In the Race Department RACE07 league, Dom Duhan and Greger Huttu sealed another good weekend, this time at the new version of Zandvoort.

Greger took another fantastic pole with Dom in 2nd place - remarkable due to the lack of practise they both had. With the race underway Samuel Liebaert got a fantastic start and managed to get into 2nd place ahead of Dom. Greger gradually pulled away and created a good gap thus being able to save his tyres. Dom had to settle for 3rd place after ghosting Samuel for much of the race.

Race 2 saw Dom and Greger in 6th and 8th place, after a good start Dom was blocked into T1 letting a few cars through including Greger who was on a rampage. Greger stormed through the field taking another incredible victory, Dom however rued opportunities missed and came home in 7th place after damage, again!.

Greger had this to say..."I did a good qual lap although with a clean lap I would have been able to get close to my pre-qual time.

Samuel got a great start in the first race, seemed like he was right behind my bumper before I could do anything. I got too much wheel spin but I was able to cover the inside into T1. After that I managed to pull away and take the win in race 1.

In race 2 I got a slightly better start and moved up a bit. It was tough on the opening laps to find the rhythm but once the race got going it was fun. The racing was really good and fair with Samuel, Attila, Cristian and everyone else giving just enough racing room. I found myself in a great position with many laps left and right behind Cristian who was leading. I tried to wait for the right moment to overtake and finally got a good run into T1 to make the pass.

Too bad what happened to Cristian in the end, that would have been a well deserved podium finish."

He's back !

June 8th, 2008

Building on his past season crown, Ilkka Haapala is back at VMS, this time for an endurance BMW E21 challenge...
Needless to say, his results have been nothing short of astonishing, again! With 5 races completed since the beginning, Ilkka has had 5 pole positions, 4 victories and only one 2nd place !
The races aren't a breeze either, here is what Ilkka had to say of the last race that took place at the magnificent Rouen-les-Essarts track:
"I got pole so started in 10th position.. I couldn't gain many spots at the start so I had to pass a lot of cars later on. I managed to get to 2nd place, but then one driver had a brake lockup and rear ended me, sending me to a spin. I was 15 seconds back off the leader after that. I could make up for that gap later, and led after the second pitstops and went on to win"
Superb driving that gives Ilkka the lead in the championship, scoring 125 points, with 4 races to go. Next stop for the series tuesday 10th of June at Ruapuna Raceway.
Stay tuned!

SSCA Sebring Victory!

June 7, 2008

Another SSCA race, another great drive by The Orion Race Team! Frosty St.Clair put the car on pole for the 3rd race in a row to barely beat out rival team SFH. St.Clair had an extra pit stop early that lost the team close to a full lap. But he stayed in the car to drive it back out in front for close to 4 hours. From there masterful drives from Chris Sommerfeld, and Mike Dubois put the car out of reach for 2nd place. With only 3 races left Orion hopes to bring home the gold in the championship, as the teams focus switches from race wins, to championship glory.

In the RaceDepartment RACE07 league Greger Huttu took command of the championship with a fine drive at Valencia. After qualifying second to Frenchman Matthieu Prevot, Greger managed to pile on the pressure and take the lead on the tight and twisty track.

Greger sealed the race 1 win and set the fastest lap a 1.41.1. Race 2 was going to be difficult with Greger starting in 8th place due to the reverse grid rule, this didn't stop the Finn as he stormed through the field to take victory once again!

Greger's teammate Dom was unfortunate to suffer with connection problems leading up to the event. However the last round proved to be a good one for both drivers with a 1-2 in the first race at Istanbul, Greger also took 2nd place in the second race after a storming drive. Dom once again was party to some bad fortune with damage and a bizarre lag incident which saw his race over.

Greger later had this to say about the Valencia result.

"A perfect result for me from these races even though I was a bit worried before the event. It's just a shame Dom couldn't make it.

I did a pretty good qual lap considering the pace I had. The last lap could have been enough for pole but there was some traffic ahead and I made some mistakes.

Going into the race, I wasn't sure how my setup would work. I made a good start in the first race and almost managed to overtake Mathieu in turn 1. I backed off a bit since there was no point in taking any risks at that point. I was able to follow him closely and eventually overtook him in turn 1 when he was sliding around a bit... I think there was a slight contact too. After getting the lead I was able to pull away slightly. At the end of the race the car was sliding a lot and the tyres were worn but I guess it was the same for everyone.

Race 2, again a good start. Got lucky in T1 as I was on the inside and there was some beating and banging going on on the outside. I was up to P5 I think. Sector 3 seemed to be my strongest so that helped me a lot with getting close and overtaking on the front straight, my straight line speed wasn't bad either. I saw that the leader wasn't far away so I tried to take it easy. The braking felt different somehow compared to race 1 and I was locking up quite a bit. Anyway I moved up one position at a time and eventually got the lead. The racing was fair and enjoyable so kudos to everyone."

