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Congratulations to the CMS Endurance iRacing Team and the Alpha Car Driven by Drivers Paul Hamilton and Daniel Johnson for their win at Lemans in the opening round of the 2019 Season 2 iRacing VRS GT3 Endurance Series. A phenomenal result by the team and great start to the upcoming 12 week season. The newly formed 2019 roster for the Endurance Team at CMS couldn't have gotten off to a better start if they had tried with this result and it has left the entire team excited and really eager to get back out and go again at Round 2 Bathurst next weekend.



Daniel Johnson (above) takes the Checkered Flag and historic win at Lemans for Champion Motorsports

For Lemans the team would enter two cars. the Alpha car driven by Hamilton and Johnson. As well the second entry would be a sister Ferrari GT3, named the Beta car, driven by Matthew Overton, James Andrew, and David Anderson. The cars would be destined to be together for much of if not the full first hour of the race. Qualifying 15th and 16th on the grid, both Matthew Overton and Paul Hamilton drove excellent first stints to put the team in great position at the first round of pits stops. Matthew would lead most of the way, with Paul in close pursuit the two drivers working through traffic very well together. At pit stops they were as high as 12th place in the 40 car grid.

Handing over to Daniel Johnson in the Alpha Car and James Andrew in the Beta car would setup second stints. Unfortunately for James Andrew he would be involved in an accident exiting the Porsche curves a few laps into his stint. This would require about 8.5 minutes of repairs on pit road and drop the Beta car out of contention but still running for what would hopefully be a run at a top 20.

Daniel Johnson however in the Alpha car began his stint by starting to click off faster and faster laps, each time eclipsing a best and taking PB in the session. Nearing the end of Daniel's first stint he had moved the car into the top 5 and it was apparent we would be competing for the win.

Late in the race James Andrew would hand the Beta car off to David Anderson for a final stint. Unfortunately for David and the team after climbing back to 19th overall the Beta Car's Ferrari Powered Engine would expire on the front stretch, ending our race about 10 minutes before the finish.



the CMS Beta Team Car Pictured Above at Lemans in Race one Finishing 21 of 40

On the bright side as we got to about that same point, Daniel Johnson had successfully moved into the lead and retained the lead after a late splash and go pitstop. Coming back on to the track with a comfortable lead Daniel would cruise home to a victory for the team, our first, and a phenomenal result. The second car would finish in 21st overall. The team leaves Lemans extremely excited about our potential and ready to tackle Bathurst on Saturday March 23rd.

We are still accepting sign-ups and participants for this series. If you would like to drive, spot, test, or work in team management with the team please let us know.

We are extremely excited to announce, after very FAST and significant momentum the formation of the Champion Motorsports/TXL iRacing Endurance e-Sports Team! All CMS/TXL iRacers are welcome to become a part of the team as we are continuing to accept drivers from the community to drive one of our Ferrari GT3 cars in the upcoming iRacing 2019 Season 2 VRS GT3 Endurance Series! Read on for more details:



Rather you are able to run full-time or part-time, let us know if you are interested. The team will field up to 3 cars in the VRS endurance championship for Season 2, races are on Saturday and/or Sunday afternooons in the USA, and UK Evenings, and are 3 hours in length. We will field a minimum of 2 drivers per car and a maximum of 3. The goal and intent of the team is to have fun first and foremost, but also to represent the overall Champion Motorsports/TXL community and do our best in the GT3 Endurance Season Championship. Our focus is all about team, so we will gear our driver assignments and entries each week to the maximum chemistry and performance we think we can achieve for the team championship standings.

As drivers are able to participate on a full or part time basis we will look at the upcoming schedule from week to week and determine if we will be fielding a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 3 cars.

To sign-up simply express interest in this thread or on our CMS Discord Channel in the iRacing Section (Endurance Teams)

From there we will help get you started. Also this is meant to be a community fun effort, so in typical CMS Gentleman fashion we welcome all skill levels and we will work as a team to assign drivers appropriately on race day to a car.

Furthermore we are asking and encouraging existing CMS members that are part of sub teams such as Longhorn Racing, All Balls Racing, Puffin Racing, Can-Am Racing, and others to consider joining us on this Super Set team to help promote simracing and the Champion Motorsports community.

As such for this season we will all be running similar CMS Livery Paint Schemes and driving under the CMSRACING.COM team names within iRacing. All drivers for this season will compete in the Ferrari GT3 car.

