Two of the best rallycross drivers in the world—one in the real world, one in the virtual—scored checkered flags in the first iRacing Rallycross All-Star Invitational presented by Yokohama rounds of 2021 on Tuesday. Monster Energy RX Cartel standout Andreas Bakkerud, a seven-time FIA World Rallycross race winner, topped the field in the opening round for real-world pros, while defending iRacing Rallycross World Champion Yohann Harth took the checkered flag in the sim racer event.
The qualifying session for real pros saw Hansen Williams Esports drivers Kevin Hansen and defending RX2 champion Henrik Krogstad post the fastest two times. Roadshow editor-in-chief Tim Stevens, Krogstad, and former GRC Lites race winner Tanner Whitten won the three heat races, while SCORE Trophy Truck driver Mikey Lawrence and Dirt UMP Modified racer Mike McKinney scored the LCQ wins. In the final, which featured a full-field inversion, Bakkerud came out cleanest of the first-corner skirmish and led all 10 laps, holding off a spirited challenge from Krogstad to take the win by .737 seconds in a Norwegian driver 1-2. Whitten completed the podium in his return to the series.
For the sim racer session, a field of 27 drivers assembled by past iRX World Championship performance and Time Attack laps shone a light on what iRX fans might be able to expect from the pro sim racers later this year. While a majority of the entry list had previous experience at the highest level, the 10-car final was split evenly down the middle on that regard. In the end, though, there was no substitute for experience, as the top four of Harth, Jon Robertson, Tommi Hallman, and Killian Dall’olmo all came from last year’s top-tier series.
Pro racer results from the iRX World Championship presented by Yokohama final at Brands Hatch were as follows:
Fin. | St. | No. | Name | Manufacturer | Laps | Interval | Led | Best |
| 1 | 7 | 13 | Andreas Bakkerud | Subaru | 10 | 10 | 55.985 | |
| 2 | 9 | 77 | Henrik Krogstad | Subaru | 10 | -0.737 | 0 | 55.543 |
| 3 | 8 | 11 | Tanner Whitten | Ford | 10 | -8.726 | 0 | 56.024 |
| 4 | 3 | 96 | Mike McKinney | Ford | 10 | -18.957 | 0 | 56.097 |
| 5 | 4 | 85 | Michael Lawrence | Subaru | 10 | -18.974 | 0 | 57.046 |
| 6 | 1 | 55 | Chris Atkinson | Subaru | 10 | -22.106 | 0 | 57.536 |
| 7 | 10 | 64 | Tim Stevens | Subaru | 10 | -22.820 | 0 | 56.725 |
| 8 | 5 | 21 | Conner Martell | Subaru | 10 | -26.595 | 0 | 56.210 |
| 9 | 2 | 22 | Blake Williams | Subaru | 10 | -40.663 | 0 | 57.869 |
| 10 | 6 | 41 | Scott Speed | Subaru | 3 | -7 L | 0 | 56.771 |
Sim racer results from the iRX World Championship presented by Yokohama final at Brands Hatch were as follows:
Fin. | St. | No. | Name | Manufacturer | Laps | Interval | Led | Best |
| 1 | 2 | 90 | Yohann Harth | Subaru | 10 | 10 | 54.491 | |
| 2 | 3 | 86 | Jon Robertson | Subaru | 10 | -0.210 | 0 | 54.307 |
| 3 | 1 | 87 | Tommi Hallman | Subaru | 10 | -1.276 | 0 | 54.671 |
| 4 | 7 | 18 | Killian Dallolmo | Subaru | 10 | -7.522 | 0 | 54.770 |
| 5 | 8 | 52 | Jarno Leskinen | Subaru | 10 | -8.886 | 0 | 54.628 |
| 6 | 6 | 98 | Kevin Ellis Jr | Subaru | 10 | -11.137 | 0 | 54.512 |
| 7 | 9 | 55 | Vicente Salas | Subaru | 10 | -12.150 | 0 | 55.001 |
| 8 | 10 | 13 | Jakob Rafoss | Subaru | 10 | -14.844 | 0 | 54.904 |
| 9 | 4 | 236 | Luc Fournier | Subaru | 10 | -16.429 | 0 | 55.200 |
| 10 | 5 | 12 | Luis Núñez | Volkswagen | 9 | -1 L | 0 | 55.737 |
The iRX World Championship presented by Yokohama takes a week off before splitting off to two different tracks for May 4. Pro racers will head to the World Center of Racing, Daytona International Speedway, while sim racers will stay in Europe with a round at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, iRacing’s newest rallycross layout. Time Attack sessions from Barcelona will run from Tuesday-Friday GMT next week, with the top performers receiving an invitation to run the broadcasted event. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.
