There have been a number of driver transfers over the summer, and Adam Isaksson’s move away from 5Star Motorsport is one of the most high profile.
He led the team to a 4th place in the Fall Season and 2nd in the Spring Season of the HyperX GT Sprint Series last season, but decided to move to German team SimRC a couple of months ago.
Isaksson described last season in IVRA as “relatively satisfying”, and there were certainly positive moments. 5Star Motorsport’s clean sweep of IVRA’s first Long Beach round was certainly a highlight, however they “lacked some consistency to bring it all the way home for the title”.
On his move to SimRC, Isaksson said: “I’m hoping to develop further as a driver, and to be able to challenge some of the big names in sim racing”. SimRC will certainly provide the platform for him to do that, as already shown in his appearance at the 24H SERIES ESPORTS opener, where he scored a 4th place finish.
He will continue that series alongside some possible appearances in the IVRA Endurance Series, where SimRC will be attempting to qualify a GT3 Porsche. Isaksson also said that: “It’s a very sophisticated team with a lot of great drivers, so we have a good foundation for this season”.
Interestingly, Isaksson is also a member of Uddevalla Karting Club near the Western coast of his native Sweden. His simracing experience has developed his karting exponentially, as iRacing helps him to learn things that can be taken into real life.
Last weekend, he made his debut in the KZ2 Shifter class which is a very different challenge. He said: “Sim racing helped a lot with this, as it gives you a whole different understanding of how a car is affected by upshifts and downshifts”. Utilising front brakes and standing starts are also skills that he developed on iRacing first, and despite sounding simple, these attributes are crucial in maximising lap time, especially in racing where everyone is so well matched.
Speaking of well-matched fields, the IVRA Endurance Series is set to have its Pre-Qualifying this weekend, and Isaksson’s new team SimRC, will be attempting to qualify in GT3 Pro. As of writing, they are entering an all-German team among the massive 49 current GT3 Pro hopefuls.
Currently at the helm for Team75 Bernhard by SimRC are Christoph Weitz, Mathias Schoger, Niclas Heide and Phillip Weber to tackle the six round season. While it’s not in Isaksson’s plans to drive in this car for now, we may see him in IVRA competition later on this season.