25/01/2022
PROSIM WINS IRACING’s DAYTONA 24h
Prosims Dallara LMP2 took the win in split 9 in the first special event of the year, following a race long battle with V3 Racing.
Prosim got off to a perfect start of the year, by winning the 24 hour race at Daytona Super Speedway - the first iRacing Special Event of 2022.
Sebastian Hove was responsible for qualifying and the race-start in the Prosim machine. He duly put in eight on the grid in the 25-car LMP2 field. He took another position on the opening lap, and slowly climbed up the order for the following two hours. From there, new recruit Christian Hildgaard took over the driver's seat, and gained another two positions, before passing the car to Sebastian Schou.
As darkness fell over Daytona Beach, Sebastian Schou took first place from V3 Racing - a position that Morten Aagesen safely held onto during his first stints in the car. From here the race quickly developed into a two horse race between Prosim and V3, with no other teams being able to match the pace of the front runners.
Morning drama at Daytona
Throughout the night, a strategic battle unfolded between the two teams. Prosim was usually the leading car, but V3 was never far behind. At its closest, the gap was merely 0,3 seconds in Prosims advantage. Throughout the morning the gap grew once more, but with just six hours to go, disaster struck. A lapped LMP2 missed its breaking point and went into the side of Sebastian Hove, who could do nothing to avoid the crash. Miraculously the car wasn’t damaged, but just three laps later, a GT3 spun out right in front of Hove, who once again was powerless to avoid a crash. This time, the front splitter was damaged, causing a one second lap time deficit and a further ten seconds of repairs. Thus, V3 was able to regain the lead.
A thrilling finale
In the final hour the battle stood between V3’s John Halliwell and Prosim’s Christian Hildgaard. Both teams held an ace: V3 had fresher tires, but Prosim’s more conservative fuel strategy allowed them to pit five laps later. Therefore, Prosim was in no danger of having a late fuel stop. At the penultimate pit-stop, Christian overcut the V3 racer, emerging a few seconds ahead of Halliwell. For the final two stints, Christian used the fuel advantage to pile pressure onto his competitor, though Halliwell eventually caught up with fifteen minutes left, with a bit of help from the slower GT3-traffic, to set up a thrilling finale. The cars crossed the line side-by-side multiple times, but as the duelants approached the line to start the final lap, V3 were forced to concede the win. They didn’t have enough fuel for the final lap, and Christian could safely cruise the Prosim car home in first place.
You can watch the highlights from the race below.
Link til alle filer (billeder og video)
https://we.tl/t-cybIH6kymH
https://youtu.be/dIoqHjs-Z3Q
Prosim vinder Daytona 24h i iRacing
Prosims Dallara LMP2-racer løb af med sejren i split 9 af årets første special event, efter en brav kamp med V3 Racing.
Prosim fik en perfekt start på året med en sejr i 24 timers løbet på Daytona Super Speedway - det første iRacing Special Event i 2022.
Sebastian Hove kvalificerede bilen ottende hurtigst i det 25 biler store LMP2 felt, under tre tiendedele fra pole position. Han tog yderligere en placering på første omgang, og kørte sig op på fjerdepladsen i løbet af de følgende to timer. Herefter overtog Christian Hildgaard bilen, til sit første officielle løb som Prosim kører. Han vandt yderligere to placering i sit stint, og videregav bilen til Sebastian Schou efter knap to timer bag rattet.
Mens mørket faldt over Daytona Beach tog Sebastian Schou førstepladsen fra V3 Racing - en placering som Morten Aagesen holdt sikkert under sit første stint i bilen. Herfra udviklede løbet sig hurtigt til en direkte kamp mellem Prosim og V3, mens de øvrige hold faldt bagud.
Gennem nattetimerne bølgede kampen frem og tilbage, oftest med Prosim-raceren forrest. Tættest var det knap 12 timer inde, da Christian Hildgaard overtog bilen med et forspring på blot 0,3 sekunder. Det forspring voksede sig igen større i takt med at solen stod op, men med kun seks timer tilbage ramte uheldet. En LMP2-bil der var tre omgange bagud missede sit bremsepunkt og ramlede ind i Sebastian Hove. Det kostede en tur i græsset, men heldigvis ingen skade på bilen. Blot tre omgange senere snurrede en GT3-bil lige foran Hove, som ikke kunne undvige. Denne gang blev bilens front-splitter bøjet, hvilket kostede omkring et sekund per omgang og ti sekunders reparationer i pitten. V3 Racing generobrede føringen kort efter, og der var lagt op til tæt løb om sejren hele vejen til det ternede flag.
I afgørelsens time stod kampen mellem V3’s John Halliwell og Prosims Christian Hildgaard. Begge hold havde et es på hånden; V3 havde friskere dæk, mens Prosim havde den strategiske fordel, da de havde tilegnet sig et pitstop fem omgange senere end deres konkurrenter, ved at spare brændstof tidligere i løbet. Christian overcuttede V3 ved pitstoppet og brugte sit overskydende brændstof til at lægge pres på John Halliwell. Med lidt hjælp fra de langsommere GT3-biler formåede Halliwell at hænge på. Bilerne krydsede linjen side om side flere gange i løbets sidste kvarter, men med blot en omgang tilbage måtte V3 se sig slået - de havde ikke fuel til den sidste omgang, og var tvunget til at køre i pit.
Du kan se højdepunkterne fra løbet her
The highs and lows of Prosims 24 hour race at Daytona with plenty of scared (and scary) danish noises.Split 9, LMP2 Strength of Field: 3297
