An argument could be made that Ridin’ Shotgun Motorsports was the unluckiest team in the Lionheart Racing Series powered by HyperX.
Not anymore. The man they call Little Train, Lionel Calisto, withstood a one-lap shootout to capture his first win in the Lionheart Retro Series presented by DMLC Racing Channel, and the first victory for his team, taking the win in the Watchman 250 presented by DMLC Racing Channel at Pocono Raceway Thursday night. “This is unbelievable,” Calisto said. “Just incredible, I’m speechless.” Calisto outlasted the field in a carnage-filled event, the first of the Triple Crown events in the Retro Series, as just 12 cars finished, and not all got away clean. “It’s our first win as a team here,” said Calisto, a regular challenger in The Majors series with his team. The race was shaping up for an exciting finish, with only defending series champion Ryan Otis among the top 15 drivers having previously secured a win. But Dean Moll lost the back end of the car trying to pass Calisto in turn three with five laps remaining, collecting Otis, Jorge Anzaldo and David Clymer as well. That setup the final sprint to the line, but neither Aaron Morgan nor Chris Ragan could find the momentum to make a move. “I had that sweet spot on the high line,” Calisto said. “It just worked in turn three. I was just hoping I could hold it and it got us back to the line.” Morgan jumped two spots in the points, up to third and just 23 out of the championship lead with his second place, yet another podium in a strong season. Morgan leads the series with four top 10 finishes in five starts. “I said I was going to follow up in one and get a good run, and pass him in the tunnel and hold in in turn three and hopefully he doesn’t get run on me,” Morgan said of the final lap. “I knew I needed to go high in turn three and for some reason, the golden moment came and I had him cleared and didn’t take it.” Ragan was thrilled to capture his first podium in the Retro Series. “I thought I could get a good run on that restart,” Ragan said of his first podium finish. “But once I realized I wasn’t going to get to the lead, I just focused on keeping Finian (D’Cunha) behind me.” Championship points leader Sage Karam went out early, as did George Sandman, who fell from second to fourth in the standings after the race. No single driver dominated the event. In a 100 lap racer, an astonishing seven drivers led at least 10 laps. Moll (16) led the most, but Calisto, Dustin Wardlow, Mike Rigney, Paul Jenkins, Otis and Jason Bosse also led double digit laps. Karam leads Otis by 10 points, with Morgan 13 back of the lead in third. Sandman sits fourth, with Finian D’Cunha fifth. Little Train moved up to sixth, gaining 10 spots with his double points win. The Lionheart Retro Series presented by DMLC Racing Channel next heads to the land down under, and Phillip Island Circuit, for the Fisch Motors Grand Prix of Phillip Island, set for Thursday, May 28. The race can be seen live on the iRacing eSports Network with Global SimRacing Channel producing the show at 10:35 p.m. EST.
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With four rounds in the books the series looks forward to the first of its 3 big races for the 2020 Season. Back again for the fourth straight year Pocono will present a difficult challenge for the drivers as it has each season. Located in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania and known as the “Tricky Triangle” Pocono Raceway is unique in that each corner is modeled after a turn at a different track. Turn one features 14 degrees of banking and is modeled after Trenton Speedway. Turn two also known as the tunnel turn is modeled after the Indianapolis Motor Speedway features 9 degrees of banking. Turn three with its 6 degrees of banking is modeled after the Milwaukee Mile. Pocono Raceway is definitely unique in its design as it presents so many challenges to drivers as well as race engineers trying to master a setup for 3 entirely different corners. This difficulty has translated into the sim as the Retro Series has had its share of ups and downs at the famous track. Last season saw the most cautions ever at Pocono for the series with a total of 9 for 26 laps. The Lotus 79 becomes alive as the fuel load decreases which tends to give the car more oversteer. For the drivers the car can feel like its on the razors edge but typically rewards the most talented drivers who can master both the car and the track. Pocono has also had its share of excitement over the