Sirois Masters Motegi Oval: Half-Second Thriller Reshapes Retro Title Fight

Motegi, Japan —David Sirois survived heavy late-race traffic and an aggressive pit strategy from his rivals to capture a nail-biting victory in Round 4 of the ISRA Sim Gaming Expo Retro Series at the unique, “weeble-shaped” Mobility Resort Motegi. In a 75-minute oval showcase, Sirois held off a furious final-lap charge from Matt Wagner to win by a mere half-second, breaking a three-way championship dead heat in the process.

The event commenced with the championship battle wound tighter than a guitar string, as Richie Hearn, Sirois, and Wagner were separated by a single point. Sirois claimed the pole position to lead the 14-car field of vintage Lotus 79 machines to the green flag. However, his advantage evaporated almost instantly. Wagner, riding the wave of momentum from his New Hampshire triumph, blasted to the front on the opening lap. Behind them, the pack went chaotic as Craig Forsythe surged three-wide into second place, only to clip the white apron line, lose all momentum, and plummet down to eighth. The race stayed green despite early mechanical drama when Chris Ragan’s machine suddenly veered hard right and exploded into the retaining wall.

The mid-race belonged to Ryan O’Donoghue, who put on an absolute driving clinic. After starting dead last in 14th, O’Donoghue methodically sliced through the field to join the leaders, entering a high-speed drafting dance with Wagner as the duo repeatedly swapped the top spot. The race’s lone caution flag finally waved around Lap 29 for a terrifying, aerodynamic wreck in Turn 4, where Michael Goodman flipped upside down and landed helmet-to-helmet on top of David Dunwoody.

The caution triggered a critical strategy shift down pit road. While the general consensus among the grid was that the Lotus 79 handled better on worn tires, Sirois threw a strategic curveball by bolting on a fresh set of Goodyears, banking on raw rubber grip for the second half.

Tragedy struck for O’Donoghue during the final green-flag pit cycle when his simulator completely froze mid-stop, cruelly erasing his podium bid. From there, a game of fuel chess emerged. Series organizer Mike Rigney attempted an extreme fuel-stretch program on zero tire changes, while Wagner opted for an early undercut to maximize his lap times on a lighter fuel load. Sirois countered by staying out as long as possible, using the clean air to hammer down fast laps before executing his final stop.

When the pit cycles fully unraveled, Sirois emerged back on track with a seemingly comfortable 2.3-second cushion over Wagner. However, a thick swarm of lapped traffic over the final 10 laps turned the closing minutes into a horror movie for the leader. Wagner hungrily closed the gap to within shouting distance on the final lap, forcing Sirois to ditch his aggressive defense and carefully slice through the backmarkers. Sirois crossed the stripe just ahead of Wagner to secure his first-ever oval win in the series, while a disciplined Mike Rigney crossed in third. Goodman remarkably recovered from his airborne flip to finish eighth, one lap down, right ahead of Forsythe in ninth.