Spa Showdown Shakes Up Porsche Pro Field: Round 2 Review

Due to iRacing’s update schedule, the races were restricted to timed sessions of 20 and 40 minutes respectively. Up first though, was the 20-minute open qualifying session. 

In the early stages it was Byron Pearce who set the pace. He was followed by the round 1 pole sitter Damon Woods, with Dean Mackay, Ric Kuznetsov and Jack Widdas rounding out the Top-5. At the halfway mark Mackay improved to the top with Automoves Racing Team’s Hugo Allan only 0.016 seconds behind. Only a lap later Woods would stamp his authority, moving into P1 with over 2 tenths in hand over Mackay. Zach Rattray-White also improved and moved into the Top-5, but he was quickly jumped by Reece Wakefield, making two One Performance Racing cars in the Top-5.

As the session came to a close, Antal Sabo made a big improvement to the front row, alongside pole winner Damon Woods, claiming back-to-back Pole Positions for Falken Sim Racing. Dean Mackay stayed solid throughout the session to end up 3rd, while Hugo Allan and Byron Pearce rounded out the Top-5. Wakefield, Morella, Rattray-White, Kerr and Kory Lazarus rounded out the Top-10. 2025 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Champion Dylan O’Keefe had another horrible qualifying session, lining up for the sprint race in 41st.

As the lights went out for the sprint race, the whole field got away fairly cleanly and avoided any major incidents up through Eau Rouge and Raidillon. Back in the pack Eskandari made a late move on Seth Brown at the end of the Kemmel Straight, and as they moved through Les Combes Eskandari was escorted wide in return. He re-entered the circuit and made contact with Stefan Mccartain and sent the One Performance Racing driver into a spin. Eskandari was handed a pit lane penalty for his troubles.

On Lap 2 it was another One Performance Racing driver who would be in the wars, with Stuart Ellis losing control over the kerb at Raidillon and spinning. He made contact with the outside wall and bounced back onto the racing line, causing a multi-car collision. Simon Mezzomo was the first car on the scene and unfortunately hit the outside fence, along with Tyce Hodge. Ellis’ OPR teammate Dylan Shepherd made substantial contact with the #73 and was sent rolling down the Kemmel Straight, before being collected by Tyce Hodge, who was dealing with major steering damage. He also collected Ryan Jones who simply had nowhere to go as the gaps in front of him disappeared. Team MaxBoost driver Kane Rider and Eclipse Simsports’ Hayden Veld were next on the scene, both sent into the outside fence with simply not enough time to react to the unfolding chaos in front of them. Dylan O’Keefe was also involved in the accident. Ellis, Hodge, Shepherd, Veld and Jones would all retire on Lap 2, while others involved, such as O’Keefe, would eventually withdraw in the following laps.

The safety car was rightly called and the field would bunch up once again to try and restart the race on Lap 4. Woods continued to lead the field from Sabo, but as they climbed up Raidillon, the Vermillion Esports driver would get a slowdown for extending past track limits, dropping himself back behind Mackay and Pearce.

Simultaneously, Allan and Rattray-White would make contact at the entry to Eau Rouge fighting over P5, sending the Automoves Racing Team #777 into the outside wall. Moments later, Allan's teammate Kory Lazarus would spin on his own at the exit of Les Combes. Both Automoves cars would request a tow and once again the safety car was called.

The race was restarted on Lap 6 and the 20-minute time limit began to show its effects, leaving only a 2-lap dash to the end of the sprint. The battles continued on up and down the field, fighting for grid positions in the feature but as the chequered flag waved it was Damon Woods once again, claiming victory in the sprint race.

Dean Mackay would follow him home in second with Byron Pearce close behind in third. Antal Sabo came home in P4, rueing his mistake from the first restart, with Rattray-White gaining three positions to finish P5. Wakefield finished 6th on the road but would be demoted to 12th post race, given a 5-second penalty for contact with Jack Widdas on Lap 4. Luckily for Wakefield, he would still start the feature out of P5.

Despite the contact, Widdas would cross the line in 6th for Momentum Racing. Kuznetsov, Morella, Burgess and Kerr would round out the Top-10, with Burgess claiming the all important inverted Pole Position for the feature race. The biggest loser from the sprint was once again Hugo Allan. After starting 4th, failing to finish was a major disappointment and left him starting 39th for the main race.

