Armed Forces Racing League 2025: No Flow, No Go, No Mercy.

Report by: Dean Bowditch

Circuit of the Americas is grandiose. It’s a tapestry of corners stitched together from the best of the world’s tracks — bits of Maggotts & Becketts in its mid-section, a sweeping banked final turn, long straights that tempt you to unleash everything you’ve got. It’s a 90-second adrenaline cocktail: assault your senses, test your guts, betray your mistakes.

In the real F1 world (2024), Lando Norris claimed pole in Austin with a lap of 1:32.330. That’s the benchmark whispered in garages and celebrity paddocks; the time that haunts the phantom laps of sim racers trying to bend reality.

In our league? The dreadfully excellent Time to Beat: 1:31.835, set by someone not repping the Phantoms. A monstrous time. My best Phantom lap: 1:37.493. Yes, I left room on the table. Yes, traction control was my crutch. Because sometimes, crutches are better than shards of carbon fibre in your face.

I chased the ghost through Sector One and thought I was Lightning McQueen incarnate. As I passed Turn 1, I whispered, “I’ve got this.” Then Sector Two hit me with questions. By final turn, I was a trembling mess. Missed apexes. Overcorrected. Charmed the wall. Resented the kerbs.

If I’m being honest: I left half a second out there, just being cautious. Meanwhile, others were surgically precise. The leaderboard didn’t lie.

Where was my wingman Ryan Beesla this round? He promised a time. He vanished like a ghost. Perhaps his sim rig is still weeping in the hangar. But here’s what matters: I survived. I hurt. I learned. I flirted with glory (and disaster) in equal measure. And next round, I’ll be back, perhaps slightly humbler, but no less hungry.

The stopwatch never sleeps. The field never waits. And the Phantoms? We’re not done yet.

👻 The Mighty Phantoms

 🛡️ SGT Dean Bowditch