Tuesday, July 6, 2010

iRacing.com - Historic British Grand Prix


In a celebration of the history of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and in appreciation of the car that 32 years ago ushered in the ground-effect era of motorsport, more than a thousand members of iRacing.com are expected to participate in the iRacing.com Historic British Grand Prix. This group of race game enthusiasts and sim racers will compete in virtual versions of the Lotus 79, Mario Andretti's mount for his 1978 Formula One World Championship and the first car feature a fully-effective design that generates downforce through underbody aerodynamics.

When it comes to Grand Prix racing, it doesn't get any more historic than Silverstone. The modern World Championship was born on this former RAF bomber base, where Giuseppe Farina led a 1-2-3 sweep for Alfa Romeo, propelling him to the inaugural World Drivers Championship. It was also on Silverstone's storied grounds, 28 years later, that Colin Chapman's then-revolutionary Lotus 79 made its competition debut in the hands of Mario Andretti at the BRDC International Trophy non-championship event.

"Each year Silverstone pays homage to its grand prix history with at least two historic Formula One races," said Divina Galica, iRacing.com's director of partner relations. "As the eighth round in our 2010 World Tour, the iRacing.com Historic British Grand Prix allows our members from all over the world to join in paying tribute to this significant event in modern motorsport and a car that changed racing forever."

Galica noted that unlike the real-world Silverstone historic races, which because of tight scheduling at the UK's Formula One World Championship event must race on different weekends, iRacing's virtual version is scheduled for the same weekend as this year's real-world British Grand Prix.

The 68-lap race is scheduled for July 10 at 3 pm ET (19:00 GMT) and is open without additional charge to all iRacing.com members around the world. Grids for the 24-car race splits grids will be determined by qualifying time, with qualifying sessions beginning July 3 at 8 pm ET (00:00 GMT).

iRacing.com

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