lionheart heads down under to phillip island

After a brief swing through the American south, the Lionheart heads further south. So far south that the Southern Cross rides high upon your shoulder. That’s right all the way down under in sunny Australia for the American Cancer Society Grand Prix of Phillip Island.  The American Cancer Society is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into eleven geographical divisions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than 900 offices throughout the United States.

Last time out in Charlotte, it was Dan Geren finally getting the monkey off his back by leading 119 laps enroute to his first win of 2018. Geren had 6 poles going into Round 16, but had not managed to convert any of them to victory. This time, it was rookie Connor Harrington who started from pole on debut, with Geren to his outside. Geren made a strong move to take the lead early in the race, then seldom looked like he was going to surrender it. Brian Yaczik charged from 8th to 2nd, while Andrew Kinsella used an outside pass with 2 laps remaining to go from an 18th starting spot to the bottom step of the podium. Justin Weaver and Adam Blocker were up front for most of the night and finished 4th and 5th respectively. Adam Blocker currently leads the championship over Kinsella by 15 points after Charlotte. 

The last time the series ran Phillip Island it was used to pay tribute to a lost friend Patrick Taylor.  Jesse Vincent driving the virtual DW12 machine of Taylor led the field around the Australian track as the drivers celebrated the life of their fellow friend and league member. 

This will be the 3rd running of Phillip Island for the Lionheart IndyCar Series presented by First Medical Equipment.  Jake Wright won the first ever running holding off a determined Dan Geren.  Geren would not be denied the following season putting in close to 1000 laps in an attempt to best Wright.  Geren’s hard work paid off and he came home victorious on a road course. Geren will certainly have a much different field to contend with this season.  With Wrights absence from the 2018 season new drivers have stepped in and shown great speed. Adam Blocker has shown that he has the twisty courses figured out the best this season, however, don’t count out guys like Yaczik, Justin Weaver, Kinsella, Michael Goodman, Dustin Wardlow.  If Geren wants to win, he will have to contend with some of the series best.

Then comes the great unknown. The league is pleased to welcome real world IndyCar driver Sage Karam onto their roster.  Karam competed in the Retro Series event at Gateway and looks to make his Lionheart IndyCar debut at Phillip Island.  Will Karam be able to translate his real-world skills onto the virtual track and take on the series best? One thing is certain, with all the talent in the Lionheart series right now, the top 10 is going to be crowded from here on out.

James Krahula is currently leading the cleanest driver standings with just 15 incs on the season for an average of just 1.15 incs per race.  Krahula has had a strong season with a win and 4 top 5’s and 9 top 10’s.  Krahula is sitting P9 overall.

Adrenaline Motorsports has dominated the team championship this season.  They have seemingly checked out over the competition and lead 3-time defending champion No Name Racing by 335 points. Meanwhile, Gap SRT has announced that their team will be changing names they will now be NHR Esports.
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Catch all the Lionheart action from the American Cancer Society Grand Prix of Phillip Island live at 10:35pm on Wednseday October 10, 2018 only on the iRacing eSports Network presented by GSRC.