As the 40-minute feature race went green, Myles Burgess got the jump from pole and would lead down to Turn 1. The field would get through La Source and up the hill without issue, but as the mid-pack arrived at Les Combes, it all kicked off.

Sebastian Varndell would miss the braking zone and leave the circuit, rejoining safely at Turn 9. As the #58 slowly rose to racing speed, Eskandari got to the inside, and at no-name the two would make contact, sending Varndell into a spin in front of the back half of the field. A similar story to the Ellis incident in the sprint, multiple cars were involved. Scott Rankin made contact with the outside barrier, while Kane Rider, trying to avoid Rankin, would lose control and go from the outside to the inside wall. Lachlan Caple skated past Rider but netcode contact between the #018 and Angus Lawford would send the #52 into the inside fence.

As Varndell recovered from his spin, Brock Gilchrist was left with nowhere to go, making contact with the #58 and spinning to the inside of the circuit, also collecting Kane Rider. Angus Lawford would bounce off the fence and back onto the racing line and Stefan Mccartain was unfortunately collected. Vermillion Esports’ Jacob O’Reilly ran into the back of the #51 that was attempting to brake for Lawford. This sent Lawford straight into the fence once again and left the #222 with significant front and rear damage. With Rider requesting a tow, the safety car was called and for the third time on the night, the safety car was on circuit. 

Race control was very organised once again and the race restarted on Lap 3, but down at Turn 1, Pat Klien would lose control and spin from 15th. Jordan Malcolm made contact with the stationary 9ine5ive Simsports driver and would spin himself, but the rest of the field got through without a major incident.

Ewan Baker would lose control at Raidillon and spin to the outside wall, stopping just on the edge of the circuit. Most drivers avoided the #34 but Sebastian Varndell would make an almost identical error and spin directly into the #34, both cars sustained race-ending damage. With not even half a lap complete from the restart, we were once again under safety car.

The race restarted on Lap 5, and at the front it was now Marino Morella, leading the field. Kuznetsov and Rattray-White entered Eau Rouge side by side for 3rd, and it was the #17 who emerged with the position. Kuznetsov lost momentum, and was subsequently passed by Damon Woods and Byron Pearce down the Kemmel Straight.

Throughout the field the battles continued and on the next lap Myles Burgess relinquished P2, after serving a slow down for a track cut at Raidillon, falling to 5th. The following lap, Eskandari would escort Lockhart Brownlie wide on the entry to La Source. Hugo Allan and Ben Pedersen, only meters behind, made contact, sending Pedersen into the side of Lockhart Brownlie, with both spinning to the inside and eventually, into the alternate pit lane entry. Eskandari would get a 5-second penalty for his move on Brownlie.

On Lap 8, Jedd Van Hemert would make contact with Wakefield going for an aggressive dive at Bruxelles. At the last chicane, Morella would give up the lead and drop to 4th, making way for his pace-setting teammates. As the field entered Lap 9, it was now Rattray-White from Woods and Pearce at the front. The leading pack continued to set quick laps and Antal Sabo made his move to contend for the win, passing Morella for 4th at La Source on Lap 13. It was now a five-car breakaway with 3 seconds back to Kuznetsov in 6th.

On Lap 14, the midfield battle continued to rage on as Brown and Eskandari made contact, with the latter being escorted wide on the exit of Turn 1. Brown would be given a 5-second penalty for the incident. On the final lap of the race, Eskandari would find himself in the firing line once again, being turned on the run down to Blanchimont by the #43 of Dylan Shepherd. 

At the front, it was Eclipse, Falken, Eclipse as Zach Rattray-White came across the line to win the feature race. Damon Woods showed his pace once again to claim 2nd from 10th, while Byron Pearce finished a well-earned 3rd. Sabo and Morella came home not far behind in 4th and 5th, with Mackay, Kuznetsov, Kerr, Chapman and Widdas rounding out the Top-10.

Hayden Veld climbed 25 positions in the feature, finishing 18th from 43rd on the grid. Pat Klien ended the night losing 25 positions from his 14th place starting position.

With two rounds in the books Damon Woods continues to lead the way. With 398 points from a maximum of 410, he has shown why he was widely considered the favourite entering the season. Zach Rattray-White has also been ultra-consistent, with 378 points. Kuznetsov, Pearce and Kerr make up the Top-5.