Sirois Champion Again!

May 9, 2008

David Sirois wins yet another championship at the Quebec Racing GPL League! Kaspar Kaynakli had enough money to run with the Ferrari, but at the last minute, he decided to run the BRM, the same car Sirois drove all year. Sirois started 2nd, Kaspar started 8th. David made a mistake early in the race and felt back to 8th, but Kaspa made a mistake later in the race and fell back behind Sirois. David went on to finish 4th with Kaspar 5th and David took home the championship trophy as he has done so many times. Congrats David!!

The races are live tonight with the first race deciding the starting order for the second race, it should be interesting!

Late start, great finish!

April 25, 2008

With a late start in the GTR2 Quebec BMW Season, starting after the 4th race, David Sirois has charged up the leader board into a solid 3rd place in the championship. While it is not likey he will make up any more positions during the last race of the season next week, it is still a great finish to a season in which he got a late start in!

Sirois with a chance...

April 25, 2008

With only 1 race left to go, Sirois holds a narrow 2pt lead in the Quebec GPL Season over Kaspar Kaynakli. The last race will be tough, as David has chosen to drive the BRM all season, not a very fast car, and Kaynakli will be in the Ferrari. It all comes down to one race, winner takes all!

Orion gets stronger!

April 23, 2008

Orion is proud to welcome another new addition to the team in Chad McNeese. Chad's speed is possibly only surpassed by his race craft, and is known well for it. McNeese also really enjoys to help other drivers learn, become faster, and ultimately enjoy sim racing even more. Chad will no doubt be an awesome addition in the stable.

Well, round 7 of the ESCORS Ball Racing Cup saw the drivers head to Texas for the Stock V² 300. With driving stacking up points for the chase Volker and Andy had to consolidate their positions.

Former team mate Rich also took part and was involved with most of the action and indeed took the win after a tough fight with Volker.

Volker finished 2nd which sees him retain his championship lead and Andy finished 6th after a strong run, for which he expected another yellow flag which didn't come. Andy later had this to say...

"I was expectin another YF, so im happy with the result even though I screwed the tactics"

The drivers head off to Phoenix next for another close race.

Sirois wins another!

April 1, 2008

David Sirois continues to show amazing pace in every sim he touches. A win last week in dominating fashion once again proved his talents in The Quebec Racing League. David got the pole, set fastest lap, and led every lap of the race to go on to win in dominating form. GTR2 Race Results

Haapala wins VMS Championship!

April 1, 2008

With a double win at Monza, Ilkka Haapala has sewn up the WTCC Championship at VMS!The Flying Finn put his BMW on pole in the qualifying session, and despite having a brand new wheel and pedal set, drove to victory in race 1!

In race 2, starting from 10th, he was once again able to make his way threw the pack for yet another victory! Congrats to Ilkka on a great season at VMS! After the race, Finn had this say..

"It has been an interesting season at VMS with many great races throughout the winter. Securing the title with two wins and four starts still remaining, is a perfect result for me.

I'd like to thank all the great people at VMS for the amazingly organized championship. I will surely be racing there more in the future."

Andy Wilke and Volker Hackmann travelled to the short oval of Martinsville for a 300 lapper. With the cool conditions of 41F and wind at 10 mph, it was going to be tough.

Volker produced a fantastic pole position with 20.057 and Andy qualified 5th in s 20.233.

Despite the race having several yellows Volker and Andy managed to keep 1st and 2nd respectively. Volker took the win and cemented his lead at the top of the Ball Racing Cup standings. Andy came in a great 2nd place!

Volker had this to say..."It was all about saving the rear tires on longer runs, but with 2 to go you after the last yellow you could just dig".

Back in the day!

March 20th, 2008

As many of you already know, the GPL World Cup 2008 has started already! Our own Davy takes part in the event this year again, as a part of the French national team and so far so good! The first race saw him crossing the line in second position with a slower chassis, while getting the win at Spa for the second race.

Last week was the third race of the cup and here are a few words from the 3 time French GPL champion:
"I came into the race without having driven GPL for quiet some time, which gives you quiet a bit of troubles getting up to speed when you got used to the rFactor "feel". I didn't have the opportunity to practise before the race, and was expecting to be really slow, being given a fast chassis that I couldn't waste."
"I managed to re-learn a bit during qualifying, even if it was far from the level we had in the previous World Cup, flirting with the world records."
"The race went really well however, I didn't take risks and got the rythm back step by step without being threatened. What a relief! Mission accomplished!"

