Yokohama iRX Series Finale at Sonoma: Race Preview
Both the iRacing Rallycross All-Star Invitational and World Championship presented by Yokohama championship chases are coming down to the wire at the Yokohama iRX Series Finale from Sonoma Raceway on Saturday. Here’s what to expect from an intense finale:
ALL-STAR INVITATIONAL PREVIEW: The intense three-way championship battle between Sage Karam, Scott Speed, and Conner Martell comes to its conclusion at Sonoma, where Martell already won this season. The trio have won all but one race out of seven thus far, with Kristian Sohlberg’s Atlanta triumph the lone outlier. Making their debut in the season finale will be Indianapolis 500 veteran Stefan Wilson and Nick Ottinger, who won $100,000 as this year’s eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series champion.
Drivers expected to compete in Saturday’s All-Star Invitational include the following:
No. |
Driver |
Team |
Car |
| 00 | Steve Arpin | Loenbro Motorsports | Ford Fiesta RS WRC |
| 09 | Michael Leach | Loenbro Motorsports | Ford Fiesta RS WRC |
| 13 | Andreas Bakkerud | Monster Energy | Subaru WRX STI |
| 16 | Kristian Sohlberg | Casino Friday | 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 |
| 25 | Nick Ottinger | Logitech | Subaru WRX STI |
| 25 | Stefan Wilson | iRacing | 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 |
| 55 | Lane Vacala | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | Ford Fiesta RS WRC |
| 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 |
| 180 | Brandon Semenuk | Subaru Motorsports USA | Subaru WRX STI |
| 198 | Michael Lewis | ASE/Cometic Gasket | Subaru WRX STI |
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW: The alliance between Team Yokohama and Apex Racing Team has paid immediate dividends in 2020, as drivers Jon Robertson and Yohann Harth enter Saturday’s season finale as the only two drivers with a clear path to this season’s World Championship title. With two-time race winner Tommi Hallman and 2018 series champion Mitchell deJong each 26 points back of the lead, it’ll take just a handful of points from Robertson to mathematically eliminate both, setting up a straight-up fight for the title, and the largest share of the series’ $25,000 purse.
And what a fight it’ll be. While Robertson’s ultra-consistent mark of five podiums has him 10 points ahead in the championship chase, Harth has the tiebreaker on race wins—and secured it right here at Sonoma, the same circuit where he also won in 2019, three rounds ago.
The second visit to the California circuit allows it to join Hell Lankebanen as the only tracks to see dual iRX World Championship events in 2020. That familiarity could provide any driver with a shot to break through in the finale, as every driver down to 23rd place Sindre Silva has a mathematical chance to crack the top 10 in points and retain their series license for 2021. The rest will need to re-qualify for the 2021 edition.
YOKOHAMA POLE AWARD: SET Esports driver Tommi Hallman’s third pole position in the last four races ensured that he will receive at least a share of this year’s Yokohama Pole Award; only Mitchell deJong can possibly tie him if deJong qualifies fastest at Sonoma. The driver who scores the most poles over the course of the season earns a custom trophy presented by Yokohama Tire, created by Philip Roberts.
DIRTFISH ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Jonne Ollikainen of SET Esports has mathematically clinched the DirtFish Rookie of the Year Award as the top point-scorer over the course of the season, and as such earned a free three-day course at DirtFish Rally School. Ollikainen’s blistering debut season included a victory in just his second series start at Daytona International Speedway, and has included multiple podium finishes. He can finish no worse than fifth in the overall series standings.
MARWIN SPORTS: Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s Adria Perez and Andretti Autosport’s Vicente Salas won the Marwin Sports Last Chance Qualifiers at Phoenix, while Hallman 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, December 5 at 1PM ET (17:00 GMT) on the iRacing Facebook, Twitch, 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.
Hits: 62