New-Look Thrustmaster iRacing Rallycross World Championship Kicks Off Saturday
October 4th, 2019 by Chris Leone
For the second consecutive year, iRacing Rallycross will stage a World Championship in 2019, kicking off this Saturday with the debut of Atlanta Motor Speedway on the circuit. With new title sponsor Thrustmaster on board, a $25,000 purse on the line, and increased involvement from real-world teams, this year’s championship should be one for the ages.
Defending iRX World Champion and real-world Supercar star Mitchell deJong is once again expected to be among the front-runners, but he’s not the only driver with real-world links this year. Joni Heikkinen, deJong’s top title rival in 2018, heads up a three-car team at SET Esports, the gaming wing of standout European rallycross squad SET Promotion. Heikkinen and teammate Tommi Hallman competed in RX Academy, SET’s driver development series run in Europe, and real-world RX2 driver Sami-Matti Trogen completes the lineup.
Apex Racing Team has affiliated with Subaru Winter Experience, the winter driving school run by Subaru Motorsports USA driver Patrik Sandell, to run a four-car lineup for Yohann Harth, Steliyan Chepilevski, Jon Robertson, and Kevin Carlisle, while DirtFish will serve as the primary partner on Jim Beaver eSports’ two-car lineup of Bobby Sandt Jr. and Connor Parise. North Carolina’s Garrett Lowe will represent North Carolina-based Loenbro Motorsports in the championship, while other real-world drivers will be announcing their support of the series in the coming weeks.
And if you’re a fan of the eNASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series, you should recognize a number of names on this year’s entry list. Besides Lowe, other eNASCAR stars to qualify for iRX in 2019 include returning drivers Phillip Diaz, Logan Clampitt, Nathan Lyon, Michael Guest, and Bobby Zalenski, who will race for this year’s PEAK Series championship live on NBCSN this Thursday.
The full driver list for the 2019 Thrustmaster iRacing Rallycross World Championship is as follows:
No. |
Driver |
Club |
Qualifying Status |
1 | Garrett Manes | Virginias | 2019 qualifying series |
2 | Steliyan Chepilevski | UK & I | 2018 iRX |
3 | Joni Heikkinen | Finland | 2018 iRX |
6 | Garrett Lowe | Carolina | 2018 iRX |
9 | Phillip Diaz | Florida | 2018 iRX |
11 | Connor Parise | Atlantic | 2018 iRX |
12 | Josh Fox | Pennsylvania | 2018 iRX |
17 | Matt M Adams | Canada | 2019 qualifying series |
19 | Cédric Gesmier | France | 2018 iRX |
22 | Sami-Matti Trogen | Finland | Real-world driver |
23 | György Zajzon | Central-Eastern Europe | 2019 qualifying series |
24 | Mitchell deJong | California | 2018 iRX Champion |
39 | Matthew Madigan | Florida | 2019 qualifying series |
44 | Logan Clampitt | Claifornia | 2018 iRX |
47 | Nathan Lyon | Plains | 2018 iRX |
48 | Marcos Matamoros | Iberia | 2019 qualifying series |
54 | Michael Guest | Indiana | 2018 iRX |
72 | Kevin Carlisle | Mid-South | 2019 qualifying series |
76 | Daniel Mitrani Fenollosa | Iberia | 2019 qualifying series |
83 | Bobby Zalenski | California | 2018 iRX |
86 | Jon Robertson | UK and I | 2019 qualifying series |
87 | Tommi Hallman | Finland | 2019 qualifying series |
90 | Yohann Harth | France | 2018 iRX |
97 | Adria Perez | Iberia | 2019 qualifying series |
99 | Otto Taskinen | Finland | 2019 qualifying series |
131 | Bobby Sandt Jr | Pennsylvania | 2019 qualifying series |
The 2019 Thrustmaster iRacing Rallycross World Championship calendar is as follows:
• October 5: Atlanta Motor Speedway (long)
• October 12: Daytona International Speedway (short)
• October 19: Sonoma Raceway
• October 26: Lucas Oil Raceway
• November 2: Phoenix International Raceway 2008
• November 9: Iowa Speedway
• November 16: Sonoma Raceway
• November 23: Daytona International Speedway (long)
• November 30: Atlanta Motor Speedway (short)
All races will be streamed live on Saturdays at 2PM on the iRacing eSports Network on Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube. For more information on Thrustmaster, visit www.thrustmaster.com. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iRacing.com.