The French team lost in quarter finals in its first participation, and came vice champion last year... who knows what they've got to show this year! The fight will be tough, with many nations and talented drivers competing. We'll keep you up to date with the results!

Strong 1-2 at Oschersleben

March 20th, 2008

After a super short preparation, Ilkka struck again on the track this week in the VMS league.

Race one, turn one: Ilkka manages to turn out in front, and never looked back for yet another classy victory. Starting at the back for race two, he charged his way to the front, up to second place, at which point the leader was out of reach for the time remaining.

With a 68 point lead under his belt, it's with a certain comfort that Ilkka will get to Monza for the next race, on the 31th of this month. However motorsport is never a sure thing, stay tuned for more results !

After 4 years in the team, Richard has decided to move onto pastures new. Rich has been a great driver securing himself and the team numerous titles.

We wish him good luck in the future.

12hr Dominance!!!!

March 9, 2008

It was a bitter sweet weekend for sure for the Orion Race Team. The LMP car had issues after a possible faulty skin pack caused a DNF. This came after well over 2,000 laps of the LMP drivers put in for practice, and showing some amazing pace. Ilkka Haapala put in a great qualifying session only missing pole by 1 tenth of a second! But shortly after the first swap, the race day for the LMP was sadly over.

However the GT was able to make the day a bit brighter as it not only took pole, but the win by over 3 laps! Drivers Frosty St.Clair, Julien Dill, Chris Sommerfeld, Chris Gennarelli, and even Davy Decorps who only had 30 minutes of seat time in a GT car all did a great job of driving the GT car home for the win!


After a podium finish at the 8hrs of Nuerburg ring, The Orion Race Team now has a strong lead in Championship points! The Orion GT looks forward to more dominance at Sebring, despite the media bias towards other teams.

Andy Wilke has had a challenging time lately in the GPLLC:JRC Grand Prix legends Cup. Driving the slowest car the BRM against much faster opposition cars he has still held his own, that's to be expected from a former World GPL Champion.

This time heading off to Rouen with a stunning qualifying time of 1m55.864s, this put him in 2nd place on the grid behind the Eagle of Michael Schade. After Schade had an incident early in the race, Andy romped to victory! 8 seconds ahead of the second place driving in the Brabham

Andy travels to Monaco next for a tough race in the BRM once again.

Fantastic race weekend for Ilkka at Detroit !

March 4th, 2008

Fantastic race weekend for Ilkka Haapala at Detroit, in the VMS league.

Carrying 54kg of extra weight on the tight street circuit of Detroit didn't make things easy, but he still managed to get the pole position, and went for the win in race one !

Race two however was another story. Starting 10th on the grid, Ilkka patiently but surely made his way up to the 2nd position, putting pressure on the leading BMW's, but no opportunity came up before they crossed the finish line.

With 5 races done and 4 races remaining, Ilkka currently leads the championship with a 41 pt gap. Next stop at Oschersleben, March 16th !

Orion welcomes Davy Decorps!

February 28, 2008

The Orion Race Team is very proud to announce Davy Decorps has joined the team! Known all over Europe for his incredible pace and being a great racer, Davy is sure to bring more than just talent and wins to the team. Look for Davy to make his possible debut at SSCA's 12hrs of Daytona.

Volker Hackmann Seals Daytona 300 Win

Volker Hackmann sealed the win after a storming drive at Daytona in ESCORS top division, the Ball Racing Cup.

After qualifying 5th with team mate and Team Redline speed demon Richard Towler on pole, Volker persisted with a strong strategy which saw his race pace come through.

Richard finished in 3rd place with Andreas finishing down field after some bad luck.

Volker had this to say

"...well what decided that race were green flag stops, i had the better pit stall for them and had managed to save a bit of fuel behind richard, so my stop was a little shorter and i passed him. Furthermore i managed to not lock up the LF tire coming into the pits, so i could change right side tires under green and didn't need to do it at the final stop which allowed me stay in the lead."

David takes 2nd with BRM!

February 18, 2008

David Sirois once again impressed the crowd finishing a strong 2nd place with the BRM in the Quebec Racing League's 2nd GPL event. Sirois qualified 2nd, and finished 2nd in another impressive showing.

Daytona blues

February 18, 2008

A real heartbraker at the Daytona 500 left Ilkka Haapala finishing up 2nd. Ilkka won the qualifying race last Wednesday, and started on pole for the event held by RACER. Haapala led on the last lap until a hit from behind spun him and caused a flat rear tire. Strangely, no caution was thrown, and Ilkka was able to cross the line, but not before another car was able to pass.

