Swane, Liebert Kick Off 2023 iRacing Off-Road Championship Series with Wins at Wild West

2022 iRacing Off-Road Championship Series runner-up Keaton Swane and top incoming rookie Jarrett Liebert took the first two wins of the 2023 campaign, conquering Wednesday night’s season-opening doubleheader at Wild West Motorsports Park. The second annual campaign will once again see drivers do battle through eight double features for their share of a $25,000 prize pool.

Swane, who posted a perfect 16-for-16 record of top 10 finishes in 2022, kicked off the season determined to do one spot better this year. Qualifying second alongside rookie Joel Blewitt, Swane first took the lead on Lap 10 before having to fight Blewitt off in an intense battle for the win in the closing couple of laps. Completing the podium behind them was defending series champion Connor Barry, who fought his way up from sixth on the starting grid.

The top eight finishers were inverted to set the field for the second race, with Liebert the beneficiary as he started first alongside Crystal King. By the end of the first lap, he’d already put nearly a second on the field, and he’d carry more than three seconds on the pack for most of the event as he led all 16 circuits. Swane and Barry renewed their battle up front as they fought for the final two podium spots; in the end, Barry would hang on, but Swane’s win gives him a six-point advantage coming out of the first event.

Directly preceding the sim racing pros, 14 top real-world racers, Twitch streamers, and top sim racers from other disciplines took on the first event of the Pro 2 Lite All-Star Series. New for this year is the division between Pro eSports and Celebrity classes, with the Pro eSports drivers carrying yellow number plates. Pro eSports drivers locked out the first race podium with Zac Drapkin, Blake Reynolds, and Luke Knupp, as Rise Esports’ Nate Stewart led the Celebrity class in fourth. In the second race, Leo Moura (OmegaSimRacing) led all but one lap to take the overall win for the Celebrity class, with Reynolds and Knupp second and third again.

iRacing Off-Road Championship Series Round 1 results from Wild West Motorsports Park were as follows:

1. Keaton Swane, 16 laps
2. Joel Blewitt, -0.651
3. Connor Barry, -2.631
4. Josh Edmundson, -3.754
5. Tyson Miller, -4.253

iRacing Off-Road Championship Series Round 2 results from Wild West Motorsports Park were as follows:

1. Jarrett Liebert, 16 laps
2. Connor Barry, -3.257
3. Keaton Swane, -3.694
4. Josh Edmundson, -4.863
5. Crystal King, -6.535

iRacing Off-Road Championship Series points through one event are as follows:

1. Keaton Swane, 100
2. Connor Barry, 94
3. Josh Edmundson, 91
4. Joel Blewitt, 91
5. Jarrett Liebert, 86
6. Tyson Miller, 83
7. Crystal King, 80
8. Justin Kaye, 66
9. Quentin Dall’olmo, 64
10. 2 drivers tied, 54

The 2023 iRacing Off-Road Championship Series continues next week with a return to Crandon International Raceway. Coverage will kick off once again at 8PM ET across iRacing social media channels with the All-Star action, followed by the sim racing pros at 9PM ET.

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

Images via Justin Melillo

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