A lot has happened since the 2022 season finale of the VSCA SportsCar Championship.
A new top class (LMDh) has arrived to VSCA with the all-new BMW M Hybrid V8 the new shiny toy for teams competing for the overall championship in the fastest category of the series.
Some teams are not returning to the series in 2023, including defending 24 Hours of Daytona champions Lone Wolf Motorsports and NReSports. So with a lot of unknowns going into the biggest race of the year, one thing is for certain already: There will be new 24 Hours of Daytona champions in all categories for the biggest race of the year next weekend.
And a lot of new teams and drivers have entered competition in the series, from the likes of Race Factory, GSE Racing eSports, Grizzly Motorsports who have entered three cars or Mayer Simspeed Performance and Kairos eSports.
Some series veterans like Grant Yingling, who has moved from DRG Racing to Olympus eSports, have found new homes.
And of course, one other big change is the arrival of the all-new LMDh class, which will be the new top class in 2023, featuring the BMW M Hybrid V8.
“We’re excited about this new season. An incredible amount of work has been put preparing this new season, by everybody on the Organizers and Race Control staff.”, VSCA founder Benjamin Fischer said.
VR7UAL Pole Position Award
VR7UAL has joined the series over the course of the offseason, to sponsor the VSCA VR7UAL Pole Award of the 2023 season.
The team in each class, with the most pole positions at season’s end, will win the award in the value of $100 USD or more.
“This weekend really is the culmination of more than three months of preparation, testing, contemplation and decision-making. So, we hope that we’re giving the teams, drivers and fans a good base for the new year. We’re confident that 2023 will be our best year yet.”
All-new LMDh class atop the series includes series champions
Series champions Element SimRacing have claimed car No. 1 after they lifted the championship trophy in October of last year. Switching to the new LMDh class, they will defend their series championship in 2023.
It won’t be easy though. With 2022 contenders, the No. 10 Race4Cat Motorsport and No. 51 World of SimRacing Team cars and reigning Endurance Cup champions, the No. 79 Champion Motorsports machine all returning and moving to the LMDh category with them, strong and experienced competition is guaranteed.
Not, that the new additions to the grid are any less competitive! Race Factory, Olympus eSports, Kairos eSports, Grizzly Motorsports, EastSide Motorsport, JO Motorsports, MoneyHouse Racing, DS Racing eSports Team, Mayer Simspeed Performance and Stow Motorsports will all be new entries on the LMDh grid, promising for an exciting 24-hour season opener and 2023 season in the top category of the series.
“The new BMW M Hybrid V8 is a fantastic addition to the series. It’s not the easiest car to drive, so presents a nice challenge. Most importantly, we believe it will provide fantastic racing and very close competition.”, Fischer added.
LMP2 class with small but ultra-competitive grid
Last year, the Dallara P217 LMP2 and LMP2 class were the top class of the series. In 2023, things look a little different and the class will serve as the second-highest category in the VSCA SportsCar Championship.
With new regulations in place, the LMP2 class promises to see an even closer level of competition than 2022.
Coming up just short on winning the series 2022 – losing out by ten points – the No. 14 Fischer Motorsport car returns for the 2023 season, but will feature an all-new drivers lineup with Rico Kollmeier, Travis Linscome-Hatfield and Thomas Martin.
Albrecht Motorsports and their No. 96 teams will also return in the LMP2 class, gunning for the series championship in year two.
Likewise, the No. 19 Dallara of Trading Paints Racing Team and the No. 17 machine of Agee Motorsports return as well, with the latter one however doubtful for the season-opener.
Formerly vApex Racing Group, now VRG Sport, have made head waves during the off season by announcing the climb up from GTD class to LMP2, running a classic livery in homage to the historic Silk Cut Jaguar that competed at Le Mans.
“We’re proud to begin our second season in VSCA. And we’re continuing our team tradition, that the endurance race livery pays homage to classic paint schemes from the past.”, Andy Banfield said.
