13th Man Racing’s first test will come this Saturday at 9 p.m. at the Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle. The team will be in the BMW M4 GT3 as they tackle the 160-minute race in the iRacing IMSA Endurance Series
Belle Isle is a temporary street circuit located on the Detroit River that has been hosting races since opening in 1992. The track provides a serious challenge for drivers with its high curbs, concrete walls on either side of the track, a bumpy surface, and limited passing zones for the faster class of car. Belle Isle features 14 turns and a distance of 3.78 kilometres.
The lap starts with a pair of important corners. Turns one and two form a critical complex as you head into a long straight before turn three. These corners are fast, but if taken too fast, the wall on turn two’s exit could ruin your race. The exit of turn two is challenging for drivers. It’s important to get everything you can and get as close to the wall on exit as possible, but with the bumpy surface, a snap over understeer could signal the end of your race.
The long straight before turn three offers an ideal spot to allow LMP2 traffic to pass, but turn three’s hard braking zone offers drivers a good overtaking spot on their own class. Once again, caution on exit is needed as there is another concrete wall waiting for you if you overshoot your marks. The turn four, five, and six complexes are a series of short straights with hard braking zones, but a good turn six could be the difference between being overtaken or maintaining position. The exit of turn six leads into the back straight, another ideal place to allow LMP2 traffic to overtake.
Turn seven is another hard braking zone, but it offers a different challenge compared to turn three. Once you have made it through, the focus shifts to the rapidly approaching turn eight. It’s a hard left-hander, and being in the wrong spot on turn sevens exit could compromise you and lose you time. Turns nine and 10 are two more slow left-handers that lead into the misleading turn 11. Staying off the curbs while staying as close as possible to them through eight, nine, and 10 is key.
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Creeping around turn 11, finding the right time to punch the throttle is critical. Down the short straight, turn 12 is another deceptive one. It comes at you quickly but still requires a good dose of the brakes. Turn 13 is a high-speed right-hander that sets you up for the pit straight. Finding the lane that offers good grip and few bumps can help your lap time and getting close to the wall on exit earns you a couple of extra tenths of lap time. Turn 14 is nothing more than a flat-out kink in the road.
Expected Stints
| Stint | Driver | Expected Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicholas Seigler | 60 minutes |
| 2 | Frankie Benvenuti | 60 minutes |
| 3 | Nicholas Seigler | 40 minutes |
How to Watch
Races will be streamed on the 13th Man Sports Twitch channel.
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