If you weren’t there on Wednesday night, or haven’t seen the race so far, then I would highly recommend catching up on the action as soon as you can!

Until then, here are some of the key points and moments from the first night of Logitech G Pro Invitational racing in 2025.

1. New car, new teams at the front!

When Eclipse Simsports locked out the front row, things appeared to be business as usual. But as the grid tumbled and turned throughout a nail biting qualifying session (which saw the top 10 separated by just 0.194s) there was quite the mixture of teams shaking up the order.

Synergy Sim Racing’s Brenton Hobson was on fire, getting his Camaro onto the second row of the grid amongst some of the community’s biggest names.

2. The rulebook is not just for decoration

There were a number of new drivers welcomed to the pack at Mosport, some learning the hard way that pit stop regulations can bite you on the butt. In this series, you are required to make 2 Compulsory Pit Stops (CPS) … but there’s a catch.

Unlike most international racing categories, you cannot serve more than one CPS under a single safety car unless you enter the lane before the safety car is called. For those not accustomed to this rule, it can cause quite the headache.

Safety Car restarts were also under a microscope in the Race Control booth, to Wayne Bourke’s chagrin. With checkups deep in the field, the Vermillion Esports driver had mistakenly completed a pass before the control line.

The slip up was enough to land Bourke with a 30s post-race penalty, relegating him from the race win … to 31st. A tough spot to be in, particularly with the onboard vision showing he only missed it by metres. But the rules are the rules, and he took it like a champ!

3. Marbles … marbles … marbles

iRacing’s updated debris model, which launched alongside the Gen3 Supercar in December, was another catalyst for chaos in Mosport. As tyres wear, focus fades, and drivers lunge for passes - risk builds as they inch closer to the river of marbles building up on the track’s edges. 

The Moss Hairpin was the place to be for marble-induced drama, with drivers getting caught out as they hit the slow pedal on what is essentially the only major passing opportunity on a lap of Canadian Tire.

4. ‘Win and In’ - Love it or hate it, it made for a mega story!

There was a certain intensity about the racing at the front. In the drivers minds, there was this looming, unspoken question of  “How far would you go to qualify straight into the main game?”. It was brilliant, and in a short sharp series like this, it only adds fuel to the fire of a category that is already ‘gloves off’.

Brenton Hobson technically leads the points race heading into Round 2, but for Emily Jones, her round win secures a few weeks off before starting the arduous task of running the Pro Series.

5. Banging doors no longer means race over

The Gen2’s reworked damage model that was introduced halfway through last season made its chassis a little bit fragile. Add in the older contact coding, and cars were rotating off noses in ways they shouldn’t have been. 

Here in Gen3, door-to-door racing was welcomed back in open arms on multiple occasions. Paint and dents were traded like it was going out of fashion, yet most walked away no worse for wear. A massive win all around for drivers and spectators alike!

Celebrations for Jones and Trans Tasman Racing!

Emily Jones is through and will be flying Trans Tasman Racing colours in the Pro Series all year long! The race we saw was perfectly in her wheelhouse. Much like the style of her co-drives over the last 2 years, she’s regularly been one of the most consistent drivers when thrown in the deep end, and it shows! There might be other flashier drivers on their day, but she’s regularly got the job done and will be right at home in the Pro Series.

Expectations for Fuji

With all of that now locked in, what are we expecting from Fuji?

Boasting a 1.5km long straight that is going to enable drafting, side-by-side racing action will be the regular on the approach down to turn 1. To win this one, you’ll not only need pace, but race smarts as well.

Canadian Tire was a race where you were limited by your tire stops, and fuel was completely covered. Fuji has significantly more on-throttle time, so we should see a return of fuel being the limiting factor.

Eclipse Simsports is going to be the buzzword of the month, and yet again I expect them to be at the front. They’ll have learned from their failings in a big way and will attack again.

Synergy Sim Racing had a very fast car. Dylan Perera blew an engine with an early downshift, but until that point was running in a phenomenal position to take a bank of points. Taking into consideration Brenton Hobson being the points leader, and Glen Postlethwaite's wild 8th place result, I expect these guys to be strong yet again.

Another point of discussion is going to be tyre wear. Mosport wasn’t overly punishing on rubber with cooler Canadian Winter temperatures, shorter laps, and corners which weren’t as long and loaded. 

Fuji punishes tires with long braking zones, long loaded corners (highlighted by 100R at turns 4-5), and a traction and turning based final sector. Expect to see qualifying times a fair chunk faster than race laps!

So in what is far more Supercars style, Fuji is going to be a race of managing fuel, tyres, pace and expectations. Tempers were already short with a few drivers in the field as patience continued to thin. As a driver, this is your best opportunity to get some overtaking done in the Qualifying Series - so you both have to make it count and ensure you finish the race at the same time! 

This is where the real racing drivers will make a name for themselves.

One more driver will be elevated to Pro Series status on Wednesday 12th February. And with a few towards the back needing a strong finish before going into “win it or bin it” mode, can the drivers match the excitement of last week?

I know I am keen as mustard for another round, see you then!