The concept is simple for the newest addition to the Logitech G Pro Invitational Series calendar, on a Wednesday night prior to the biggest race of the year we send all of the codrivers in the Trueforce Enduro Cup into battle for a 32 lap sprint at Bathurst. The prize? A golden ticket that resembles a coveted spot on the 2025 Pro Invitational Series grid. 

With everything to play for and nothing to lose, the night was destined to be action packed from the outset. A strong field of talented codrivers took to the track with a unique opportunity to put their skills on show without all of the main game drivers present. 
 
Qualifying kicked off with style as the favoured names quickly made their way to the pointy end of the timesheets. Early on it was evident that Lobs Esports and Trans Tasman Racing were going to be the main teams to beat with many of the other teams fighting to match their speed over one lap. A slew of unforced errors started to appear as the drivers who are not likely to be qualifying for this weekends Bathurst 1000 showed elements on inexperience under the pressure of a fast paced 20 minute session.

With the chequered flag falling it was Brodie Kostecki on top of the time sheets followed by Rehan Liyanage of TTR, Dylan Birse from Lobs Esports, Corey Shepherd from TTR and Sebastian Varndell from Vermillion Esports in the top 5.

Sensationally, Kostecki would be among a list of drivers served penalties for indiscretions during the session which would see the odds on favourite starting from the back of he grid. Others to be pinged by the stewards included fellow Lobs Esports driver Richie Stanaway and Trans Tasman Racing's Leigh Ellis.

With the front row now all to himself, Rehan Liyanage secured the Playseat Pole Position and converted a great launch off the line to lead the field into turn one. Just behind, him, Sebastian Varndell undid his tremendous efforts in qualifying to stall the car from 4th on the grid and narrowly avoid being collected by multiple cars as he sat motionless on the main straight, falling to the back of the field.

The first lap was packed with excitement as drivers tried to get up to speed and into a rhythm as quickly as possible with some drivers taking the opportunity to make some early moves and gain some track position. Everything appeared to settle at the front until Liyanage made a tiny mistake at the chase and ran deep under brakes and relinquished the lead to Dylan Birse. 

Lap two proved to be ever more thrilling than the first as Ryan Wood who started 9th made a move at the cutting and jammed up the cars behind of Kobi Williams and Dylan Perera who brilliantly went side by side at Reid Park forcing the #777 wide all the way to McPhillamy Park where Lachlan Caple managed to squeeze past and Seth Brown showed a nose and somehow they all came out the other side unscathed. 

The pace was hot and battles ensued throughout he field. The #94 of Kostecki was on the charge after starting from the back of the field and by lap 6 was already pushing towards the top 20. Contact between himself and Ross Rizzo at Forest Elbow shuffled the #36 down the order and caused a handful of cars to bunch together coming down Conrod Straight, culminating in another incident at the chase which saw Cameron  Jones turning the Fishy Motorsports entry of Michael Angus. Both Jones and Kostecki attracting penalties for their roles in the incidents.

One lap later at the final turn Kyle Stokes made an error and sent Brodie Sentance off the road and earned himself a 10 second penalty which was only worsened 2 laps later when Chad Lewis spun Richie Stanaway at the chase which also collected Stokes and caused significant damage to his Synergy Sim Racing Mustang. 

The Logitech G Aston Martin Safety car made it's first appearance of the night on lap 11 after Sebastion Varndell bumped Jamie Stovold at Reid Park and sent the SSR #707 careening into the outside wall in one of the biggest impacts we've seen in the history of the series. Simultaneously Kostecki's night got even worst after yet another incident  at Turn 18 earned him a drive through penalty that he would carry until after the safety car period. In what proved to be a tough lap for Lobs Esports, Dylan Birse who was the race leader seemingly missed the safety car call and failed to head to pit lane and found himself trapped behind the safety car, leading the race but as the only driver in the field who had to still make a stop to get home.

In the pit cycle, Ryan Wood undercut the cars around him in the lane with a shorter stop to jump to provisional race lead with a train to TTR cars behind him in Liyanage, Emily Jones and Corey Shepherd for the restart.

Birse lead away from the green flag and relinquished position to his team mate Wood soon after at turn two but maintained good speed for the next several laps of the race while the lead pack all kept each other in check. The racing throughout the pack largely calmed down as the long run to the finish meant many drivers were managing their fuel and tyres. 

Apart from yet another incident on lap 12 with Kostecki and contact for Eddie Beswick on lap 16 that earned a drive through penalty, the middle stint of the race stayed clean and green until another big accident on lap 22 saw the Safety Car back on the circuit again. Richie Stanaway and Dylan Perera fighting for position on the way to The Cutting ended up with both cars hard into the wall and Tye Delaney the innocent victim who became stranded on track and forced a full course yellow.

Dylan Birse took the opportunity to come to the lane and take service and joined the queue in position 15 for the restart on fresh tyres for what would be a rapid 9 lap sprint to the finish. However the green flag didn't even last for a single lap as Birse, attempting a desperate move made a mistake at Skyline and sent Brodie Sentance hard into the wall which brought out the safety car again. 

Simultaneously a dramatic twist saw Rehan Liyanage race side by side with Ryan Wood into the chase for the lead and end up in the grass under brakes and deep into the sand trap sending him down the race order at the same time as the safety car was called, ending his chance at racing for the victory.

The restart order with only 6 laps to go had Wood leading with Jones in 2nd, Shepherd 3rd, Lachlan Caple for Evolution Racing Team 4th and Seth Brown for Vermillion Esports rounding out the top 5.

The sprint to the finish was intense with the experienced Jones piling on the pressure to Supercar driver Ryan Wood for the remaining laps. Shepherd sat patiently in 3rd waiting for an opportunity as the top 3 started to pull away from the chasing pack. With 3 laps remaining Jones appeared to have the faster car as Wood continued to defend but as the laps wound down opportunities dried up and Wood was able to hold on for a thrilling victory.

When all was said and done the top ten looked like this:

1. Ryan Wood (Lobs Esports)
2. Emily Jones (TTR)
3. Corey Shepherd (TTR)
4. Brett Loxton (SSR)
5. Rehan Liyanage (TTR)
6. Kenneth Latter (9INE 5IVE Simsports)
7. Brad Ryan (ERT)
8. Chris Coxhead (SSR)
9. Seth Brown (Vermillion Esports)
10. Lachlan Caple (ERT)

The event overall was a thrilling way to kick of the Bathurst 1000 week which is fast become a marquee event of the sim racing calendar. Saturday will feature qualifying, a Porsche Support Race and a Top 15 Shootout while the main event of 161 laps will take place on Sunday.

Make sure to tune in on both days via the ASRG Youtube channel or the Simspeed TV network to catch all of the action!