last two seasons with dramatic photo finishes. Season 2 saw Adam Blocker win over Dustin Wardlow by just 0.010 seconds. Last year Sandman won over defending series champion Ryan Otis by 0.030 seconds. Series points leader Sage Karam is on a hot streak of late winning the last 3 Retro Series events. If Sage finds a way to win at Pocono, he will become the only driver in Lionheart Racing Series powered by HyperX history to accomplish this goal. A feat that has not been done in close to 6 years of competition. The championship battle for 2020 has definitely taken a turn as 2018 season runner up Alex Saunders has withdrawn from the remainder of the season. Many drivers will certainly be looking to take advantage in his absence and try to establish themselves as championship contenders. The Watchman 250 Presented by the DMLC Racing Channel will take place live May 14th 2020 on the iRacing eSports Network courtesy of the Global Sim Racing Channel. Race coverage begins at 9:35 PM CST. For more information on the DMLC Racing Channel visit Facebook @TheDMLCRacingChannel For more information on the Lionheart Racing Series powered by HyperX visit www.lionheartracingseries.com Race Link: https://youtu.be/iiqDqYcPd_I Sage Karam warned the field. The NTT IndyCar Series driver said after his Donington Park win two weeks ago that Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Canada was his favorite track. Thursday night, Karam showed why. Karam joined Alex Saunders as the only drivers in Lionheart Retro Series presented by DMLC Racing Channel history to capture three consecutive wins, leading all but two laps in the HPP Grand Prix of Mosport. “I love this place, love coming to this track, I raced here in real life and have fond memories,” Karam said. “It was a fun race, a fun setup. The car was easier to drive than I thought it was going to be.” Karam captured the pole by nearly a half-second, and set sail early. The only question was fuel consumption, with the race teetering on a one-stop window. After pitting on lap 25, Karam conceded the lead to defending series champion Ryan Otis for two laps. After Otis pit, Karam focused on opening up a large gap and then saving fuel through the final laps, crossing the line 5.8 seconds ahead of Otis, and with enough fuel to celebrate. “I was kinda worried about it early,” Karam said of a one-stop race. “But when they got together I started saving, and that helped. I saved the whole last stint.” Otis had an adventurous race, first dropping a tire and nearly wrecking on lap three. Saunders had to drive off-track to avoid Otis in the turn three slide, and fell back to sixth in the process. After pit stops, Saunders overtook Otis - who did not need to save fuel - and was holding off the 2019 champion and Mosport winner when the duo closed in on the lapped car of Paul Jenkins late in the race. As they entered the tricky turn five, known as Moss Corner, Jenkins slowed and forced Saunders to check up. Otis, with a ton of momentum, couldn’t slow in time and plowed into Saunders' right rear tire. Otis miraculously survived with no nose damage, while Saunders was forced to retire, a crushing blow to his championship hopes. “I feel so terrible, I’ve apologized to Alex multiple times now,” Otis said. “I know we caught lapped traffic. I wasn’t trying to pass, we were just flowing into the corner and it stacked up. I should’ve anticipated it.” Aaron Morgan again was Mr. Consistency, navigating the Otis and Saunders incidents, as well as avoiding a sliding Jason Bosse and challenges from Dustin Wardlow and a fuel-starved George Sandman to take the final podium spot. “That was a lot like Donington where there was just stuff happening all around,” Morgan said. “Just survived, one of my favorite tracks.” Bosse held on for fourth, while Wardlow finally got the bad luck monkey off his back to finish fifth. Sandman, who entered the night five points behind Karam in the championship battle, ran out of fuel in the final two corners and coasted home in sixth. Eleven cars finished on the lead lap, while 23 of the 30 drivers to take the green made it to the end. Finian D’Cunha might have secured the lucky driver of the year award at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. After dropping a tire in the opening corner and spinning across the track in front of half the field, D’Cunha was hit hard by rookie Bruno Miranda. Miranda was forced to retire, while D’Cunha did an airborne 360 degree spin and continued. Just 12 laps later, D’Cunha again spun