GTC News

David Sirois wins Z1 Sim Wheel CLEAN DRIVER AWARD!

DAVID SIROIS WINNER OF Z1 SIM WHEEL LCD DISPLAY

April 24^th 2012:  The International Sim Racing Association (ISRA) and Z1 Sim Wheel today are announcing that David Sirois is the winner of the ISRA GTC Championship sponsored by Z1 Sim Wheel CLEAN DRIVER award!

The philosophy of the ISRA is to reward clean, competitive racing.  So unlike most racing series’ the prize does not go to the fastest racer or the most experienced racer; but to the cleanest.  The driver who finishes the season with the most bonus points for the clean driver award wins the amazing Z1 Sim Wheel LCD Display.

All iRacing.com members are eligible to join the GTC, the premier multi-class online racing series.  The GTC races on Monday evenings at 10pm EST and currently races with the Riley Daytona Prototype, Ford GT and new Cadillac CTS-V at the best virtual race tracks all over the world.  With full fields of 40+ cars each GTC race is an event in itself made all the more exciting by the prospect of winning an incredible Z1 Sim Wheel LCD Display.

About the International Sim Racing Association

The International Sim Racing Association is the governing and organizing body for multiple online motor racing series’.  The ISRA has quickly become the leading host for online racing.  The ISRA is dedicated in creating a realistic and fair environment for its 600+ members.  Anyone who has an account with iRacing.com is welcome to join this growing community of online racers.

Visit http://www.israleague.com or more information.

About Z1 Sim Wheel

The Z1 Sim Wheel is a fully customizable steering wheel for use with computer racing simulations and games; compatible with G25, G27, DFGT, TSW, ECCI wheel bases, and Grant 5 bolt patterns.

With prices starting at just over $700 (US) for the Z1 Sim Wheel, and at $299 (US) for the LCD Screen the extra level of realism added to the driving experience is a must for any sim racer.

Z1 Sim Wheel now offers an LCD Screen which can be integrated into a wheel, or housed in a small box for attaching to existing cockpits, desks, etc. The screen is 480x270 pixels and 16 bit color. There are 26 realistic dashboards, as well as telemetry, notes, standings and garage screens included with the software.  The software to run the wheel display is included with the wheel, and will be freely available. Any updates, bug fixes, new display screens, etc. are available for free to anyone who purchases a screen.

Visit http://www.z1simwheel.com for more information.

GTC - Watkins Glen Enduro!

ISRA Grand Touring Championship presented by Z1 Sim Wheels presentsRound 7 of 16 The Empire State Enduro 105

The GTC left the Far East and returned to the East Coast to contest the second endurance race of the season in Watkins Glen, utilizing the Boot layout that the Indycar teams have used in years past. As the first half the season comes to a close, the racing on track is getting more and more intense.

