Mikkel Gade Clinches Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series Crown with Sebring Victory
April 25th, 2022 by Chris Leone
Mikkel Gade will have the opportunity of a lifetime behind the wheel of a Skip Barber Formula Race Series car for the full 2022 season, after locking up the Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series title with a dominant victory in the season finale at Sebring International Raceway. After posting the top qualifying time for the final event, Gade led all but four race laps across both features, scoring a fourth place finish in the first before charging back to the front to win the latter by nearly four seconds.
The Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series closely mirrors the real-world Skip Barber Formula Race Series in vehicle formula and racing circuits, with the added caveat that the top performers in the virtual series earn racing opportunities in the real one. Each week, a new slate of 20 drivers qualifies their way into the next race round, receiving coaching from Skip Barber Racing School instructors before taking to the track for a pair of 15-minute timed races. The champion at the end of the six-week series earns a full-season ride in the Skip Barber Formula Race Series, and more than $500,000 worth of prizes is on the line overall.
Gade’s closing victory was the culmination of a dominant season in which he won seven of the 12 race sessions and finished off with a 36-point advantage, more than a race win’s worth of points, over Nicolas Mateo. Still, it was Deagen Fairclough, Matt Adams, and Mateo who would all get past Gade on the final lap of the first race, denying him win number seven temporarily. Still, Gade would charge back in the second race, passing Adams and Mateo to get up to second on the first lap, getting by Fairclough on the second, and never looking back. Adams and Guillaume Levesque would complete the podium after Fairclough would fall out of second on the final lap.
Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series feature one results from Sebring International Raceway were as follows:
Fin. |
St. |
No. |
Driver |
Laps |
Interval |
Led |
Best |
Pts. |
1 | 7 | 19 | Deagen Fairclough | 8 | 1 | 2:02.101 | 35 | |
2 | 6 | 18 | Matt M Adams | 8 | -0.801 | 0 | 2:01.893 | 32 |
3 | 8 | 10 | Nicolas Mateo | 8 | -1.963 | 0 | 2:02.137 | 30 |
4 | 2 | 1 | Mikkel Gade | 8 | -2.728 | 5 | 2:01.823 | 28 |
5 | 14 | 20 | Jon Boetefuer | 8 | -7.563 | 0 | 2:02.254 | 26 |
6 | 15 | 8 | Guillaume Lévesque | 8 | -8.603 | 0 | 2:02.433 | 25 |
7 | 11 | 12 | Ross Banfield | 8 | -8.761 | 0 | 2:02.191 | 24 |
8 | 18 | 6 | Jack G Harrison | 8 | -11.005 | 0 | 2:02.109 | 23 |
9 | 5 | 13 | Matt Bussa | 8 | -11.674 | 0 | 2:02.610 | 22 |
10 | 19 | 5 | Matthew Zeis | 8 | -13.677 | 0 | 2:02.729 | 21 |
11 | 16 | 17 | Felipe Cabrera Loyola | 8 | -15.676 | 0 | 2:03.233 | 20 |
12 | 10 | 11 | Tyler S Campbell | 8 | -1:04.045 | 0 | 2:02.223 | 19 |
13 | 1 | 4 | Elvis Rankin | 7 | -1 L | 2 | 2:01.608 | 18 |
14 | 3 | 7 | Pierfrancesco Patricolo | 7 | -1 L | 0 | 2:03.876 | 17 |
15 | 9 | 14 | Zach Holden | 7 | -1 L | 0 | 2:03.221 | 16 |
16 | 12 | 9 | Jordan Johnson5 | 5 | -3 L | 0 | 2:03.993 | 15 |
17 | 17 | 15 | Theodore Burns | 3 | -5 L | 0 | 2:04.801 | 14 |
18 | 4 | 3 | Michael Janney | 2 | -6 L | 0 | 13 | |
19 | 20 | 16 | Simon De Mori | 1 | -7 L | 0 | 12 | |
20 | 13 | 2 | Michael Romanidis | 1 | -7 L | 0 | 11 |
Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series feature two results from Sebring International Raceway were as follows:
Fin. |
St. |
No. |
Driver |
Laps |
Interval |
Led |
Best |
Pts. |
1 | 4 | 1 | Mikkel Gade | 8 | 7 | 2:01.256 | 35 | |
2 | 2 | 18 | Matt M Adams | 8 | -3.706 | 0 | 2:01.598 | 32 |
3 | 6 | 8 | Guillaume Lévesque | 8 | -8.415 | 0 | 2:02.342 | 30 |
4 | 5 | 20 | Jon Boetefuer | 8 | -8.495 | 0 | 2:02.599 | 28 |
5 | 3 | 10 | Nicolas Mateo | 8 | -9.126 | 0 | 2:02.271 | 26 |
6 | 7 | 12 | Ross Banfield | 8 | -9.500 | 0 | 2:02.091 | 25 |
7 | 18 | 3 | Michael Janney | 8 | -10.732 | 0 | 2:01.936 | 24 |
8 | 13 | 4 | Elvis Rankin | 8 | -12.919 | 0 | 2:01.649 | 23 |
9 | 16 | 9 | Jordan Johnson5 | 8 | -13.341 | 0 | 2:01.803 | 22 |
10 | 20 | 2 | Michael Romanidis | 8 | -16.057 | 0 | 2:02.050 | 21 |
11 | 8 | 6 | Jack G Harrison | 8 | -17.049 | 0 | 2:01.813 | 20 |
12 | 11 | 17 | Felipe Cabrera Loyola | 8 | -19.925 | 0 | 2:02.228 | 19 |
13 | 12 | 11 | Tyler S Campbell | 8 | -22.014 | 0 | 2:02.051 | 18 |
14 | 15 | 14 | Zach Holden | 8 | -33.281 | 0 | 2:02.863 | 17 |
15 | 14 | 7 | Pierfrancesco Patricolo | 8 | -44.411 | 0 | 2:03.990 | 16 |
16 | 1 | 19 | Deagen Fairclough | 7 | -1 L | 1 | 2:01.837 | 15 |
17 | 17 | 15 | Theodore Burns | 7 | -1 L | 0 | 2:02.708 | 14 |
18 | 19 | 16 | Simon De Mori | 4 | -4 L | 0 | 2:03.922 | 13 |
19 | 9 | 13 | Matt Bussa | 4 | -4 L | 0 | 2:02.968 | 12 |
20 | 10 | 5 | Matthew Zeis | 1 | -7 L | 0 | 11 |
The top 10 drivers in final Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series points were as follows:
- Mikkel Gade, 270
- Nicolas Mateo, 234
- Elvis Rankin, 231
- Deagen Fairclough, 213
- Matt Adams, 191
- Michael Janney, 191
- Matt Bussa, 185
- Pierfrancesco Patricolo, 183
- Felipe Cabrera Loyola, 181
- Ross Banfield, 171
As a result of their Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series performances, Gade has earned a full season ride in the 2022 Skip Barber Formula Race Series, Mateo has earned a half season, and Rankin has earned a single race. All three will also receive a 5 Day Competition Licensing Race School and Skip Barber Racing School coaching. Fairclough and Adams will receive a 1 Day Racing School from SBRS, while the remainder of the top 10 will receive an Intro to Racing program.
For more information on the Skip Barber Racing School, visit www.skipbarber.com. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.