Sebastian Job takes first Porsche Esports Supercup win | FOS Future Lab

Jordan Caruso was again the driver to watch in qualifying as he took his second pole position of the season. The Altus Esports driver eclipsed the time set by his team-mate Simone Marceno by almost two-tenths of a second, as the rest of the championship top five struggled to set fast laps; Zac Campbell’s lap was invalidated due to a wall contact.

Caruso’s start though was poor, allowing Marceno past almost immediately but retaining second ahead of Alejandro Sanchez as the two Stormforce cars came through ahead of the Collins brothers – Bryn and Charlie – in the VRS Coanda machines.

Long Beach isn’t the easiest circuit to pass at, but it is pretty easy to crash at and so it proved at the end of lap one, heading into the hairpin for the first time.

Quentin Vialatte seemed to misjudge how slow the cars ahead were going, and took avoiding action to the inside. Alessandro Bico joined him, but the two accidentally conspired to spin championship leader Diogo Pinto. Salva Talens, himself tagged by Christopher Dambietz, ended up driving into the side of Pinto, flipping the defending champion onto his roof and into a first non-points finish in two years.

The incident blocked the road entirely, resulting in the front six escaping from a chasing pack of nine and a gap of over eight seconds to the back half of the field. With the cars spaced out, there were few further opportunities to pass, but a late-race incident at the hairpin involving Vialatte and Bico saw Bobby Zalenski move up into eighth, while Yoann Harth would slip from fourth to sixth as he caught a slow-down penalty just six corners from the flag.

That meant Marceno would claim his first ever PESC race win, with Caruso moving into the championship lead courtesy of second.

Round 3 sprint race results

1. Simone Marceno (Altus Esports) – 13 laps
2. Jordan Caruso (Altus Esports) +0.563
3. Alejandro Sanchez (Stormforce Racing ART) +0.803

Zalenski then would start the 26-lap feature race on pole position, but he too had a poor start and was passed by Job almost before reaching the start line. Charlie Collins would follow too, along with Yoann Harth, but we didn’t have long to wait for the first incident.

Approaching turn one, Bryn Collins seemed to be tapped sideways by Caruso and flew into the corner sideways. That resulted in Sanchez and polesitter Zalenski being taken out, and the younger Collins’ retirement, though Zalenski was able to get going again in tenth.

That triggered a flurry of further incidents. First Jamie Fluke was turned round in the hairpin by Gustavo Ariel, followed by Zac Campbell – on a recovery drive – being carelessly tipped into the wall at turn one by Pinto. Pinto then almost ended up sideways courtesy of his team-mate Luciano Vecchio before the latter ended up pointing the wrong way against Talens’s front bumper at the fountain.

With the mayhem going on behind, Job was easing out to a second’s advantage over Harth, Charlie Collins, and Caruso. Cooper Webster, Bico, and Marceno rounded out a top seven well clear of the rest, but having their own battle.

For a short time, Harth looked like he might close the gap, but Job was controlling the pace and the Stormfront driver soon found himself under attack from Collins and Caruso behind. Freed up, Collins began to chase down Job, but couldn’t get within striking distance as the laps ran out.

Job then would claim his first victory of 2023, while Collins has regained the championship lead from Caruso, with Job and Pinto tied for third.

Round 3 feature race results

1. Sebastian Job (Red Bull Esports) – 26 laps
2. Charlie Collins (VRS Coanda) +0.438
3. Jordan Caruso (Altus Esports) +0.821

Get set for Alpine’s official Esports championship

Alpine will stage its official Esports championship for a third season, with a track day experience in an A110 GT4 race car on offer for the winner and up to $100,000 in “Alpine Fan Tokens” awarded to both racers and viewers.

Qualifying will begin later this month in the Assetto Corsa Competizione simulator, although you will need the GT4 downloadable content pack to participate. The top 35 qualifiers in the two-week session will be entered into the three-race series, with the live online rounds taking place on 27^th April, 11^th May, and 25^th May at as-yet unannounced circuits.

Fans who watch the series on Twitch or YouTube will be eligible to win prize bundles of a combined $40,000 value of Alpine Fan Tokens, along with NFTs, through on-screen engagements courtesy of series sponsor Binance.

You’ll have another chance to be an Olympic champion in virtual motorsport this year, as the Olympic Esports Series returns for 2023 in an expanded format covering sports in nine categories.

Once again, the FIA has selected Gran Turismo to represent motorsports in the Esport series, with GT7 hosting a special qualifying event starting on 13^th April. The top eligible times worldwide will be invited to a live “Olympic Esports Week” event held at Singapore’s Suntec Centre in June.