Schedule

• Week 1: Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans - 24 Heures du Mans (16-mar)
• Week 2: Mount Panorama Circuit (23-mar)
• Week 3: Road Atlanta - Full Course (30-mar)
• Week 4: Sebring International Raceway - International (6-apr)
• Week 5: WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca - Full Course (13-apr)
• Week 6: Lime Rock Park - Full Course (20-apr)
• Week 7: Road America - Full Course (27-apr)
• Week 8: Nürburgring Combined - Gesamtstrecke 24h (4-may)
• Week 9: Circuit of the Americas - Grand Prix (11-may)
• Week 10: Autodromo Nazionale Monza - Grand Prix (18-may)
• Week 11: Donington Park Racing Circuit - Grand Prix (25-may)
• Week 12: Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari - Grand Prix (1-jun)

CMS pushes the envelope this spring with three amazing Prototype C cars in Assetto Corsa!

This spring we will scorch five great tracks with three legendary monsters of the 1980's:

Porsche 962 (Long and Short Tail variants)
Mazda 787B
Mercedes C9 (LM and Sprint variants)


Johnny Herbert - Mazda 787b


Chris Harris - 962

Join us on Sunday nights at 9pm US Central time, preceded by a 15 minute qualifying session. Races will be one hour in length. Pitstops will be required this season- you must stop during each event to take on at least 1 liter of fuel.

Points will be scored per event using the following point system based on finish: 20,18,16,14,12,10,8,6,4,2,1.

- Car selection is open at all events, including both variants of the 962 and the C9.
- Also note we will not be weight-balancing for this season.

Schedule:

Mar 24 - Spa
Apr 7 - Laguna Seca
Apr 28 - Le Mans
May 12 - Hockenheim '88
May 19 - Sebring

Car and Track download links TBD.

Server Name: CMS Historics
Server Password: loudandproud

Typical Race Schedule
Practice: 8-8:45 p.m. Central Time (US) - 45 min
Qualify: 8:45-9:00 p.m. Central Time (US) – 15 min
Warmup: 9:00-9:05 p.m. Central Time (US) - 5 min
Race: 9:05 p.m. Central Time (US) - 60 min

Drivers must complete 50% of the race distance to receive points.

Join us on Teamspeak for voice chat. Connection information here

All CMS Rules and Regulations are in affect for this series.

We will have a short, and fun practice race for the Monday Night Assetto Corsa Competizione League on March 11th. Things will get started at 8pm CST (Chicago Time USA). We will have 30 minutes of practice, a 15 minutes of open qualifying and then a short 30 minute race for fun ... the purpose of this is to test the new 0.6.3 release of the sim and get an opportunity to see how the game and multiplayer improvements hold up. This is not an official race, just practice, and for fun. However anyone that does attend will receive 3 bonus points for the regular championship when it starts (upon final game availablility). To incent everyone to drive clean and consistent you need to complete 50% of the leaders laps to get the bonus points.



Here are the details for the race

Date 3/11
Time 8pm CST Chicago practice starts (race will be after practice and qualifying sessions detailed above)
Server in lobby = cmsracing.com GT3 series
password = cmsrocks

post here with any questions. Also tell your friends. This series is still very much available for sign up.
The best way we can get more and quality drivers is by word of mouth ... so please spread the word.

CMS-TXL Sports Car Series Power Rankings
2019 S1 - 6 of 9 Races Completed


For long time members of both CMS and TXL, many years ago when the majority of the racing was on ovals, somewhere along the way I came up with the idea to create Power Rankings each week to put the spotlight on those drivers who deserved the accolades of great results week after week. The main reason I wanted to do it was to kill the quiet in the forums in between races, and especially back then when we ran the entire Cup season over a year, interest would wain, drivers would fall out, and it was my way of saying "Check out the die-hards!".

But it was met with some enthusiasm by many drivers, as it was a way to highlight those who were consistent on the track, not just in attendance...and I hope some of you find that it adds something to the wait between race nights.

How are the Power Rankings devised? To sum it up, using an algorithm based on several factors including average finish over the season, number of drivers in each race, average number of drivers per race, finishing position weighted based on total drivers in the race, and finishing position in the last 5 races with the most recent events weighted higher. Provisionals are counted against drivers, but excluded from average finishing position calculations, and a few other factors at play too. It took me 2 years to come up with the current method, and I think it works great.

