For Connor Nixon of Vermillion Motorsports, the stakes couldn't be higher as he finds himself perched on the edge of a transfer position with only 2 races remaining in the series. Sitting precariously in 21st position, Nixon understands the gravity of his situation. With only 20 coveted spots available for promotion to the 2024 main series, the pressure cooker of competition is reaching its boiling point. The qualifying series, designed to sift through the best of the best, leaves no room for error, no margin for hesitation.

R: Half way through the Qualifying Series and you sit in position 21 and right on the bubble for an invitation to the 2024 series. How would you rate your performances so far in the first 2 rounds?

CN: So far the series has been not too bad for me. Round 1 was good despite having PC issues which forced me to miss practice and left me 42nd in qualifying but I recovered to 25th so that was a good drive. I have the best spotter in the world in Curtis Bird and in Round 2 he pushed for me to have a clean race which we did and went from 25th to 18th. I maintain confidence in my capabilities to secure a position within the top 20. I remain hopeful that my condition, cerebral palsy, does not impede my performance as the competition progresses.

R: Tell us a little about your condition and how it affects your ability to complete on the sim?

CN: Racing definitely takes it out of me. It's taken a lot of work and testing to get my setup just how I need it to make it possible to race competitively. I'm running normal gear in my Rig, a Simagic Alpha with a P310 HRS Wheel with a Tilton Pedal Box. But with the help of my Physio, I've had to work on customising my positioning a lot. I have to angle my Rig so I can use more of the muscles in the back of my legs to allow me to get enough force through to the pedals. I spend a lot of time in the gym so my upper body strength is quite good at handling the forces through the Direct Drive wheel. I actually use my time in the sim for training purposes to help build up my strength. The more time I spend racing the stronger I get but if I take a break for a couple of weeks or more it's really hard to recondition myself again.

R: You're right on the cusp in points as it stands right now. How important is it to you to make it into the Logitech G Pro Invitational Series for 2024?

CN: I think it's important to me because my whole life I've always been told 'no' from people 'No you can't do that' and even when I started racing the Supercar competitively on iRacing people said I couldn't do it. But I made my way from the Back of Split 2 in V8SCOPS races up into the middle of Top Split races and I proved them wrong. I always like to be a person who proves a lot of people wrong. Now I want to make it to the Logitech G Pro Invitational Series to continue proving to people and to myself that I can do it.

R: With only Hockenhiem and Fuji left to lock yourself into the Top 20, how do you approach the next 2 races?

CN: I have a lot of other races happening at the minute between a couple of Daytona 500's and the recent OSR Bathurst 12 Hour so preparation has been limited. But I'm confident in Jacob [O’Reilly] and the two Zach's that we have onboard [Rattray-White and Vlasblom] because we've already done some testing and got setups on the car that feels good.

I just need to get points so I'll enter the races with a clear head and let my spotter Curtis steer me through. He's been doing a great job and keeps me calm and focused in the car which is what I need. We'll just try and stay out of trouble and hopefully get all the Vermillion 'Wagons' to the front!

Thank you for your time, We wish you all the best for the remaining rounds of the series.