Mirko Bortolotti dominated the LMP2 class by leading 42 of 48 laps, and Philipp Eng went back-to-back in GTE action, as the IMSA iRacing Pro Invitational Series presented by SimCraft held its second of three rounds in 2021 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Thursday night. With more than two dozen drivers on hand from the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, and more, the series’ visit to the beloved California road course produced plenty of exciting moments, just like its real-world counterpart.
Bortolotti’s hard-fought victory in the Dallara P217 came despite immense pressure from polesitter Daniel Morad, who had to settle for second place overall for the second time in as many events. Morad nonetheless managed to lead six laps and kept the margin of victory down to just 2.448 seconds. The duo had a further 22-second advantage on James French, the final podium finisher, while fourth place finisher James Vance was the only other LMP2 driver on the lead lap.
Eng, meanwhile, led yet another BMW-dominated GTE performance, as the M8 once again secured four of the top five spots in the class. This time, it was the Ferrari of Rodrigo Pflucker that broke up the BMW domination, slotting in third behind Eng and BMW Team RLL teammate Connor De Phillippi.
Full results from the IMSA iRacing Pro Invitational Series presented by SimCraft race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca were as follows:
Fin. | St. | No. | Team | Car | Class | Laps | Interval | Led | Best |
| 1 | 2 | 888 | Mirko Bortolotti | Dallara P217 | LMP2 | 48 | 42 | 1:13.620 | |
| 2 | 1 | 70 | Daniel Morad | Dallara P217 | LMP2 | 48 | -2.448 | 6 | 1:13.655 |
| 3 | 3 | 38 | James C French | Dallara P217 | LMP2 | 48 | -24.874 | 0 | 1:13.607 |
| 4 | 4 | 83 | James Vance | Dallara P217 | LMP2 | 48 | -1:01.087 | 0 | 1:14.045 |
| 5 | 6 | 40 | James Pesek | Dallara P217 | LMP2 | 47 | -1 L | 0 | 1:14.442 |
| 6 | 7 | 9 | Michael Johnson | Dallara P217 | LMP2 | 47 | -1 L | 0 | 1:14.636 |
| 7 | 5 | 0 | Nicholas Boulle | Dallara P217 | LMP2 | 47 | -1 L | 0 | 1:14.835 |
| 8 | 10 | 89 | Philipp Eng | BMW M8 GTE | GTE | 45 | -3 L | 0 | 1:19.307 |
| 9 | 14 | 25 | Connor De Phillippi | BMW M8 GTE | GTE | 45 | -3 L | 0 | 1:19.376 |
| 10 | 9 | 47 | Rodrigo Pflucker | Ferrari 488 GTE | GTE | 45 | -3 L | 0 | 1:19.302 |
| 11 | 12 | 86 | Agustin Canapino | BMW M8 GTE | GTE | 45 | -3 L | 0 | 1:19.538 |
| 12 | 11 | 68 | Julian Santero | BMW M8 GTE | GTE | 45 | -3 L | 0 | 1:19.546 |
| 13 | 13 | 24 | John M Edwards | BMW M8 GTE | GTE | 45 | -3 L | 0 | 1:19.606 |
| 14 | 15 | 53 | Riley Dickinson | Porsche 911 RSR | GTE | 45 | -3 L | 0 | 1:19.642 |
| 15 | 8 | 52 | Matthew Mcmurry | Dallara P217 | LMP2 | 45 | -3 L | 0 | 1:15.992 |
| 16 | 18 | 39 | Tyler McQuarrie | BMW M8 GTE | GTE | 44 | -4 L | 0 | 1:20.254 |
| 17 | 17 | 19 | Gregory Liefooghe | BMW M8 GTE | GTE | 44 | -4 L | 0 | 1:20.143 |
| 18 | 16 | 8 | Augusto Farfus | BMW M8 GTE | GTE | 44 | -4 L | 0 | 1:19.852 |
| 19 | 20 | 16 | Marc A Miller | BMW M8 GTE | GTE | 44 | -4 L | 0 | 1:20.522 |
| 20 | 19 | 77 | Parker Kligerman | BMW M8 GTE | GTE | 44 | -4 L | 0 | 1:20.381 |
| 21 | 22 | 91 | Dylan Murry | Porsche 911 RSR | GTE | 43 | -5 L | 0 | 1:20.733 |
| 22 | 23 | 99 | Trevor Andrusko | BMW M8 GTE | GTE | 43 | -5 L | 0 | 1:21.381 |
| 23 | 25 | 3 | Randy Sellari | Ferrari 488 GTE | GTE | 41 | -7 L | 0 | 1:23.298 |
| 24 | 21 | 44 | Spencer Pumpelly | BMW M8 GTE | GTE | 40 | -8 L | 0 | 1:21.367 |
| 25 | 24 | 14 | Mikel Miller | Ferrari 488 GTE | GTE | 5 | -43 L | 0 | 1:22.965 |
The final round of the three-race IMSA iRacing Pro Invitational Series presented by SimCraft will be held at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Thursday, May 6 at 6:30PM ET, and will once again stream on iRacing social media channels. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.
Images via VCO
