Another iRacing special event has concluded and crowned its winners with the end of the Bathurst 12-hour endurance race on the Mount Panorama track.
The race was won on lap 329 by Mahle Racing Team on the #10 car driven by Rainer Talvar and Phil Denies. This is the first special event win for the team, five years after its debut.
One of the most relevant aspects of the race is the fact that it featured the closest-ever finish of its history, with the #069 Drago Racing car driven by Hugh Barter and lad Kimichev coming in second with an incredibly narrow 2.499-second gap.
If you consider the fact that the race lasted 12 hours and 329 laps, having the first two cars within 3 seconds of each other is pretty crazy, especially considering that Drago Racing showcased a rather spectacular comeback, on top of the fastest lap of the race.
Team Redline with its #72 driven by Gustavo Ariel and Diogo Pinto took the third step of the podium, “only” 41 seconds and change behind the leader.
Five teams managed to race for the full 329 laps, while 32 teams out of 50 completed the challenging race. Below you can check out the full rankings at the end.
If you’re wondering, Bathurst is among the endurance races that see a single class of cars competing, the GT3 Class.
If you want to watch the race, the full recording is available on demand, and you can watch it below, split into two videos.
The next special event on the calendar is Sebring 12 Hour, which will see drivers compete on the virtual version of Sebring International Raceway in Florida. We’ll go back to three classes with GTP & HYP, LMP2, and GT3 (IMSA) between March 21 and March 23, 2025.
If you’re unfamiliar with iRacing, it’s a subscription-based, esports-focused racing simulation platform on PC considered by many one of the most realistic in the industry. Many professional racing drivers train on its LIDAR-scanned tracks that precisely reproduce their real counterparts.
Another element that makes it attractive as an esports platform is the implementation of racing regulations closely related to real motorsports to create an online esports environment that feels as professional as possible, encouraging clean racing and fair play over winning.
iRacing partners with several real-world racing series and organizations including Nascar, IMSA, the FIA, and many more. Recently, its developers also launched a partnership with Microsoft Research to implement Large Action Models AI in the game.
The company behind iRacing is also publishing the next Nascar game, Nascar 25, coming this fall for PC and consoles.