Bruno Spengler is the first champion of the IMSA iRacing Pro Series.
Starting eighth, an incident not of his doing during the opening lap of the Konica Minolta Presents IMSA iRacing at Watkins Glen caused severe damage to his No. 7 BMW M8 GTE that required a lengthy repair pit stop. It became clear Spengler would have no chance of winning and was forced to drop his what-would-be 14th-place finish – his worst in the six-race championship – from the final point tally as the rules permitted.
The only remaining driver in contention for the championship was Nicky Catsburg, who needed to win the race to win the title. He displayed plenty of fighting spirit, but finished fourth in the race and second to Spengler in the overall standings by six points, 153-147.
While the victory went to Rodrigo Pflucker in a Ford GT, John Edwards placed a BMW M8 on the podium in third place. Finishing second was Shane van Gisbergen in a Porsche 911 RSR.
A total of five BMW M8s finished in the top 10 at virtual Watkins Glen. Turner Motorsport driver Robby Foley and two additional BMW Team RLL drivers Connor De Phillippi and Jesse Krohn claimed fifth, sixth and eighth positions, respectively.
“I am delighted to have won this title,” said Spengler. “The unbelievably hard work involved in preparing for the races over the past months really paid off. Many thanks to everyone who supported me, and thanks to IMSA Management for organizing this virtual race series for us, the drivers, and the fans in these testing times. It was fantastic and so much fun.
“Today’s race was full of emotion. After the accident on the first lap, I was unbelievably disappointed and could only think ‘That’s blown my title chances.’ But slowly, it became clear that I would still do it, as Nicky was unable to win the race. I was able to relax a bit and enjoy the final laps.”
IMSA iRacing Challenge Series
Prior to the season finale in the IMSA iRacing Pro Series, the IMSA iRacing Challenge Series hosted its third and final race at the same location. Only recently made available as a car in iRacing, the BMW M4 GT4 celebrated its debut in an official event.
The grid featured 13 virtual versions of the BMW customer racing car, six of which finished in the top 10. Nils Koch and Robby Foley finished second and third, respectively. Also in the top 10 were BMW works driver Beitske Visser in sixth, BMW Sports Trophy Rookie of the Year Marius Zug in eighth and YouTube influencer Jimmy Broadbent in ninth.