on the exit of turn three. This time, it was James Paulson who could not avoid him. Paulson jumped over the nose of D’Cunha, flipping into the wall and ending his race. D’Cunha again managed to survive, missing half his front wing, but still drove the crippled car home in 13th. Ryan Cornes and Greg West also saw their nights end in separate crashes in The Esses. Karam’s points lead jumped to 25 over Sandman, with Otis moving around Saunders into third. Morgan jumped up two spots to fifth in the standings, 63 back of the lead. Karam has won five of the last seven events in the Lionheart Racing Series powered by HyperX, having captured two IndyCar victories in the last six weeks as well. The Lionheart Retro Series presented by DMLC Racing Channel returns to the track, and to oval racing, at Karam’s home track, Pocono Raceway, on Thursday, May 14. The Watchman 250 presented by DMLC Racing Channel is the first leg of the Retro Series Triple Crown, and is set for a 10:35 p.m. EST start on the iRacing eSports Network, with Global SimRacing Channel producing the broadcast. Sage Karam fresh off his 2nd consecutive win this season heads into Mosport with the points lead possibly the momentum he needs to make it 3 in a row. A feat that has only been accomplished one time in the history of the series back in Season 2 when Alex Saunders won rounds 6 through 8. Karam has come close to the 3 peat twice in his Lionheart Retro Series presented by DMLC Racing Channel career. Season 3 was definitely a dominant year for Sage winning 5 times on road courses and had 3 in a row in his sights after winning Rounds 15 and 16 but was unable to make the race. Fate would have it that the race he needed to win to make it 3 in a row was Mosport. Fast forward to 2020, Sage is back in position to become one of two drivers ever to win 3 consecutive races in the Retro Series. This being accomplished only one other time in series history is certainly a testament to the depth of talent in the roster. There are quite a few drivers that certainly will have their say in how all this plays out. Ryan Otis the defending race winner and series champion sat on pole last year with an average speed of 130.603 MPH and knows how to get around the Canadian circuit. After gaining a position in the standings and currently sitting 4th Otis needs a good finish to gain ground on the top 3 who are separated by just 20 points. George Sandman is sitting currently in 2nd place overall and would love to grab his 2nd win of the year. Having won the season opener at Homestead, the veteran and road master would love nothing more than to take a win and the points lead for his primary sponsor HPP Simulation. Alex Saunders who sits on top of the series power rankings for the 2nd straight round will be pushing his Nighthawk Motorsports Lotus 79 machine to the limit in search of his 1st win of the 2020 season and 12th of his Retro Series career. Saunders currently leads the league with 11 career victories, 14 poles and 1058 laps led. In short this is shaping up to be an epic battle between the Lionheart Retro Series road aces. The Lionheart Retro Series presented by DMLC Racing Channel will be live on the iRacing eSports Network April 30th, 2020 for the HPP Simulation Grand Prix of Mosport. Race coverage begins at 9:35 PM CST and will be provided by the Global Sim Racing Channel. Race Link: https://youtu.be/Asb3IJKf2Io Sage Karam is locked in, and there doesn’t appear to be an end to his dominance in sight.
The NTT IndyCar Series competitor captured his second consecutive win in the Lionheart Retro Series presented by DMLC Racing Channel Thursday night, with a near-perfect performance in the Classic IndyCar Series Grand Prix of Donington. “I think I enjoy this car more now with the new tire model,” Karam said. “Later in the race the car really comes to me. I was more confident heading into Watkins (Glen), but this race worked out. I’m having fun with it.” Karam captured his eighth career pole and lost the lead only during the lone pit cycle of the race, leading 50 of the 51 laps en route to his eighth career Retro Series victory, and his third of the year in the Lionheart Racing Series powered by HyperX. Karam also won the IndyCar event at Watkins Glen. But the race wasn’t all roses for Karam. With four laps remaining, Karam caught David Altman in a tough section of the track, coming up the hill from turn four. Karam committed to the left side of the track, when Altman appeared to also try and move left to allow the leader