iRacing Off-Road Championship Series Race Preview: Wild Horse Pass 2
August 15th, 2023 by Chris Leone
The iRacing Off-Road Championship Series heads back to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park for Rounds 13 and 14 of the 2023 campaign on Wednesday night. Coverage kicks off at 8PM ET across iRacing social media channels with All-Star action featuring top real-world drivers and Twitch streamers, while the 24 top off-road sim racers in the world will take on this week’s showcase race at 9PM ET.
Last Week: As has been the case more than once this season, a rookie and a top veteran split the victories in last week’s doubleheader from Bark River. Joel Blewitt of Team Gold held off Team Rogue’s Jarrett Liebert throughout the first race after the two rookies qualified first and second. In the second race, it was defending champion Connor Barry of Nitro Circus Sim Racing Team on top, following up a third place finish in the first race to increase his points lead to 27 over Liebert and 53 over Blewitt and 2022 runner-up Keaton Swane of Factory Simsport.
Earlier This Season: Alex Bergeron is still the king of Wild Horse Pass, as he scored his third victory at the Arizona facility in as many events over the past two years in the second leg of the doubleheader. The first went to Liebert, who scored the pole and led all 16 laps for his second win of the season. Altus Esports driver Killian Dall’olmo had the only dual podium of the night with runner-up finishes in both races.
All-Star Series: It was another Pro 4 sweep for Luke Knupp of Team Gold at Bark River, making him five for six since the All-Stars swapped out of the Pro 2 Lite. His Pro eSports class points lead is now a healthy 41 over Zachary Drapkin. The Celebrity class battle is much closer, as Keenan Kusan and Trever Teal are separated by just three points after Kusan topped the class in the first round from Bark River.
Track Facts: Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park is one of America’s most diverse racing facilities. Opened in 1983 as Firebird Raceway, the Chandler, Arizona-based facility has hosted everything from IMSA to drag racing and superbikes to powerboats. The track hosted professional short course off-road racing from 2010 to 2020, and also has a history with rallycross across two different series.
Next Up: Following Wild Horse Pass, the iRacing Off-Road Championship Series wraps up with a return to Crandon International Raceway on Wednesday, August 23. Factory Simsport teammates Swane and Nicholas Dachelet split the wins at Crandon in Rounds 3 and 4 this year, with Dachelet’s win the first of his career in the series.
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Image via Justin Melillo