, who has secured his place in the iRacing Porsche World Championship Series with a total Prize Pool of $104,000.

Marin had an excellent start to proceedings with a 4th place in one of the highest strength of fields ever seen in iRacing history. Things did get a bit tough with a mid-season tyre model change to the Porsche and a problem wit his old wheel for a few rounds, however armed with his new Cube Controls wheel, he got to grips of it when it counted and secured his place with the world’s elite. The countdown to April is ON!

Congratulations Marin – Double Pro Black Stripe in 2019!

ASTRO Gaming Squad Go Pro

With the iRacing GT Pro Qualifying Series finishing off this morning, we can announce what we’d mathematically achieved a few weeks ago. Our ASTRO Gaming Altus Esports entry of Yannick Lapchin, Marin Čolak and Vedran Kralj has qualified for the 2019 GT World Championship, and earned their black stripes!

For Marin and Vedran, they had achieved this in previous years so were very pleased to comfortably reclaim their place back, but for Yannick it is his first time earning earning the coveted black stripe that he will proudly wear.

For Altus Esports, that makes two cars being qualified in the 50 car field to contest the GT World Championship, with the Logitech G Altus Esports entry of Simone Maria Marcenò, Andrew Kahl, Simon Feigl and Zachary Hanlin returning for their third year in the World Championship.

The GT World Championship kicks off with Round 1 on March 30th. Much hype, much anticipation! We can’t wait!