clear track. The two made contact, and Karam slid off the track, losing five seconds and bending his front wing. Karam didn’t appear to realize how big the moment was. “Same place, same time kind of thing, it wasn’t his fault,” Karam said, just before seeing the replay. “Oh there it is...oh wow, that is a big moment. I had no idea I was that crossed up, pretty funny.” Alex Saunders, the 2018 championship runner-up, mounted a fierce rally to finish second after sliding off the track in the opening corner. Saunders ran wide while battling defending series champion Ryan Otis, falling back to fifth. But Saunders was able to save an extra lap of fuel, leading a lap in the process and overcoming a six-second deficit to Otis to take second. Otis settled for third after taking several unsuccessful shots at Saunders in the final laps. “I have to say, Saunders is the master at saving fuel,” Otis said. “I was doing all I could to save fuel, and I was sputtering coming into the pits. And then Saunders did another lap. What is going on here? He’s unreal.” Christopher Ragan took advantage of a last-lap mishap by George Sandman to move into fourth, relegating Sandman to fifth. Sandman also lost the points lead to Karam, who jumped out front in the championship battle by five points. Saunders and Otis are both within eight points of Karam as well. The only major incident occurred on lap eight, when Marty Davis spun exiting turn four. As Davis attempted to back off the racing line, James Paulson arrived on scene and darted off the track to try and miss Davis. The two collided, sending Davis airborne and ending the race for both drivers. 26 cars finished the event, with 10 on the lead lap. There’s more bad news for Lionheart Retro Series presented by DMLC Racing Channel competitors on the Karam front. The next event, the HPP Grand Prix of Mosport at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, is one Karam has had circled since the schedule was released. “It’s my favorite track in the world,” Karam said. After the broadcasters joked about finding a sponsor to challenge Karam to start last and still win, Otis quipped “What does it take to sponsor Sage so that he starts at the back?” You can watch all of the virtual Lotus L79 action on the iRacing eSports Network, with Global SimRacing Channel producing the action, on Thursday, April 30 at 10:35 p.m. EST. The Lionheart Retro Series presented by DMLC Racing Channel looks ahead to Round 3 as it prepares to take on its 2nd in a string of 3 straight road courses. For the first time in league history the series will head to Donington Park. The Classic IndyCar Series Grand Prix of Donington is sponsored by the Classic IndyCar Series (CIS), another premier open wheel league on iRacing utilizing the IR-05 IndyCar.
The Classic IndyCar Series uses open setups for its events adding an increased level of realism to their championship seasons. Founded in 2015 and quickly growing in popularity both series share a common interest in their passion for open wheel racing with cars from earlier eras. “We’re extremely excited to have the opportunity to collaborate with CIS in this way,” Lionheart founder Jorge Anzaldo said. “Lionheart has had a great relationship with CIS and its founder Robert Grosser over the past few years. CIS has helped promote Lionheart and our series has created their championship plaque for a few seasons. They’ve been great friends.” While Donington is new to the Retro Series, Lionheart has had one visit to the track which is located in Leicestershire England. Season 5 saw Jake Wright victorious over Adam Blocker, a feat which few drivers can claim over the current defending Lionheart IndyCar Series champion. George Sandman continues to hold on to the points lead through the first two rounds. Defending series champion Ryan Otis dropped 3 spots after a disappointing result at Watkins Glen. Other big movers were Aaron Morgon who climbed 20 spots after a fantastic podium run at the Glen and now sits 10th overall. Chris Ragan also moved up 16 positions after a strong 6th place finish. The Classic IndyCar Series Grand Prix of Donington will be aired live on the iRacing eSports Network Thursday, April 16th, 2020 courtesy of the Global Sim Racing Channel. Coverage begins at 9:35pm CST. Race Link: https://youtu.be/arJ8EebQhUA The Classic IndyCar Series boosted by Virtual Race Car Engineer resumes Sunday, April 19th 2020 at 1800 GMT with coverage provided by RACESPOT Sage Karam is sick and tired of Watkins Glen International.
