vApex Teams Invade Daytona Beach

Four vApex Teams answered the challenge of the iRacing 24 Hours of Daytona this weekend. The Green Team, consisting of Dave Jaques, Mikey Grems, Ed Kerstetter, Scott Kennedy, Chuck Chambliss, and Kevin Linden took their C7 Corvette Prototype to the front for a significant portion of the race. A fierce battle ensued with former vApex Teammates Elliott Skeer and Sam Rosamond during the run. The Green Team led 556 laps but an incident during the night dropped them back to a 6th overall finish.

The Purple Team, led by Russell Klaesson, Clifton Naranjo, Sean Fleming, and Taylor Bookout drove their Ford GTE to an 8th in class and 24th overall finish in their split.

The Red Team, driving the Ferrari 488 GTE finished 2nd in class and 13th overall in their split for an excellent result for the Team! Splitting the driving duties were Clark Archer, German Afanador, Erich Smith, and Shane Norton. While their safety ratings took a bit of a hit (220 incidents for the Team) there is NO arguing with their results!!

Finally, the Blue GT3 team motored their Mercedes GT3 to a 5th in Class and 26th overall performance. The car was driven by Andy Banfield, Rick Yeager, Jeff Parsons, and Jeff Yeager. This was Jeff Parsons first team event in iRacing and he did a great job!

Most of the teams were affected by the iRacing problems with connections at the start of the race. I know that we lost 4 laps due to disconnection problems. Disco Sucks was a movement in the 1970's for those of us who were bred on rock and roll, but for this race, it took on a whole new meaning. But, these things can and do happen. We don't have random car failures in iRacing, but as fans of the sport, we know some weird things happen on the track in real life that cost drivers chances at wins or a good finish. I try to look at these problems as that "randomness" that will affect just about every motor race you watch on TV or the internet. We still have the opportunity to race against thousands of drivers across the globe from the comfort and safety of our homes. That still baffles me that it can happen. I'm willing to forgive a few hiccups here and there.

The next big Team event is the Bathurst 12 Hour Race at Mount Panorama. If you are interested in running the GT3 Cars or Porsche Cup car there, contact Shane Norton and let him know! Until then....I need a nap...Great Job by all vApex Members involved in these races! Very Proud of All of You!!