iRacing Petit Le Mans 2025

Race Report - Jake Smith

This weekend, Harley and I took on the Petit Le Mans together, a race we’ve tackled before, so we knew exactly how tricky it could be. And with that weather forecast looming, we expected it to be even more of a challenge!

We kicked things off in qualifying, where Harley managed to put the car mid-pack with what he described as a pretty scruffy lap. Still, we knew the pace was there for the race itself, so spirits were high heading into the start.

Unfortunately, things didn’t exactly go to plan. We didn’t even make it to the start line before getting caught up in the usual GT3 chaos, suffering around five minutes of damage before we’d even settled in. Once we got that sorted in the pits, though, we decided to push on regardless. Over the next few hours, we found our rhythm, putting in consistent laps, managing traffic, and slowly climbing back up the order.

Driver swaps went smoothly, and with around three hours remaining, we were back on track for a strong finish inside the top ten. Then came the turning point. During one of my stints, I lost concentration for just a moment, and that’s all it took. I put the car into the wall and picked up another three minutes of repairs.

All that hard work clawing back to P10 gone in an instant. Still, we weren’t going to give up that easily. Harley and I kept pushing until the very end, and despite the setbacks, we brought the car home in a respectable P12. All in all, it was a great race with tough conditions, plenty of drama, but loads of fun. Sharing it with one of your good mates makes it all the more special. Can’t wait to go again next year!