Leading LMP qualifying was Bryan Carey lapping .3s faster than Chris Damron and .5s faster than David Sirois. At the start Carey kept his lead as Ryan Cornes slipped past Mike Kelley for fourth into The 90. The leaders held station until the first full course caution came out on lap five. Everyone held station as it was too early to come in for a splash of fuel. On the restart Kelley moved past Cornes to retake 4th into The 90. With Kelley slightly slower on the exit of the turn, both John Cousland and Daniel Quaroni pounced on Cornes, who was pinned in behind Kelley on the run to the Bus Stop. Later in the lap Damron would take the lead, diving down the inside of Carey into turn nine. Cornes recovered three laps later to pull off a daring outside pass on Quaroni, carrying much more speed through the Outer Loop and into seventh. At the front the leaders were well into traffic. On lap 11, trying to get around the outside of Clark Reed’s GT2 machine, Damron attempted an outside pass. The two made contact, collecting the GT2 of James Mynes and Bryan Carey. Sirois moved into the lead with Jeremy Burris right his wheel tracks. Traffic factored in once again, this time for the battle over third. Exiting turn 11 onto the front straight Kelley was held up, allowing Cousland, Cornes, and Quaroni to get a run. Cornes carrying the biggest head of steam, as he ran down the inside of the track, getting alongside Kelley into the brake zone. Kelley used discretion as the better part of valour, backed out as Cousland tapped the rear of Cornes and Quaroni hitting Cousland into a spin. Shortly after the second caution came out, with Kelley being the first of the LMP field to pit for fuel and tires. On the restart Sirois, Burris, and Cornes took advantage of the field being jumbled to pull well away from the field, only to be caught up once again on lap 21 with the third caution. This time The top four came in, as Kelley topped up a nearly full tank to leap frog up into third, behind the Whoop Ass teammates of Brent Briles and Gerry Moersdorf. After the restart Chuck Chambliss became a thorn in the side of the leaders after an early hardware issue had put him a lap down. On lap 25 he managed to get his lap back, as Cornes’ excellent run came to an early end with a crash entering the Outer Loop. At the front Carey had managed to get himself back up into 2nd from Moersdorf, despite taking damage and losing top speed from the incident earlier in the race. However, Moersdorf fought back re-taking Carey around the outside through the Bus Stop on lap 31. After over an hour of racing Burris finally managed to get around Sirois for 5th, as Sirois drifted wide trying to lap traffic through The 90. While Briles extended his lead, Moersdorf was under fire for 2nd from Carey, Kelley, Burris and Sirois. On lap 33 Moersdorf found himself held up through the final turn, allowing Carey back into second. Burris found another position as Kelley was pinched hard up the Esses by a GT1 Corvette. Burris moved up into 2nd on lap 38 through the Esses, as Carey’s top speed was still well down compared to his competitors. However, later in the lap Burris gave up the position as he almost got into the back of the leader through turn nine. However, Burris would get into lead as first Carey pitted on lap 40, with Briles in a lap later. The lead was short lived however as Kelley came charging up, with the aid of traffic to get around Burris exiting the Bus Stop. With the pass barely completed, the fourth caution of the evening came out, giving the leaders the opportunity to pit under yellow. Team Whoop Ass once again used excellent pit strategy to move back into the top two, with Carey once again up into third. On the restart, Kelley was the man on the move. First passing Carey for 3rd on lap 45, Moersdorf for 2nd on lap 46, and finally into the lead on lap 47, passing Briles on the inside of turn nine. Burris was following close behind, however heart break once again as his internet connection failed him. Briles managed to hold onto 2nd until lap 50 as Sirois got past him into the Bus Stop. Despite losing several seconds to the leader, Sirois rapidly began clawing back the time. However with only 3 minutes left in the race the 5th and final caution appeared. The race finished under yellow as Kelley won his first race, Sirois 2nd, Briles 3rd, Quaroni 4th, and Moersdorf 5th.

GT1 was lead by Timothy Stoll with Don Hunter .4s behind and Clint Vigus a further .3s back. On the start Stoll kept his lead as the remainder of the pack filed in behind. There weren’t any major changes in the running order until the first caution appeared, with John Middleton going in for an early stop. On the restart Evengy Garanin moved past Sean Cuthbertson and Julio Palacio into The 90. With Cuthbertson slowed Palacio snuck by on the exit of the turn. With the leaders pulling away Garanin was all over the back of Vigus. On lap 10 however, Garanin missed his braking into turn 6, spinning Vigus. Lap 15 saw the second caution appear, however none of the leaders flinched for the early pit stop. On the restart Garanin found himself caught out again heading into the Bus Stop, rear ending the GT2 of Andy Gooderson. The impact sent Gooderson heavily into the barrier, and Garanin given a black flag. The race remained static with the third caution appearing on lap 21. Still no leading GT1 machines made the move for pit road. As the race restarted Stoll’s small lead over Hunter was extended as Hunter lost traction through turn 9 and found himself onto the grass on the inside of the turn. He kept it off the wall but lost touch with Stoll. The running order settled, with the race running it’s longest green portion of race. On lap 35 the first major GT1 stops happened as Stoll, Palacio and Cuthbertson took on fuel and tires. Hunter moved into the lead, while he extended his fuel for an extra lap. Gilles Mourette, who had stopped earlier found himself leading until lap 40, when he pitted under the fourth caution. On the restart Hunter gave his best shot at taking the lead from Stoll as they headed into The 90, however Stoll held him off to retain the lead. With the field settled, the final caution locked in the finishing order. Stoll winning, Hunter 2nd, Cuthbertson 3rd, Mourette 4th, and Huff 5th.

