HAC Racing
| |
Information
| |
| Founding date | March 7, 2020 |
|---|---|
| Country |  United States
|
| Team manager | Richard Franke
|
| Simulations | Assetto Corsa |
Links
| |
| |
Founding
HAC Racing was founded on March 7, 2020 as the racing arm of the Haas Automobile Club. The Haas Automobile Club began as a group of fans of the Haas Formula 1 team who also played Assetto Corsa. The club created various activities for its members within Assetto Corsa such as Hotlap Challenges and Cruises. The Cruises proved to be the most popular events and eventually the club would organize a weekly cruise night of some of Assetto Corsa’s large open world maps. These events continued to grow in popularity eventually drawing in members not just from the Haas fandom but from all walks of life .
During one Haas Automobile Club cruising event newly joined member Kevin Bolek had mentioned an endurance race he had participated in for the sim racing league ARCIS. Club president Richard Franke recruited 7 other drivers and the group of 8 formed HAC Racing; the racing branch of the Haas Automobile Club
2020 ARCIS Season
HAC had registered for the 2020 ARCIS 8 Hours of Donnington race entering two Porsche 911 GT3 2016’s ( the #3 HAC Enduro and #4 HAC Racing cars ). The #4 HAC Racing car finished in 11th place and the #3 HAC Enduro car finished in 14th place.
Due to changes in race format and various disagreements with ARCIS upper management this would be HAC’s only and final ARCIS appearance.
2020 VSR GTE Series
After their departure from ARCIS; HAC Racing joined German based racing league VSR for their 2020 GTE Series. HAC would rebrand HAC Enduro into HAC International ( a team made up of non-American drivers ) and HAC Racing into HAC America. Due to VSR rules only permitting two drivers per car the roster of 8 would be split into 4 cars; the #103 and #104 Porsche 911 RSR 2017’s of HAC International and the #111 and #112 Ford GT’s of HAC America.
HAC would join VSR already two rounds into their series making their debut at round 3’s 6 Hours of Mugello on May 9th 2020. Their first race would prove to be a difficult one, with the #112 and #111 of HAC America finishing 14th and 15th respectively and the #104 and #103 of HAC International finishing 16th and 19th respectively out of the 22 car field .
HAC was largely made up of inexperienced racers with little to no organized endurance racing experience. The skill of the VSR drivers was far beyond any of the competition that they faced in ARCIS. They knew that they would not be able to compete purely on speed right away but they knew that they could out work, out innovate, and out strategize the competition into good results.
The next race would be the illustrious 12 Hours of Le Mans, a non championship round. VSR would allow for up to 4 drivers per car for this special round so HAC entered the #203 HAC America Ford GT ( with special Gulf Inspired throwback livery ) and the #204 HAC International Porsche 911 RSR 2017 ( also with a special Gulf inspired throwback livery into the GTE class.
This race featured perhaps one of HAC’s most legendary performances as, with 5 hours remaining, Driver and President Richard Franke took the seat of the #203 car and completed the race on his own ( after already driving 3 hours making 8 hours of total drive time ). This gutsy performance resulted in an 12th in class and 22nd overall finish for the #203 HAC America car. The #204 car would go on to finish 15th in class and 25th overall.
The final round of the Championship would be held at the Nurburgring Nordschleife Endurance Circuit. A particularly difficult and unforgiving course; it was not one that filled the drivers of HAC with confidence. However, due to good strategy calls, it would result in HAC’s best championship finish to date with the HAC America #111 finishing 10th overall. The number #112 HAC America car would finish 17th with the #104 and #103 HAC International cars finishing 19th and 23rd respectively out of the 23 car field.
The final race of the 2020 campaign would take place at the 8 Hours of Daytona ( a non championship round ). HAC would enter the #111 Mazda DPI into the DPI class and the #204 Porsche 911 RSR 2017 into the GTE class. The #111 DPI would not be allowed to race due to a miscommunication about entry requirements with league management. The #204 would go on to have HAC’s best ever result finishing 8th in class and 24th overall
2021 VSR GTE Series
In November 2020 HAC Racing formalized their entry into the 2021 VSR GTE Series; the teams first full season campaign . The team had abandoned the HAC America and HAC International organizations instead having all drivers race under a united HAC Racing banner.
In Round 1 at Road America while holding 18th place with 44 minutes remaining; #111 driver Nico Bustos had a devastating accident crashing into Team Midlap Crisis’s Brendan Cahill in who had failed to clear the track after suffering engine failure. This crash and subsequent repairs resulted in a 24th place finish for the #111. The #112 finished 26th.
In the buildup for Round 2 at Spa-Francourchamps the team announced their additional of an additional two Ford GT’s; with Matthew Turner joining the #112; Chris Ramos moving to the #110 alongside Sebastian Markus Steibl, and Jack Stawowczyk and Diogo Costa piloting the #109.
Disaster struck early at Spa as the #203 of the often wreckless EQP x Luk Team plowed into the #112 driven by Kevin Bolek from behind causing a multi car wreck also involving the #109 driven by Jack Stawowczyk. The #111’s heroic drives by Nico Bustos and Richard Franke lead to one of the teams best results to date with a 13th place finish after qualifying 12th and leading the race at certain points.
Driver roster
Active drivers
| Name | Join date | Series |
|---|---|---|
| Richard Franke
|
03/2020 | |
| Kevin Bolek
|
03/2020 | |
| Blane Erwin
|
03/2020 | |
 Nicolàs Bustos
|
07/2020 | |
 Matthew Turner
|
02/2021 | |
| Jack Stawowczyk
|
02/2021 | |
| Mike Sipek
|
03/2021 | |
 Brandon Gobes
|
03/2021 | |
| Alex Smith
|
04/2021 | |
 Daniel Gatica
|
08/2021 |
Former Drivers
}}| Name | Join date | Series | |
|---|---|---|---|
 Brendan Cahill
|
03/2020 | ||
 J.W. Hamman
|
03/2020 | ||
 Ebin Chittilappilly
|
03/2020 | ||
| Cody Tedrick
|
03/2020 | ||
 Sean Trostem
|
03/2020 | ||
 Joel Azaria
|
03/2020 | ||
| John Cook
|
04/2020 | ||
| Kevin Pannell
|
05/2020 | ||
| Huzefa Raja
|
07/2020 | ||
 Diogo Costa
|
02/2021 | ||
 Sebastian Markus Steibl
|
02/2021 | ||
| Chris Ramos
|
12/2020 | ||
| Sam Stott
|
04/2021 | ||
 Daniel Kolar
|
04/2021 | ||
 Ture Molarin
|
04/2021 | ||
| Ture Molarin
|
04/2021 | ||
 Lukas Henke
|
08/2021 |
Team results
2020 ARCIS Series
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
2020 VSR GTE Series(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
|