But he’s not tired of winning there. Karam captured his third virtual win at the track in an eight day span, dominating the SimXperience Grand Prix at The Glen Thursday night. It was his first win of the season in the Lionheart Retro Series presented by DMLC Racing Channel, and his second-consecutive Watkins Glen win in the series. “I am absolutely sick of this place, I’m ready to get out of here,” Karam said laughingly after the race. “But obviously winning is great, and this place has been really good to me.” Karam also won the Lionheart IndyCar Series presented by First Medical Equipment race at Watkins Glen one week ago, making him the first driver to pull the double in the Lionheart Racing Series powered by HyperX this season. Karam also handily won the IndyCar iRacing Challenge event at Watkins Glen. “I did so many laps for the IndyCar race we did here in Lionheart, and then the Challenge race we did,” Karam said. “I’ve been non-stop on the sim. It’s pretty impressive that my girlfriend still loves me.” Karam led every lap from the pole, a feat he also accomplished in 2019. Alex Saunders, the 2018 series runner-up, came home second, nearly seven seconds behind Karam. “This was my first experience with the Lotus on the new tire,” Saunders said. “I found it was enough of an experience just trying not to wreck it, so I was kind of happy to just ride around with myself.” The battle for third ended up riveting fans over the final laps, as Aaron Morgan first passed, and the held off road course ace George Sandman for the final podium spot. “I never thought coming into this week I’d be racing George,” Morgan said. “I can’t believe I actually passed him on track. Exceeded my expectations by far.” Richie Hearn captured his first Lionheart top-five with his fifth place finish. Defending series champion Ryan Otis had an eventful race. Otis first spun while battling inside the top-five, and then incurred damage in a crash with Jorge Anzaldo and Ricky Hardin, among others. Otis rebounded to finish 14th, the final car on the lead lap, but it wasn’t the result he was looking for. 20 of the 33 drivers to start the race made it to the end, with numerous single and two-car accidents eliminating or hampering the efforts of strong cars. Sandman extended his points lead to 13 over Karam, who jumped all the way to second with his win. Saunders sits third after two rounds. The Lionheart Retro Series presented by DMLC Racing Channel heads across the pond to Donington Park for the inaugural Classic IndyCar Series Grand Prix of Donington on Thursday, April 16. The race can be seen live on the iRacing eSports Network, with Global SimRacing Channel producing the action, at 10:35 p.m. EST. With the 2020 Lionheart Retro Series presented by DMLC Racing Channel season opener in the books the series switches focus from the high-speed ovals to the twisty iconic Watkins Glen International.
Unlike the IndyCar Series the Retro Series drivers will run the Classic Boot configuration eliminating the famous or at times infamous bus stop. George Sandman enters the Round 2 event with the points lead after clamming his first victory of the season in an exciting 3 wide finish. Leading the championship by just 4 points over Ryan Otis, the win marked the 2nd in Sandman’s career. Despite finding some success on the ovals, the road ace has yet to win a road course event in the series. The SimXperience Grand Prix at the Glen will mark the 4th time in as many seasons that the Retro Series has visited the historic track. Each season has produced a new winner and each of those has led every lap enroute to victory lane. Sage Karam is the defending race winner, having won over Ryan Otis by 24.846 seconds which is the 4th largest margin of victory in Retro Series history. Karam is coming off two big wins in the IndyCar at Watkins Glen. After winning the Round 2 Lionheart IndyCar Series race at the Glen, Karam followed it up by winning the IndyCar iRacing Challenge debut against several real-world NTT Data IndyCar Series drivers. This victory could give him the clean sweep as well as being crowned King of the Glen. Tune in this Thursday, April 2nd 2020 to watch the SimXperience Grand Prix at the Glen live on the iRacing eSports Network courtesy of the Global Sim Racing Channel. For more information on the Lionheart Racing Series powered by HyperX visit www.lionheartracingseries.com Race Link https://youtu.be/ZoghNffFKwE George Sandman fired the opening salvo in the battle for the 2020 Lionheart Retro Series presented by DMLC Racing Channel championship.