The Power Rankings are per class, and only the Top 3 in Pro, and Top 5 in AM and Gents are listed, which is based on the number of results calculated. Si I now give you the first Power Rankings list in 14 years!


GT3-Gents Class

This class has been very competitive, with 4 different winners in 6 races. With an average of 9 drivers starting each race so far this season, a bad race can hurt your shot at the title.

1. Paul Hamilton - This wily veteran is doing what it takes to win Championships. Not missing a race this season, Paul has 1 Win, two 2nds and two 3rd place finishes out of 6 races. His average finish of 2.7 is tremendous, and is clearly the reason why leads in the Championship points, and is at the top of our list.

2. Anthony James - After starting this season with a 4th at Daytona and 5th at Road America, then missing Bathurst altogether, "AJ" has stormed back with three straight wins to put him in second place in the title hunt. With an average finish of 2.4 this season, he's making the most of his time on the track, and there's plenty of racing left.

3. Mike Tyler - After a long hiatus from online racing, it's great to have Mike back on the track with us again. He claims to be rusty, but racecraft makes up for any lack of time and with an average finish of 5th after running all 6 races this season, we can bet that Mike will be in the hunt for the title as well!

4. Randy Drumhiller - Another veteran racer that we're all happy to see once again, Randy has only missed racing at Bathurst this season, and with 2 podium finishes already to go with an average finishing position of 4.2, Randy has shown consistency each and every week, moving his way up the standings.

5. Jay Dargert - Even though Jay has missed two races this season, he took the win at Bathurst and a second at Lime Rock to lay claim to a spot in the points chase. Even with two provisionals and an average finish of 5.8 due to a bad night at the season opener, don't dare count Jay out of contention for the Championship, especially with Watkins Glen ahead on the calendar.


GTE-AM Class

Just like the Gents class, this division has seen 4 different winners this season after 6 races, but with an average of 14.5 drivers starting this class each race this is the most active class in the series. Which means a bad night really hurts!

1. Kris Hudson - Another long time member of CMS, Kris has always had a tendency to find the groove when it counts. With 3 wins and two 2nd place finishes, his average finish is 2.5 due to an early incident at Sebring where he drove back up to 8th place by the end of the race. With three races to go, Kris has control over the points chase, but he would be the first to tell you that it's not over till that last lap is done.

2. Jay Freels - With a bad start to the season at Daytona and Road America, Jay has rebounded since then and posted an average finish of 5.5 the last four races. With experience and determination he has improved week after week, and with the size of the fields in GTE-AM it's a testament to Jay's racecraft!

3. Peter Hebron - After starting the season with a 3rd at Daytona then winning in week 2, the weeks since have been unkind at times. Even with an 11th at Sebring due to the early carnage, Peter has an average finishing position of 5th after running all 6 races, and is second in the points with lots of racing left to go. With his speed, watch for Peter to put that car back in winner's circle again before the season's end.

4. Samuel Scott - With a win at Sebring where he also finished 2nd overall, it's apparent that Samuel has the speed to contend for the win every week. But besides that win, Samuel also has two 3rd place finishes, and an average finish of 5.4 with one provisional. Another driver that has shown improvement each race to go with his incredible pace, another great addition to this series.

5. Joey Tungale - Some drivers would have quit after the start Joey had to this season, but not this guy. He finished Bathhurst in 7th against a very tough field, and then after Germany he found the podium at both Sebring and Lime Rock. An average finish of 8.3 doesn't really tell the story here, and after personally chasing him at Sebring, I'm betting on more podiums the next three races.


GTE-Pro Class

This is a class that contains both long-time members and some newcomers, and some great racing within this division each week. This class has 4 different winners in 6 races this season, and attendance has been up and down but still averages out at 9 drivers per race.

1. Leif Peterson - With two wins, a second and a third this season, Leif sits in first place in the GTE-Pro Championship points. His average finish of 2.8 is just remarkable considering the level of competition. The only blemish on his season so far is a 6th at the season opener at Daytona, there's no doubt that Leif will probably end the season with another win (or more)!

2. Jason Lundy - While not the greatest season for one of the League Admins, his last three races have been on the upswing, with 3rd place in his last two outings. Overall he has an average of 6.2 for finishing position, but sometimes numbers don't tell the whole story....and persistence on overcoming those bad nights has kept Jason in contention for podiums these last few weeks. Something that isn't a surprise to most of us.

