Sebring 2024, that race is going to live in the memory of the Australian Sim Racing community for a very long time. I have had so many discussions with fans wanting to know what happened, why it happened and my take on it. Its bolstered the eyes on what we do, without a doubt.

The real question is how do you build a season out of this? First you put the hours and the work in. “The Island” is one of those places that all of the drivers will have done a million miles at, and when you consider some of them have been racing right here on iRacing for close to 15 years, that could actually be a true statement.

Points of note coming into this round are very important to discuss so lets start our preview highlighting the drivers who don’t have a single point to their name. Why? Well, you have to cross the line on the last lap of the race, and none of these drivers had an engine underneath them to do that.

The drivers I’ve highlighted are ones who will think they have a realistic shot of being in a fight for a championship. The others now have to make the remaining 11 rounds count. This season sees two additional rounds added to the championship, and that may be a saving grace that gives them the time to climb their way back to the fight.

Richard Hamstead lost a protest to see his on track position returned. For him that means he not only loses the 72 points he did score after his post race penalty, but starts Round 2 with NEGATIVE 28 points. It costs you 100 points to lodge a protest (a step to ensure that drivers come to the table with new information and should help prevent frivolous protests) and that might cost Hamstead late in the season.

Robert Gibbs is still riding that sensational high from Sebring. Can he find a few extra tenths throughout the entirety of the season and transition an unlikely result into a true championship challenge? It's a question that bounces around my head as an opportunity for a number of drivers including Tom Freer, Hayden Veld, Matthew Bowler, Dylan Rudd, Ric Kuznetsov just to name a few.

With that group of drivers as well the two I will be watching with a close eye are Dylan Rudd and Ric Kuznetsov. Both drivers have just moved teams in the last few months and are really looking to show their wares.

Dylan Rudd finished 5th on the road. The importance of that result is that he would not have been expecting to be the leading Lobs Esports driver on points. Remember he’s surrounded by the likes of James Scott and Jarrad Filsell. Right now the motivation levels for him would have to be super high. If he can push for a top 5 or even a podium at Phillip Island he will emerge as the frontrunner in the first half of the season.

Ric Kuznetsov followed Dylan Rudd home to finish in 6th at Sebring. That's a difference of 4 points in the championship. Ric has had a lot of pace recently at Phillip Island and I strongly feel he is really coming into form of late. I’ve seen some very strong drives from him of late, and in particular his ability to defend, block and hold onto positions but be clean about it at the same point in time is a real asset. 

Ric said “Confidence is pretty high, Phillip Island is ony of my stronger tracks. Its also where I got my first Logitech Pro Invitational Podium last year. With [Andrew] Gilliam on my side its good to gather data and compare each other with pace and setup. We are feeling good for Round 2 of the Pro Invitational.”

For me there isn’t very much keeping Ric from being a mainstay in the top 5. Could this be his year? Only he can control that destiny.

Race Stats and information

57 Laps - 253km

Predicted Weather Conditions
Cloud Cover 25-40% (low to medium)
Air Temperature 19-20C

That's not what you guys are reading this far for though. You want those juicy juicy stats, me too!

Phillip Island is that track that exists on every V8 Supercars Series Calendar for a reason - It's in Australia! Well yes and no. It's also a track that challenges every aspect of the car and driver. Car balance is tested to the extreme. You must have a car that rotates on entry and plants mid corner to fire off quickly. You must have downforce to get the tires into the ground and get enough bite, but at the same time your primary overtaking points are at the end of long straights, downforce comes with a cost.

TTR and Lobs (previously under the Synergy Sim Racing banner) have both fielded extremely strong cars at this event for a number of years, but the margin to the other teams is miniscule just with the raw amount of laps done here over the years. Keep your eyes on the newly liveried Vermillion Esports cars of Kuznetsov and Gilliam. They’ve got pace to burn as well and could show it.

Commentators Keys to Victory

Lachlan Mansell - Commitment. There are key sections of the track (especially Turn 1 and Hayshed) where it's essential to drive right on the limit at high speed, with big consequences if you get it wrong.

Stephan “Sandman” Clarke - Capitalise on Clean Air - its very easy to cost yourself time with a good pitstop by coming out in traffic, so make sure you time it right to return to the track in clean air.

Scott Rankin - Discipline. Lachy already touched on it, but commitment is nothing without the right amount of Discipline. You MUST be aggressive, but that toe over the line means disaster. Watch for Miller Corner on Lap 1, with the field packed up anything is possible. Think James Courtney in 2013.

Points finishes will be a key component that we will be tracking all the way to the last lap of Spa on November 13th. Every moment of racing action will come with that asterisk over who wants to win a championship and is thinking that way.

Either way, maybe the yacht that Steve Myers and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are floating around on might be the place to watch. Then again, maybe it’s the commentary box whilst calling the action!

See you all from 7.45pm AEST Wednesday night!