iRacing Rallycross Race Preview: Atlanta

Last week’s iRacing Rallycross season opener from Daytona International Speedway had all the drama you could ask for, from an unpredictable All-Star Invitational to a photo finish in the World Championship opener. This week, the momentum carries on to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the second of nine championship rounds. Races will begin at 4PM ET/1PM PT at iRacing.com/live and across a large slate of Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube channels.

World Championship

SET Esports’ Tommi Hallman and Jonne Ollikainen went 1-2 in the opening round of the season at Daytona, with Subaru Motorsports USA’s Jon Robertson and Yohann Harth following them in third and fourth. That appears to be the battle to watch once again this season, although a number of other drivers—including a hefty and promising rookie class—have shown plenty of speed to threaten them for podium places.

The bad news for the field: that same quartet scored the top four finishing spots in Atlanta last year, with Robertson and Harth on top instead. Behind them, only Hansen Williams Esports’ Josh Fox and Logitech G Altus Esports’ Beau Albert—winners of the two last chance qualifiers—are still on the series grid this year. Fox finished seventh in the opener, while Albert will be searching for redemption after his Daytona race ended with a runner-up LCQ finish.

Yokohama Pole Award: Ollikainen claimed the first Yokohama Pole Award of the year at Daytona by the slimmest of margins over Hallman. Last year’s Atlanta pole went to Robertson, who cashed in on the top starting spot to score the first feature win of his iRX career.

DirtFish Rookie of the Year: Jim Beaver eSports’ Alex Bergeron and Hansen Williams Esports’ Jarno Leskinen are tied for top honors in the DirtFish Rookie of the Year standings with eight points apiece. 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.

All-Star Invitational

An unpredictable All-Star opener saw ARCA Menards Series driver, and 2022 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series hopeful, Parker Retzlaff take the checkered flag over Craig Williams of Craig’s Setup Shop and former US rallycross Lites champion Conner Martell. Expect many of last week’s biggest names to be back on the grid for Wednesday’s action in Atlanta. The expected entry list is below; entries are subject to change:

How To Watch

All iRX events will be broadcast in multiple languages for the 2021 season. Here’s where to tune in:

• English: iRacing Facebook, Twitch, YouTube
• Finnish: Finnish Sim Racing Association ry (FISRA)
• French: BenjxMotors
• Norwegian: Norwegian SimRacing Channel

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