iRacing Rallycross presented by Yokohama Preview: Phoenix
Just two races remain in the iRacing Rallycross All-Star Invitational and World Championship presented by Yokohama, and the first sees the series return to Phoenix Raceway for the first time since last season. With both championship battles going down to the wire, here’s what to look out for in Saturday’s action:
ALL-STAR INVITATIONAL PREVIEW: Sage Karam’s second win of the season at Lucas Oil Raceway put him in a tie with Scott Speed after drop weeks, and Conner Martell sits just four points behind them coming into the penultimate round of the season. Not too many points are left on the table for the trio, who have split five of this season’s six victories, but regular series drivers like Kevin Swindell, Ron Capps, Chris Atkinson, and Tim Stevens should pose a threat. Travis Pastrana and Mason Filippi will also return to the track, while Filippi’s IMSA teammate Michael Lewis makes his series debut.
Drivers expected to compete in Saturday’s All-Star Invitational include the following:
No. |
Driver |
Team |
Car |
| 09 | Michael Leach | Loenbro Motorsports | Ford Fiesta RS WRC |
| 13 | Andreas Bakkerud | Monster Energy | Subaru WRX STI |
| 21 | Conner Martell | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/VSC | Subaru WRX STI |
| 22 | Blake “Bilko” Williams | Team Yokohama | Subaru WRX STI |
| 23 | Tyler Menninga | Heatwave | Subaru WRX STI |
| 24 | Sage Karam | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | Subaru WRX STI |
| 28 | Ron Capps | Don Schumacher Racing | Subaru WRX STI |
| 37 | Mario Bonfante Jr. | Marwin Sports | Subaru WRX STI |
| 39 | Kevin Swindell | Swindell Speedlab | Subaru WRX STI |
| 41 | Scott Speed | Subaru Motorsports USA | Subaru WRX STI |
| 55 | Chris Atkinson | Team Yokohama | Subaru WRX STI |
| 64 | Tim Stevens | Roadshow Autos | Subaru WRX STI |
| 81 | Bucky Lasek | Rockstar Energy | Subaru WRX STI |
| 85 | Mikey Lawrence | Lawrence Equipment | Subaru WRX STI |
| 98 | Mason Filippi | OpenFender | Subaru WRX STI |
| 198 | Michael Lewis | ASE/Cometic Gasket | Subaru WRX STI |
| 199 | Travis Pastrana | Subaru Motorsports USA | Subaru WRX STI |
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW: Mitchell deJong finally got the first win of his tenure with Subaru Motorsports USA last Saturday at Lucas Oil Raceway, claiming his first World Championship victory of the season and 11th overall. The former real-world rallycross champion beat SET Esports’ Tommi Hallman and Team Yokohama’s Yohann Harth to the checkered flag at one of the only tracks in the series that he’s also driven in the real world.
The win helped deJong close the gap on points leader Jon Robertson and Harth in a huge way; the American is now just 14 points off of the overall lead, and seven out of second. That means a second straight win this weekend at Phoenix Raceway could give deJong the points lead, or a share of it, with the right combination of finishes—even if all three drivers make the final. The good news: deJong is the defending winner here, although Harth won the second Phoenix race in 2018. (Joni Heikkinen won the inaugural Phoenix event that season.)
YOKOHAMA POLE AWARD: Mitchell deJong’s path to victory at Lucas Oil Raceway kicked off with the fastest time in qualifying and the Yokohama Pole Award. The driver who scores the most poles over the course of the season earns a custom trophy presented by Yokohama Tire.
DIRTFISH ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Jonne Ollikainen of SET Esports remains the runaway leader in the DirtFish Rookie of the Year Award chase, extending his points advantage with a stellar fourth place finish at Lucas Oil as fellow rookies Killian Dall’olmo and Jake Robertson came home seventh and ninth, respectively. The DirtFish Rookie of the Year Award will go to the top point-scorer over the course of the season, and includes a free three-day course at DirtFish Rally School.
MARWIN SPORTS: SET Esports’ Jonne Ollikainen and Killian Dall’olmo won the Marwin Sports Last Chance Qualifiers at Sonoma, while deJong earned a race winner’s prize pack from Marwin Sports by virtue of taking the checkered flag.
iRX All-Star Invitational and World Championship presented by Yokohama action kicks off on Saturday, November 21 at 1PM ET (17:00 GMT) on the iRacing Facebook and YouTube pages, as well as across a number of industry and competitor Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube pages. A Finnish-language simulcast will air on YLE Areena and YLE E-urheilu.
The iRacing Rallycross World Championship presented by Yokohama is supported by Yokohama, DirtFish, and Marwin Sports. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.
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