Hallman Gives SET Esports iRacing Rallycross World Championship Team Points Lead with Barcelona Victory

Images via Justin Melillo

For the second week in a row, it was a SET Esports driver on top of the podium in Wednesday’s iRacing Rallycross World Championship presented by Yokohama event from Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. This time, it was Tommi Hallman returning to the top step of the podium for the first time since the season opener at Daytona International Speedway, and giving SET the lead once again in the teams’ championship in the process.

Subaru Motorsports USA’s Jon Robertson maintained his championship lead with a second place finish, holding onto a 13-point advantage over Hallman’s teammate Jonne Ollikainen, who placed third. One of three new tracks on this year’s calendar and the second in as many weeks, Barcelona proved challenging for many of the world’s best drivers, who found themselves caught with little room for era on the circuit’s tight corners and narrow dirt section.

Yokohama Pole Award: Back-to-back-to-back-to-back pole positions for Robertson have all but guaranteed him the season-long Yokohama Pole Award for 2021. Only Ollikainen, the Daytona pole winner, can either tie or surpass Robertson for the season-long honor with four races remaining.

DirtFish Rookie of the Year: For the second week in a row, Logitech G Altus Esports’ Luis Nunez was the top DirtFish Rookie of the Year finisher in the final in seventh place. Although he came in one spot behind Nunez in eighth, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Kevin Ellis Jr. remains the top rookie at fifth in the standings, with Nunez his closest rival at 29 points behind.

The 2021 DirtFish Rookie of the Year will receive a complimentary Three Day course from DirtFish, the Official Rallying School of iRacing Rallycross. To sign up and get behind the wheel yourself, visit drive.dirtfish.com.

Hard Charger Award: Once again, it was a Team Yokohama driver gaining the most places of anybody on the day, with Thomas Wangen improving from 24^th in qualifying to third in his LCQ for 14^th overall. The biggest position gainer to make the final was Hansen Williams Esports’ Josh Fox, who qualified 11^th but finished sixth in the feature.

iRX All-Star Invitational: The streak of different winners to start the All-Star Invitational season continued on Wednesday, with Team Fordzilla’s Pablo “GoProLopez” Lopez taking the checkered flag at his home track in the series’ first-ever 12-car feature. Lopez would take over the top spot on Lap 4 from fellow Spanish driver Borja Zazo, who had pole in the feature after the full-field invert and maintained a top-five position at race’s end.

Completing the podium were a pair of Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup standouts in Jamie Fluke and Zac Campbell, while former ARX2 champion Conner Martell was the top finishing real-world driver in fourth. Other season debutants included IndyCar star Conor Daly in seventh and iRX’s own color commentator Paul Smith, who served as an in-car commentator, placing eighth after winning his heat.

iRX World Championship presented by Yokohama feature results from Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya were as follows:

iRX World Championship presented by Yokohama driver standings through five rounds are as follows:

1. Jon Robertson, 128
2. Jonne Ollikainen, 115
3. Tommi Hallman, 95
4. Yohann Harth, 79
5. Kevin Ellis Jr., 70
6. Vicente Salas, 63
7. Killian Dall’olmo, 51
8. Luis Nunez, 41
9. Jarno Leskinen, 41
10. Jake Robertson, 40

iRX World Championship presented by Yokohama team standings through five rounds are as follows:

1. SET Esports, 210
2. Subaru Motorsports USA, 207
3. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 110
4. SET Esports Team GRX, 88
5. Elliott Sadler eSports, 84
6. Hansen Williams Esports, 75
7. Logitech G Altus Esports, 65
8. Jim Beaver eSports, 62
9. Nitro Circus, 44
10. Vermont SportsCar, 42

iRacing Rallycross presented by Yokohama continues next Wednesday at Hell Lankebanen. Coverage kicks off with the All-Star Invitational at 4PM ET and continues with the World Championship at 5PM ET, and will air across iRacing’s Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube. iRX will also be covered in Finnish by the Finnish Sim Racing Association, in French by BenjxMotors, and in Norwegian by the Norwegian SimRacing Channel.

For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.

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