3. Clark Archer - After taking the win at the season opener, Clark has maintained an average finish of 2.8, and after missing Sebring came back and won at Lime Rock the following week for his second time to victory lane. With his worst finish this season a 5th at Nurburgring, the last three races of this season will be quite the battle between the top dogs in this division.

The newly formed Champion Motorsports esports team came together quickly with a recent formation of a team and entry into the P1 Gaming 12 Hours of Suzuka this past weekend. After a long 12 hours the team has come back to the United States and Canada after the race with the pleasure of a solid finish in our first race. The goals were to have fun and do our best to finish both of which we more than accomplished. The car was running strong and gaining positions up until the very end of the race, including a final few laps path to take 18th in the GTE class. What could have been seen as a far from ideal performance, was definitely not taken that way by the team as it was a very successful maiden outing for a new team, new car, new league, new everything. In the end we were able to beat 7 other class cars and feel very optimistic about our future.

Full results of the race and team standings are available at:
https://p1-gaming.de/p1lms/p1lms_TeamStandings.html

While the team did not score points in our first race, we will be headed back overseas in a few weeks on April 13th to run again in the 8 hours of Silverstone. A track our driver lineup is a little bit more familiar with. Also, with lots of time to prepare and develop the car and a second set of engineering and setup efforts we are feeling very bullish.

At Suzuka it became clear on many levels the personalities and potential we have in the team. Starting with Matthew Overton, one of is not our most experienced driver in rFactor endurance formats. Matthew came over to us from the LMP Stable at SimHQ Motorsports. Wanting to get back to his roots and desires for running GTE cars, team managers Doug Atkinson at SimHQ and David Anderson were able to strike a deal with the help of Jon Uyan that would allow Matthew to drive under the CMS banner and become a permanent member of the CMS team for this year. This was huge because Matthew would be able to start the race for us, and also get everyone on the team familiar with the rules, procedures and ways of racing with P1 Gaming. Matthew was consistent and solid for us all day at Suzuka and has a great endurance Mindset we can rally around.

Bill Brehm our senior driver with a tremendous amount of wisdom would also run at Suzuka. Bill held his own on many fronts, and despite some early race jitters and a bring into the pits for a penalty he would keep calm, cool, and give us a solid effort. Equally as important leading up to the race, Bill was instrumental in helping the team get ready with Data and Motec Analysis, deep setup expertise and a great understanding of the technical elements of the car. This was extremely beneficial for our dialing in of the car on short runway, with Bill's leadership.

Vincent Marsh, our youngest (17 years old) driver on the team and with tremendous energy and potential also logged significant laps at Suzuka. Right from the word go on the team forming Vince has been a breath of fresh air. Tons of ideas, energy and a super positive attitude has been a welcome in the garage. Vince isn't afraid to try things and adapt and is wise beyond his years with maturity. While early in the race Vince struggled and had some issues in the car that we had to overcome, he recovered beautifully later in the race when we needed him the most to get us in a position to gain a few positions at the end. Vince, ran a nearly flawless stint at the end of the race, which was a huge spring board for more things to come.

JT Tami. No mistake about it JT was and is our A driver right now. JT was quick, consistent and showed incredible race craft at Suzuka. We knew we had a shot at improving on the track with JT in the car, and we wanted him in the car as much as possible. The positions we gained on the track all day long were in large part due to JT's driving. At the end, with only a few laps remaining he pushed hard and got us yet another position to finish 18th of 25th. A never give up fight, and pace we can all aspire to have JT in our number one driver seat.

For Silverstone we will be making a few changes and tweaks. Bill Brehm is going to step into a development role, and focus for this race and beyond on helping us prepare. He's retiring the gloves from behind the wheel, but we are hoping will still be an instrumental part of the team in our preparation and testing.

Team Manager David Anderson will drive at Silverstone in Bill's place. Getting his first laps with the team in addition to the important team manager role we will see if David can bring leadership on the track beyond the garage as well.

We are also recruiting as we would like to add another driver to the group. Additionally we are so excited about this effort that if other drivers at CMS would like to participate we can begin talking about a second car hopefully with interest and demand from the CMS community.


We will be back with more info on Silverstone as we get ready and cya on the track!