LAKEVILLE, Conn. – The Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli added a new chapter to its 54-year history on Saturday as the tour took to Lime Rock Park for its inaugural eSports competition with a doubleheader event.
With the help of NAGRA, Torque eSports, GreenLight.TV and rFactor 2 Simulator, a global market watched Trans-Am’s first online event.
While the races were virtual, Trans-Am still delivered the intense racing action its known for. Twenty-six current, former, and future Trans Am drivers made the most of the virtual opportunity to bump, drift, and run around the fast 1.5-mile Lime Rock Park, which featured identically trimmed 2012 Camaro GT3 chassis during a swift 10-minute qualifying followed by two 20-minute race sessions.
But after last-lap battles in both races, two-time TA2 champion Cameron Lawrence, in the No. 4 3- Dimensional Services Group, added Trans-Am eRace winner to his long list of accolades, claiming both checkered flags in the Trans-Am by Pirelli Showdown.
“It was kind of crazy in the first race,” explained Lawrence. “I drove off track and handed the lead to somebody else. I was surprised when they said I won. On the second race, the biggest thing was working traffic and not making any contact. I saw a lot of dirt and people all over the place, and I was trying to keep it on the track. It was great going for the win on the last lap, I didn’t want to finish second.”
After qualifying, reigning TA2 champion Marc Miller looked like the driver to beat, edging out Dylan Archer, son of former Trans Am driver Bobby Archer, by a mere .075-second for pole position. Edward Sevadjian and Tyler Kicera slotted into row two for the first race.
“I was saying before the race that I miss Trans-Am – I am missing racing the real cars more,” said Miller. “People follow the rules a little bit better in real life. It was pretty crazy today, but I enjoyed it.
“I would have liked to have held the lead for the first race, but I did not like getting removed from the track by a lapped car. It was fun coming from the back in the second race. I got hit a few times, too, but it was like that for everybody. I was pretty pleased with the results, considering that I downloaded rFactor 2 yesterday morning. Now I have the opportunity to have more options on my simulator and to be able to use it.”
In the opening round, Miller held the point for most of the race until lapped traffic slowed his efforts. Kicera took a brief lead before a tap from lapped traffic sent him spinning across the track. A prowling Thomas Merrill, who won the real-life Lime Rock race last season in TA2, capitalized on the leaders’ misfortunes, crossing the stripe in first. However, a post-race penalty was issued to Merrill due to an unserved in-race penalty as second-place, finisher Lawrence was classified as the race winner.
Archer moved up to second while Miller slotted into third. Roger Eagleton and Nick Rosseno completed the top five.
“The race was awesome, I love Lime Rock and was stoked to see that our first sim race would be there,” said Merrill. “We are definitely still working out the kinks (on the sim integration), but I want to thank John Clagett and his team for doing such a great job to put this event together in a very short period of time. I can’t wait to get back behind the wheel of my real Diehl-Merrill Racing HP Tuners Mustang, but until then, I’m excited for more Trans-Am eSports.”
After drivers dialed in during race one, race two delivered better racing, more intense action and heated battles throughout the 30-car field. With the inverted lineup based on finishes in Race 1, John Paul Southern and Kicera started from the front row with Daniel Urrutia and Sevadjian filled out row two.
Kicera got the jump on Southern for the lead. Kicera paced the race for nearly half the session until Lawrence, starting from last place, stormed through the field to steal first. Kicera paid back Lawrence in a huge pass in the final moments of the 20-minute session, shuffling Lawrence back to second. But, just like in the first round, lapped traffic halted Kicera’s hunt for victory. Weaving through traffic on the final lap, incidental contact between a slower car shunted Kicera off course. Lawrence took the lead and the checkered. Kicera settled for second with Miller in third. Eagleton finished just outside of podium-position in fourth and Archer completed the top five.
“On the last lap, there were lapped cars that slowed both of us down,” said Lawrence. “That’s how he (Kicera) got around me, in traffic. I don’t think people knew who was coming up behind them, so I just had a run coming down on the inside, and figured on the last lap, I was there. I knew he wasn’t giving me much room, but I was hoping we could make it through side by side. Unfortunately, there was a little bit too much contact and it Kiera lost it, giving me the lead.”
With a lot more experience in the real world than the virtual one, six-time Trans-Am Series champion career, Ernie Francis Jr. entered the races as an underdog. But Francis, who won the 2020 season-opening TA race at Sebring Int’l Raceway earlier this month, learned quickly to score sixth in the second race.