iRacing Rallycross Race Preview: Daytona

After four spring invitational races to help set the stage, the 2021 iRacing Rallycross season proper begins on Wednesday with a visit to Daytona International Speedway. The first of nine rounds for both the World Championship and All-Star Invitational divisions, one of iRacing’s first rallycross circuits launches both divisions into an exciting season. Races will begin at 4PM ET/1PM PT at iRacing.com/live and across a large slate of Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube channels.

Check out the preseason show above and read on for even more information!

World Championship

With four powerful new franchises—Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Logitech G Altus Esports, Vermont SportsCar, and Elliott Sadler eSports—the iRX WCS field has a slightly different look for 2021, but that look changes even more when you look at the new driver roster. A double-digit rookie class should add plenty of intrigue to what was already an enthralling championship, as do a set of contingency awards including the Yokohama Pole Award, DirtFish Rookie of the Year, Hard Charger, and Most Improved Driver, each of which comes with a $100 cash bonus at the end of the season.

The full driver roster with teams is below:

No.

Driver

Team

2020 Finish

00Johannes VähänenLoenbro MotorsportsRookie
06Beau AlbertLogitech G Altus Esports19th
2Garrett ManesElliott Sadler eSports10th
12Josh FoxHansen Williams Esports6th
13Jakob RafossVermont SportsCarRookie
14Luis NúñezLogitech G Altus EsportsRookie
15Alex BergeronJim Beaver eSports30th*
18Killian Dall’olmoSET Esports Team GRX16th
20Matt BussaEd Carpenter Racing26th*
21Louis LejeuneEd Carpenter RacingRookie
22Rasmus TuominenSET Esports Team GRX11th
30Kevin Ellis Jr.Rahal Letterman Lanigan RacingRookie
34Luke CrouseNitro Circus28th*
44Jonne OllikainenSET Esports5th
45Jake RobertsonRahal Letterman Lanigan Racing9th
52Jarno LeskinenHansen Williams EsportsRookie
55Vicente SalasElliott Sadler eSports20th
63Sindre SilvaTeam Yokohama22nd
64Thomas WangenTeam YokohamaRookie
71Aatu HakalehtoVermont SportsCarRookie
77Quentin Dall’olmoKligerman SportRookie
83Tommi NukarinenLoenbro MotorsportsRookie
86Jon RobertsonSubaru Motorsports USA2nd
87Tommi HallmanSET Esports3rd
90Yohann HarthSubaru Motorsports USA1st
92Toni LähteenmäkiJim Beaver eSportsRookie
99Marcos MatamorosKligerman Sport21st
199Otto TaskinenNitro Circus13th

*substitute/part-time driver in 2020

All-Star Invitational

The first All-Star round of the year will look quite different from past events. Real-world racing stars like NHRA champion Ron Capps and ARX2 champion Conner Martell will be joined by popular streamers like Quirkitized and GoProLopez, as well as top iRacing pros from other disciplines who are completely new to rallycross. A list of this week’s invitees is below; entries are subject to changes and additions:

No.

Driver

Car

Background

03Keenan Kusan | @MrAeroHDSubaruTwitch partner
10Daniel Gray | @DanielGray10FordTwitch partner
11Malik Ray | @CampaignRayTBAeNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series
13Trevor Perry | @PuckVanekTBATwitch partner
15Zac CampbellSubaruPorsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup
21Conner MartellSubaruFIA World Rallycross RX2e
28Ron CappsVWNHRA Camping World Series
28Connor BarrySubaruGreat American Short Course
49Jamie Fluke | @JamieFlukeSubaruPorsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup
53Justin MelilloSubarueNASCAR journalist, Traxion.GG
75Landon Huffman | @HuffmanLiveSubaruNASCAR Camping World Truck Series
77Luke KnuppSubaruBest in the Desert
85Mikey LawrenceSubaruSCORE World Desert Championship
360Craig Williams | @CraigSetupShopVWTwitch
504Pablo López | @GoProLopezFordTwitch partner
920Tyson Meier | @QuirkitizedTBATwitch partner

 

How To Watch

New for 2021, iRX will be broadcast in four languages from the start of the season. Here’s where to tune in!

Image via Beau Albert