The 2024 Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series is coming to a close, and after four events, Victor Miranda is the clear favorite for the title after securing another race victory. This week at Lime Rock Park, utilizing the Chicanes layout, Miranda split victories with Matt Bussa. It keeps Miranda’s streak of winning once every week alive, and propels him to a 55 point lead in the championship with only one event to go.
RACE #1
Bussa scored the coveted pole position and led from the start in the first race on the night, taking control ahead of Leo Ovtcharov. Miranda, mired back in fifth on the start, have to contest against Felipe Cabrera and Ayden Young for the podium. Young and Cabrera made contact on the opening lap, sending Young back in the field. He would recover to ultimately finish seventh.
Meanwhile, Miranda and Cabrera continued to fight, and just before halfway, it came to a head. Cabrera was forced around and out of the race after contact with Miranda. Miranda continued on, holding off Matt Caruana for the third spot.
Up front, Bussa was infallible, leading every lap en route to his first victory of the season, becoming the fifth different winner in seven races. Ovtcharov, who has had a very bumpy season to-date, gave it a shot at the end, but came up a car length short.
Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series Race #7 at Lime Rock Park – Top 10 Results:
Fin.
St.
No.
Driver
Interval
Country
Pts.
1
1
7
Matt Bussa
0.000
United States
35
2
2
1
Leo Ovtcharov
+0.086
United States
32
3
5
4
Victor Miranda
+2.903
Brazil
30
4
8
8
Matt J Caruana
+2.933
Great Britain
28
5
7
3
Ivan Machado Perez
+5.418
Spain
26
6
6
15
Bryce Weyer
+8.955
United States
25
7
4
2
Ayden Young
+11.029
United States
24
8
16
10
Byron Mitchell
+12.014
South Africa
23
9
12
11
Cade Middleton
+16.121
United States
22
10
18
18
Andrew Moran
+16.132
United States
21
RACE #2
Things got heated almost immediately on the start of the second race as Caruana forced three-wide for the lead entering Big Bend. Ovtcharov and Caruana made slight contact, forcing them both down the running order, which allowed for Miranda to get away with Bussa.
Bussa led the opening stint, but Miranda took control just before halfway. The pair pulled away from the rest of the field as the scramble was on for third. Ivan Machado and Young squabbled over it, contact in the Uphill chicane forcing Machado off course. Into the West Bend chicane, Ovtcharov and Young came together, forcing the runner-up in the opening race around, allowing for Caruana to take advantage and move into the third spot, where he would finish.
Up front, Miranda would not be denied. Bussa gave one last look into the West Bend chicane, but Miranda held strong and won for the fourth time this season.
Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series Race #8 at Lime Rock Park – Top 10 Results:
Fin.
St.
No.
Driver
Interval
Country
Pts.
1
3
4
Victor Miranda
0.000
Brazil
35
2
1
7
Matt Bussa
+0.764
United States
32
3
4
8
Matt J Caruana
+2.991
Great Britain
30
4
8
10
Byron Mitchell
+8.572
South Africa
28
5
7
2
Ayden Young
+8.949
United States
26
6
11
16
Jeffrey Decker
+10.860
United States
25
7
17
5
Felipe Cabrera Loyola
+11.322
Chile
24
8
10
18
Andrew Moran
+11.559
United States
23
9
13
14
Michal Sikorski2
+13.159
Poland
22
10
15
6
Shoma Shintani
+13.781
Japan
21
Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series points through races #7 and #8 at Lime Rock Park:
Victor Miranda, 262
Ivan Machado Perez, 207
Matt Bussa, 206
Ayden Young, 188
Leo Ovtcharov, 186
Byron Mitchell, 183
Matt J Caruana, 163
Andrew Moran, 159
Kody Deith, 148
Shoma Shintani, 145
Through eight races, Miranda leads the way by 55 points over Machado. Bussa slides back up into third, only a single point behind Machado for the runner-up spot. Young, Ovtcharov, and Byron Mitchell sit fourth through sixth and could have a say in the conversation for the top-three spots in the finale next month.
Next Race: The fifth and final event of the 2024 season will take place at Virginia International Raceway once again. This time, the series takes on the Full Course. This Hot Lap Qualifier is active from Friday, September 6th, at 12 a.m. ET to Sunday, September 8th at 11:59 p.m. ET.
The entry fee for each Hot Lap Qualifier is $20, and the top 20 drivers on the Time Attack leaderboard will be invited to run each race. They’ll also get to take part in an open test with Skip Barber Racing School instructors on hand to provide feedback.
The race itself is scheduled for Thursday, September 12th, once again at 7 p.m. ET. It will be live on iRacing.com/live and across all of iRacing’s social media channels.
To learn more about the Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series, visit https://www.skipbarber.com/iracing-series/.
Drivers can register to compete in 2024 Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series events here.
For more information about iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.
