Victor Miranda stays winning, splits victories with Matt Bussa in Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series races at Lime Rock Park
August 16th, 2024 by Justin Melillo
The 2024 Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series is coming to a close, and after four events, Victor Miranda is the clear favorite for the title after securing another race victory. This week at Lime Rock Park, utilizing the Chicanes layout, Miranda split victories with Matt Bussa. It keeps Miranda’s streak of winning once every week alive, and propels him to a 55 point lead in the championship with only one event to go.
RACE #1
Bussa scored the coveted pole position and led from the start in the first race on the night, taking control ahead of Leo Ovtcharov. Miranda, mired back in fifth on the start, have to contest against Felipe Cabrera and Ayden Young for the podium. Young and Cabrera made contact on the opening lap, sending Young back in the field. He would recover to ultimately finish seventh.
Meanwhile, Miranda and Cabrera continued to fight, and just before halfway, it came to a head. Cabrera was forced around and out of the race after contact with Miranda. Miranda continued on, holding off Matt Caruana for the third spot.
Up front, Bussa was infallible, leading every lap en route to his first victory of the season, becoming the fifth different winner in seven races. Ovtcharov, who has had a very bumpy season to-date, gave it a shot at the end, but came up a car length short.
Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series Race #7 at Lime Rock Park – Top 10 Results:
Fin. | St. | No. | Driver | Interval | Country | Pts. |
1 | 1 | 7 | Matt Bussa | 0.000 | United States | 35 |
2 | 2 | 1 | Leo Ovtcharov | +0.086 | United States | 32 |
3 | 5 | 4 | Victor Miranda | +2.903 | Brazil | 30 |
4 | 8 | 8 | Matt J Caruana | +2.933 | Great Britain | 28 |
5 | 7 | 3 | Ivan Machado Perez | +5.418 | Spain | 26 |
6 | 6 | 15 | Bryce Weyer | +8.955 | United States | 25 |
7 | 4 | 2 | Ayden Young | +11.029 | United States | 24 |
8 | 16 | 10 | Byron Mitchell | +12.014 | South Africa | 23 |
9 | 12 | 11 | Cade Middleton | +16.121 | United States | 22 |
10 | 18 | 18 | Andrew Moran | +16.132 | United States | 21 |
RACE #2
Things got heated almost immediately on the start of the second race as Caruana forced three-wide for the lead entering Big Bend. Ovtcharov and Caruana made slight contact, forcing them both down the running order, which allowed for Miranda to get away with Bussa.
Bussa led the opening stint, but Miranda took control just before halfway. The pair pulled away from the rest of the field as the scramble was on for third. Ivan Machado and Young squabbled over it, contact in the Uphill chicane forcing Machado off course. Into the West Bend chicane, Ovtcharov and Young came together, forcing the runner-up in the opening race around, allowing for Caruana to take advantage and move into the third spot, where he would finish.
Up front, Miranda would not be denied. Bussa gave one last look into the West Bend chicane, but Miranda held strong and won for the fourth time this season.
Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series Race #8 at Lime Rock Park – Top 10 Results:
Fin. | St. | No. | Driver | Interval | Country | Pts. |
1 | 3 | 4 | Victor Miranda | 0.000 | Brazil | 35 |
2 | 1 | 7 | Matt Bussa | +0.764 | United States | 32 |
3 | 4 | 8 | Matt J Caruana | +2.991 | Great Britain | 30 |
4 | 8 | 10 | Byron Mitchell | +8.572 | South Africa | 28 |
5 | 7 | 2 | Ayden Young | +8.949 | United States | 26 |
6 | 11 | 16 | Jeffrey Decker | +10.860 | United States | 25 |
7 | 17 | 5 | Felipe Cabrera Loyola | +11.322 | Chile | 24 |
8 | 10 | 18 | Andrew Moran | +11.559 | United States | 23 |
9 | 13 | 14 | Michal Sikorski2 | +13.159 | Poland | 22 |
10 | 15 | 6 | Shoma Shintani | +13.781 | Japan | 21 |
Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series points through races #7 and #8 at Lime Rock Park:
- Victor Miranda, 262
- Ivan Machado Perez, 207
- Matt Bussa, 206
- Ayden Young, 188
- Leo Ovtcharov, 186
- Byron Mitchell, 183
- Matt J Caruana, 163
- Andrew Moran, 159
- Kody Deith, 148
- Shoma Shintani, 145
Through eight races, Miranda leads the way by 55 points over Machado. Bussa slides back up into third, only a single point behind Machado for the runner-up spot. Young, Ovtcharov, and Byron Mitchell sit fourth through sixth and could have a say in the conversation for the top-three spots in the finale next month.
Next Race: The fifth and final event of the 2024 season will take place at Virginia International Raceway once again. This time, the series takes on the Full Course. This Hot Lap Qualifier is active from Friday, September 6th, at 12 a.m. ET to Sunday, September 8th at 11:59 p.m. ET.
The entry fee for each Hot Lap Qualifier is $20, and the top 20 drivers on the Time Attack leaderboard will be invited to run each race. They’ll also get to take part in an open test with Skip Barber Racing School instructors on hand to provide feedback.
The race itself is scheduled for Thursday, September 12th, once again at 7 p.m. ET. It will be live on iRacing.com/live and across all of iRacing’s social media channels.
To learn more about the Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series, visit https://www.skipbarber.com/iracing-series/.
Drivers can register to compete in 2024 Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series events here.
For more information about iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.