Grand Prix Turn Racing iRacing Series Race Preview: Detroit GP at Belle Isle
October 18th, 2023 by Justin Melillo
The second half of the 2023 Grand Prix Turn Racing iRacing Series season begins on Thursday, as the 26 top rated open-wheel drivers take their Dallara iR-01s to the streets of Belle Isle in Detroit for the first street course race in series history.
38 laps are scheduled around the Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle track. All of the action starts at 19:00 GMT (3PM ET) with the event streaming live across iRacing social media channels.
Last Race: Another new winner emerged in Edoardo Leo for VRS at the series’ first trip to Circuit Zandvoort last week. Battling against points leader Przemyslaw Marek Lemanek of Drago Racing, Leo was able to utilize the overcut to have fresher tires at the end. Once the pair had sliced through the lapped traffic, Leo made the move for the top spot. Lemanek opted to let him through without a fight, finishing second to claim a good points day. That allowed the Polish competitor to open up his championship lead to eight points over Arnage Competition’s David Toth in second.
Last Season: Back in the inaugural season in 2021, the schedule consisted of 10 road course venues strung across Europe, Asia and the Americas. This season, not only are there two oval tracks to take on, but for the first time in history, the series will go street circuit racing as they take on Belle Isle in Detroit.
Track Facts: The former site of the Detroit Grand Prix race weekend, this temporary street circuit at Belle Isle, located on the Detroit River, hosted a multitude of auto races since opening in 1992. The 2.35 mile, 13-turn circuit is right down the road from downtown Detroit and offers some of the most challenging street course action around, as well as some of the most breathtaking scenes in both the real-world and simulation.
Next Up: Replacing Suzuka Circuit this season for the seventh round of the schedule is Fuji International Speedway, a 2.83 mile, 16-turn road course located in Oyama, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. This will be another first-time venue on the calendar, having been released in the 2022 Season 3 build.
For more information on the Grand Prix Turn Racing iRacing Series, visit www.iracing.com/irgp. For more information on Turn Racing, visit www.turnracing.com. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.