GT2 saw Todd Carver take pole with James Cullen .4s behind and James Mynes a further tenth back. On the start Carver held his lead with the remaining field slotting in behind. Lap three saw confusion as John Kelly’s GT1 was spun on the apex of turn 9. While the leaders just avoided making contact, Mynes was rear ended heavily by the 4th place car of Daniel Graulty, spinning Mynes into the wall. The first caution on lap 5 saw no changes, as like the other two classes it was too early to pit. Lap 9 saw Graulty caught out under lapping as Colin MacLean got into the side of him through The 90, spinning Graulty. A lap later more confusion into The 90, as MacLean and Middleton got into each other under braking, causing Carver to check up to avoid contact. James Cullen moved into the lead with Mike Young to second and Carver just managing to hold onto third. A lap later Luc Poulin moved to the inside of Carver under braking into The 90, however later in lap Poulin jumped on the throttle too hard exiting the Heel of the Boot, hitting the wall hard. Lap 14 saw the 2nd caution come out, allowing Carver to dive in for an early pit stop. A slow restart on lap 16 saw Young move past Cullen for the lead, with Trevor Hill up into third position. The third caution saw Hill go into the pits, giving up third position. The restart saw plenty of confusion as the field streamed into the Esses. As Lance Snyder in the LMP was slowed, Tim McLeish, also in an LMP rear ended him. McLeish slowed and drifted wide, giving Cullen no where to go except heavily into the guard rail. Cullen managed to keep out of the way of the rest of the racers behind, but was forced to head to the pits for repairs. Lap 26 saw Hill moving forward as he passed Matthew Voigt for fourth into The 90. Young gave up his lead on lap 28 as he pitted, with Carver following suit on lap 30, giving Graulty the lead for the first time in the race. The fourth caution would come out on lap 38, as Graulty pitted giving Carver back the lead. On the restart there would be calamity in the Bus Stop as one of the Corvettes spun. Carver, who was forced to short cut the chicane was given a penalty, which allowed both Hill and Graulty to move past him. On lap 43, Graulty made his move past Hill into The 90, with Carver following him through, displacing Hill to third. Hill fought back immediately, forcing Carver into a mistake into the Bus Stop, and wide, with Hill re-taking the position. As the time ticked away Carver finally got another chance to get around Hill, getting a run and passing down the front straight. Hill fought back, taking 2nd briefly before out braking himself into The 90, running wide and giving up the spot. Carver was now on a mission to chase down Graulty for lead, however a mistake entering turn 6 saw him run wide, clip the grass, and into the wall, bringing out the final caution. Graulty took the win, Hill 2nd, Voigt 3rd, Young 4th, and Carver 5th.

The series heads Down Under for it’s annual trip to ever popular Philip Island. The track is narrow, however two long straights set up excellent passing opportunities into slow corners. The LMP field will have to deal with the uncertainty of extra weight heading into the next round, while the GT drivers will be very comfortable in how they are able to attack the corners.

The Rising Sun 70

ISRA Grand Touring Championship presented by Z1 Sim Wheels presents Race 6 of 16 The Rising Sun 70

The GTC headed to Suzuka for it’s only stop on the Asian continent of the season. With the championship in both LMP and GT2 heating up towards mid season, Timothy Stoll will be looking to consolidate his lead in the GT1 Championship.

Leading LMP qualifying was David Sirois by exactly .2s over Chris Damron, with Bryan Carey only a mere .02s behind. At the start Sirois lead into turn one as Marc Payne made and early move on Carey up into third. At the end of the opening lap Damron drafted Sirois over the Cross Over. While Sirois defended, Damron made a gusty move to pass around the outside of the infamous 130R corner, taking the lead. Behind the action in LMP was still tight as Brent Briles drafted Ryan Cornes down the front straight, taking 8th into First Curve. It wasn’t long before the LMP field encountered traffic, Payne coming off worst in the initial contact, being held up through 130R and allowing Carey to move to third under braking into the chicane. Carey’s return into the top three only lasted two laps as he too was held up through the 130R, hooking the curb and onto the grass. Although Carey kept the car under control, Payne made his way back into third. The 130R featured once again on lap 10, albeit for battles further down the top 10. As Cornes ran wide through the Spoon Curve, John Cousland used superior speed to pull alongside and into eighth. On lap 15 Jeremy Burris started to make his impression into the top five. With Carlos Passos running wide trying to get past the GT1 of Wyatt Foster into Dunlop, Burris nipped through to take the position. The complexion of the race would change on lap 20 as first Cousland and Cornes came together exiting the Hairpin, allowing Chuck Chambliss into eighth. Further up the road both Damron and Sirois pitted. The following lap the trio of Payne, Carey, and Burris pitted, giving the lead back to Damron. With the pit stops complete the front of the LMP field settled into a high speed pursuit. Damron pulled a significant lead, while the battle from 2nd through 5th was covered by only a few seconds. Burris had quietly caught up the back of Carey, passing him on lap 30 into First Curve to take over fourth. With the front seemingly settled, the first drama in the closing stages occurred. While exiting Spoon, both Sirois and Payne were forced to take evasive action, as the GT1 of Don Hunter lay stranded mid track. The confusion moved Payne into second. With only two laps to go, both Damron and Sirois were forced into the pits to take on a splash of fuel. Although Sirois was in close proximity to the drivers behind, Damron would just barely be knocked out of the top three. Payne moved to the lead, taking victory, while Burris was 2nd, Carey 3rd, Damron 4th, and Sirois 5th.