Rich banged out a landmark pole today, and yes not Mlod! but his 85th pole position in ESCORS. Rich became the 2nd driver to land 2 poles at the famous Daytona circuit, the first to do it was our very own Volker Hackmann.

As Rich gears up to try and land his 4th title, he had this to say...

@dom|d - was is a good lap?
RichieTowlie - kinda
RichieTowlie - it got pole

Volker rounded out the top 3 by getting 3rd place and Andy ended up qualifying in 10th.

Haapala takes Pau!

February 4, 2008

Ilkka kept up his winning ways at VMS by taking a win in both races today. With a 55kg weight penalty, Haapala qualified an amazing 2nd. In race one he took the lead on the start and never looked back.

Race 2 was much more difficult as Haapala started in 10th after a reverse grid. He got tangled with other cars in T3 and lost a couple of spots early. But an amazing charge saw Ilkka taking yet another win at VMS!

Sirois goes old school!

January 31, 2008

David Sirois goes back in time entering the Quebec GPL Season. He started the season off with a bang qualifying 2nd and taking the win in race 1. David also took the win using the BRM, the slowest car in the sim!

Ilkka does the double!

January 29, 2008

Ilkka takes the points lead at VMS by winning both races last weekend. The next race at Pau will prove to be tough as the Finn is now carrying the maximum weight penalties.

MNRL Domination!

January 27, 2008

Shawn Purdy and the Orion Race Team dominate the MNRL PCC 07 Season in TRCS. Shawn set an unbelievable pace all season long grabbing 13 poles, 12 wins, and 19 top 5's in 20 races. Shawn even won several races with rewards weight added to his car, showing what amazing pace he was capable of!

David Sirois once again had an amazing season as well. David and his wife had a brand new baby in the middle of the season, yet David was able to keep focus despite not being able to practice as much as he would have liked. Sirois also showed championship form being the only driver to never finish outside the top 5. Frosty St.Clair was able to overcome a mid-season penalty to take 3rd place in the championship, giving Orion Race Team a 1-2-3 finish!

Orion takes pole at Nuerb!

January 14th, 2008

The Orion Race Team kicked off the season at SSCA with a strong showing in the GT Class. Frosty St.Clair put the Orion Race Team Aston on pole by over 4 tenths to 2nd place, and set 3 laps in the session that would have been on pole. The team went on to finish a very solid third with all of the drivers doing an amazing job. Strong stints by Julien Dill, Chris Sommerfeld, and Chris Gennarelli give the Orion Race Team a good start to a long season!

Unfortunately bad luck in the LMP car caused an earlier retirement after failed attempts at driver swaps. Shawn Purdy did an amazing job holding down 2nd place in the event until the failure, driving for over 4 hours. The team finally finished the day in 10th, after dropping out just passed half way.

Purdy wins another!

January 13th, 2008

Shawn Purdy continued his winning was at MNRL on Tuesday bay taking the pole in race one and the win. Shawn also qualified 2nd in race 2, and finished a strong 3rd with weight to further extend his points lead. With only 3 races left to go, Purdy has all but wrapped up the championship!

Frosty St.Clair grabbed his first win of the season in race 2, after taking the pole. David Sirois finished 2nd, after a 3rd in the first race.

A fantastic start to 2008 for the team, we are proud to announce SimGear have come onboard.

The partnership between SimGear and Team Redline gives us the ability to use the Lightning SST shifter, the shifter will give us the opportunity to stay ahead of the field

We look forward to a long and successful relationship with Simgear.

Ilkka wins race 1 at VMS

January 7th, 2008

Race 1 and 2 took place today at VMS in the WTCC Winter cup. Ilkka took P1 in qualifying sessions, and ran away with race 1. Race 2 wasn't as lucky as he had some problems after a reverse grid had him starting 11th. He made his way to 3rd by T1, but then traffic caused him to have an off-track experience. He charged back for a very solid 3rd place.

Haapala now sits 2nd in the championship behind Will Farrar. Seven drivers including Haapala will have weight penalties for races 3 and 4, which should be a tough challenge.

Orion Launches it's new Website!

January 1st, 2008

After a lot of hard work, The Orion Race Team launches a brand new race team and website for the new year. We hope to help many sim-racers by supplying them with replays, setups, and tips to make the experience more enjoyable for all.

Please have a look around and let us know what you think. And check back often, as we will constantly be adding content.

Welcome to the new Team Redline Website, the site will bring you the latest news and features on the Team as well as all of our latest setups and replays.

We have some novel features such as the downloads section which has been simplified and the TV section which shows our live videos streaming 24/7, you can also chat live on them. We will also be keeping you up-to-date on our broadcasted races.

With an exciting year ahead of us we look forward to seeing you on track!