The second-year driver scored the second win of his career against a stacked field, edging defending champion Ryan Otis by 0.021 seconds to win the DMLC Racing Channel Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami Speedway. “I knew as long as I was prepared for the last couple laps and holding that inside line, they weren’t going to be able to get around me,” Sandman said from the virtual victory lane. The road course veteran has now won twice on ovals in his brief career in the Lionheart Racing Series powered by HyperX. Both victory’s have come in the Retro cars, behind the wheel of a Lotus 79. Sandman also won at Pocono in 2019. “I’m starting to learn some of the oval stuff, this is different for me,” Sandman said. “I never really liked the oval stuff. But I’m starting to enjoy it quite a bit.” After four early cautions, the event ran green to the finish from lap 59. Several leaders encountered pit road issues during green-flag pit stops. By the final 15 laps, just Sandman, Otis and Finian D’Cunha remained to battle for the win. Otis and D’Cunha both jetted to the outside of Sandman in the final 100 yards, but ran out of time. “I can’t complain, there was some crazy stuff going on out there,” Otis said. “Car felt good, felt good in traffic. I had my plan for the finish there, but with Finian there I didn’t really risk it on the last lap. That was great driving by everyone, a lot of fun.” D’Cunha really turned heads, battling from a 29th place starting spot to grab the final podium position. “Needles to say, I definitely need to start practicing qualifying,” D’Cunha said. “I somehow made it through a massive wreck, it was a miracle. I have no clue what my strategy should have been at the end of the race.” Trevor Malone and Mike Rigney completed the top five, after a crash with 18 laps remaining eliminated Greg West and caused Lionel Calisto to spin through the backstretch grass. Calisto recovered to finish eighth. Despite leading just three laps, Otis spent a majority of the race battling for the lead. Polesitter David Clymer appeared to be the favorite, leading a race-high 36 laps, but contact with the damaged lapped car of Ricky Hardin on lap 55 while exiting turn four caused Clymer to slam the inside wall, ending his race. Sage Karam led 35 laps but encountered pit road troubles, along with former series runner-up Alex Saunders. Karam, who was leading when he hit pit road, fell two laps down and finished 15th. Saunders finished one lap down in 12th. A crash on lap 36 changed the entire outlook of the event, at the fault of nobody. Scott McClendon and Bobby Mikes were racing side-by-side for fourth place exiting turn four when a massive net code spin occured, causing Mikes to slide down into McClendon. The ensuing melee eliminated or caused crippling damage to more than a dozen cars. Eleven of the 35 starters finished on the lead lap. 17 cars were running at completion of the event. Eight drivers swapped the lead 31 times. The Lionheart Retro Series presented by DMLC Racing Channel next heads to its first road course event in 2020. The SimXperience Grand Prix at The Glen is scheduled for Thursday, April 2, and can be seen live at 10:35 p.m. EST on the iRacing eSports Network, with Global SimRacing Channel producing the action. With the long off season behind the Lotus 79 drivers of the Lionheart Racing Series powered by HyperX the stage is set for the beginning of the Retro Series 4th Season. New for 2020 is the presenting sponsor of the Retro Series, the DMLC Racing Channel.
This season will see 35 drivers take the initial green flag on Thursday March 19th, 2020 at the Homestead Miami Speedway for the 4th time in series history. Each season has produced a new winner and the series has yet to produce a 2-time champion at Miami. With Alex Saunders, the 2019 winner the only active driver able to capture this goal, the pressure is all on him. Last year saw some late race fireworks as the defending winner and eventual series champion Otis battled close within the closing laps. The two made contact with Otis losing several positions as the race ended under caution. Homestead traditionally has been a tight and close race in the Retro Series presented by The DMLC Racing Channel, all 3 previous running’s have produced over 20 lead changes with Season 3 having the most (24). This year’s setup looks to produce much of the same as early practice has kept drivers in the pack throughout the fuel run. The series will see a handful of new drivers entering the series and a few familiar faces joining the L79 roster. Michael Gray, Trevor Malone, Tommy Rhyne and Ricky Hardin all with previous starts in the Lionheart IndyCar Series will all look for solid runs this year. Each driver with the exception of Gray has had between 1-3 starts in previous Retro seasons. Scott McClendon, Sam Crowe, Jason Bosse and Doyle Lowrace are scheduled to make their Retro Series debut at Homestead on March 19th. 2020 will see for the first time in league history (IndyCar or Retro) a true 50/50 road-oval split. The 18 round season will feature short ovals, super speedways as well as natural road courses as well as the roval configuration at Indianapolis. The run to the 2020 championship begins at Miami Speeday. The time to make a statement is now. Who will be victorious this year? Round 1 of the Lionheart Retro Series Presented by DMLC Racing Channel kicks off live Thursday March 19th,2020 at 9:35 pm CST on the iRacing eSports Network courtesy of the Global Sim Racing Channel. Race Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVNkLUB1Qzc |
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