In GT1 Timothy Stoll took a commanding pole position by 1.3s over Mike Taylor, with Julio Palacio and Marty Jefferies a tenth behind. Stoll took the lead convincingly into the first turn while the remaining Corvettes slotted behind. The first change came on lap 3 as Evengy Garanin ran wide in the final part of the Esses, giving Sean Cuthbertson 6th position. As Garanin tried to fight back, however a misjudgement on braking mid way through Spoon saw him get into the back of Cuthbertson, spinning him. The race settled for a few laps until Ryan Huff lit up the tires exiting the Chicane, giving Don Hunter sixth position. Hunter continued his progression forward, passing Colin MacLean as he went wide through the middle section of the Esses, taking fourth. A lap later Hunter found himself inside the top three and Jefferies spun through Degna. With Julio Palacio making an early stop, Hunter found himself into second by lap twenty. However a miscommunication through Degna, after contact with Carey’s LMP saw MacLean move into second, behind Stoll. Hunter would have a heart stopping moment through the 130R on lap twenty two as he ran wide onto the curbing and spinning. He narrowly missed hitting both the inside and outside walls, giving MacLean some much need breathing space. Pit stops began in earnest shortly after and it was Hunter featuring again, running very long on his first load of fuel. Indeed it wasn’t until lap 30 before he headed for the pits, giving Stoll the lead. However, Hunter’s excellent race came to an end shortly after his stop. Victim of a net code failure, he would be tapped into a spin exiting Spoon, damaging the sufficiently to leave him stranded in the middle of the road. At the checkered flag it was Stoll taking another decisive win, Palacio 2nd, MacLean 3rd, Huff 4th, and Gilles Mourette 5th.

GT2 qualifying saw another dominant performance from Wyatt Foster, lapping 1.2s faster than Todd Carver, with James Cullen a further .3s behind. At the start Foster took control, weaving into the tail of the GT1 field in the process. For 2nd and behind the field stacked up. As the field headed into the chicane on the opening lap Cullen misjudged his braking, hitting Cullen into a spin, while also forcing Daniel Graulty to check up, leaving Mike Young to get into the back of Graulty. Cullen’s turn in the second ended on lap 5 as he headed for the pits. Graulty found himself under pressure from Young until contact through the Esses on with Mike Kelley forced him off. The recovering Carver, apparently not feeling the effects of the contact, moved back into the top three as Luc Poulin ran wide through Degna. The race became spread out at the front, despite Foster appearing to be fighting the effects from early contact. On lap 17 however, Graulty would run wide through 130R, spinning and hitting the wall hard enough to almost roll. His race would run, moving Carver up into second position. Shortly after the GT1 cars would begin rolling into the pits for their stops. Foster retained his lead while the early stop of Cullen moved him into second. In the closing laps drama for the leader, as he would make door to door contact with Steven Clark’s GT1 Corvette through 130R, spinning to the inside of the turn. Foster’s already damaged Ford would take on more damage and force him into the pits a second time for repairs. Cullen found himself in the lead however, he too would visit pit lane for a second time. At the end it was Carver winning, Cullen 2nd, Young 3rd, Mathew Voigt 4th, and Foster 5th.

As the series heads back to the United States, visiting the former Indycar venue of Watkins Glen, Marc Payne extended his scant 1 point lead after Mid Ohio, to 10 leaving Japan. Timothy Stoll once again extended his lead to 30 as only he and teammate Garanin have notched wins in the category. However in GT2 James Cullen and Todd Carver are locked in a tight race with merely 2 points separating them. Meanwhile the seemingly dominant Wyatt Foster fell to 29 points out of the top spot. The action continues in New York State for the second of three endurance races this season.

GTC Buckeye 60

ISRA Grand Touring Championship presented by Z1 Sim Wheels presents