“Last year we flew the Brumos Porsche colors and this year, switching to LMP2, we honor the Silk Cut Jaguar from WEC fame. We’re old guys with a lot of racing history in our brains. (laughing)”
New teams GSE Racing eSports from Germany, Olympus eSports, MAD Sim Racing, DS Racing eSports Team, Vision 1 Motorsports, Race Factory and GetSpeed eSports are all joining the LMP2 grid for the 2023 season, promising for an excellent, competitive season in the class.
With 12 entries signed up going into the season-opener, the LMP2 category is the smallest class of the series this year.
GTD class promising to be the eye of the storm in 2023
Last season’s GTD class championship battle was dominated by Kinetic Racing and Torque Freak Racing. To the delight of the fans, and challenge to fellow GTD teams, both teams will return to the class in 2023.
Torque Freak Racing has changed from Porsche to the Lamborghini but is expected to be one of the front runners once again in 2023.
Fischer Motorsport is set to return as well, entering its two Porsche 911 GT3 R and with a drivers lineup that looks different only for the 24-hour race this weekend.
With the departure of Audi from the VSCA SportsCar Championship, Firestorm Motorsport has changed to the Porsche.
But so far, it looks like the GTD grid will be featuring fewer entries of the German sports car manufacturer compared to last year, with the total coming in at six.
Instead, BMW is having the biggest presence in the GTD class this year, with a total of 9 cars from Delta Racing, Champion Motorsports, Real Pixel Motorsport, Full Send Racing (formerly FASTR eSports), Off in the Esses Racing (formerly Disco Motorsports), World of SimRacing Team, Grizzly Motorsports, MoneyHouse Racing and Demon Tweeks eSports.
“BMW is going full attack in GTD this year, that’s for sure. And from what we’ve seen so far in practice, the BMW should be very competitive.”, a crew member said.
Queens, New York based HAC Racing ran Ferraris last year, but will return to the grid running two Lamborghini in 2023.
Together with Torque Freak Racing, Olympus eSports and Trading Paints Racing Team, five Lamborghini Huracán GT3 will be featured on the grid when the field takes the green flag on Saturday.
Fellow New Yorker team Dangler Performance (formerly Resolve Racing) will feature six (!) drivers in their Mercedes AMG GT3 for the 24 Hours of Daytona.
Together with them, another three Mercedes will go hunting for championship points this year from MAD Sim Racing, EastSide Motorsport and Screeching Moose Motorsports from Maple Ridge, British Columbia.
Season to kick off with 51-car grid at Daytona
All three classes will make up for a 51-car grid at Daytona this weekend. With a new historic series-high of 11 races this year, from January through October, teams will have a marathon of a season in front of them.
“We know that running a championship that has 11 races and lasts from January through October, requires a lot of commitment. Which makes us all the more appreciative of all the teams that decided to give our series a try. We’ll see who comes out on top in October and is crowned 2023 champion.”, said Benjamin Fischer.
The 2023 grid will feature entries from eight different countries, with the United States (28) and Germany (11) being the most represented countries on the grid.
“It’s really fantastic to have such an international grid. And we are excited to add even more in the future. For example, we are in talks with a team from Thailand, that is possibly joining the series in June. It’s great to see sim racers come together from all over, to race together.”, VSCA founder Benjamin Fischer explained.
The 24 Hours of Daytona schedule
On-track activities will start on Saturday at 9 am ET / 1400 GMT with a 20-minute warmup session, followed by the official drivers meeting.
VR7UAL Pole Position Qualifying will commence at 9:50 am ET / 14:50 GMT and the green flag for the 2nd annual VSCA 24 Hours of Daytona approximately at 10:00 am ET / 1500 GMT.
The race will be streamed live in full length, flag to flag, on the VSCA YouTube channel. The live stream will feature live timing and scoring through stream overlays, but have no live commentary or a human camera directory.
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