Porsche Esports Supercup
Porsche’s flagship esports competition, the Porsche Esports Supercup, had a slightly different look last weekend. VRS Coanda Simsport withdrew five of its drivers, including the 2021 top two of Joshua Rogers and Mitchell deJong – though other Coanda drivers like Charlie Collins and Kevin Ellis (3rd and 4th in 2021) would continue.
That left a relatively open field and an opportunity for 2020 champion Sebastian Job, but it was still a Coanda 1-2 in qualifying at Hockenheim as Dayne Warren - 2021 GT World Challenge Asia champion - beat Collins by 0.17s, despite the top 20 only being split by half a second. Unsurprisingly Warren translated that advantage to a relatively comfortable victory in the nine-lap race, leading the front four of Collins, Diogo, Pinto and Job home in the order they started. However, that meant Warren would start eighth in the reverse-grid feature race, while eighth-place finisher Moreno Sirica would start on pole alongside Jeremy Bouteloup.
Williams driver Sirica’s lead didn’t even survive to the first corner, as he found himself on the outside of the track and had to run wide to make the corner, dropping down to tenth almost immediately. Job’s chances of another good points finish ended at the hairpin on lap two, as a nudge from Pinto – himself tapped from behind by Collins – resulted in the Red Bull driver’s Porsche facing the wrong way on the infield.
Professional Porsche Supercup driver Ayhancan Guven then hit the front, taking advantage of a bold move from Quentin Vialatte to pass team-mate Bouteloup in a move that covered most of the stadium section. Bouteloup then found himself shuffled back as Pinto, Collins, and Warren all passed at the hairpin. Warren and Pinto then tripped over each other, sending Pinto down the order, but both Collins and Warren picked up drive-through penalties for track limits to put Bouteloup and Graham Carroll onto the podium. That all allowed Guven enough space to take his first win in PESC, while Carroll managed to grab second from Bouteloup.