Esports News | Sebastian Job dominates ESL R1

Spring Season champion Marcell Csincsik (R8G) got his title defence underway in perfect fashion, beating James Baldwin (Mercedes) in a hard-fought race, with Jakub Brzezinski (Williams) in third. Along with Job, other knockout winners were the Gamers8 champion Maximilian Benecke (Mouz) and previous round winner Marko Pejic (Mercedes). 

Team Redline, which won the team championship last season, had a nightmare knockout stage with only Kevin Siggy advancing to the semi-finals as the 48 drivers were reduced to 24. While Erhan Jajovski (R8G) took pole position for the first semi-final, McCormack won the race in a comfortable fashion after taking the lead on the second lap. Csincsik had a poor qualifying but ended up on the podium after a tense battle with Benecke concluded with a last-lap collision at the Variante della Roggia and a penalty for Benecke. That also promoted Brzezinski into the top six.

The second semi-final was more straightforward as old rivals Joshua Rogers (Coanda) and Job traded places at the front – with Job eventually taking the lead heading into the Rettifilo chicane on the last lap and holding on for victory. Nikodem Wisniewski (Williams) sneaked through a chaotic battle for the final qualifying spot, just behind his team-mate Jack Keithley, resulting in Williams becoming the first team to get all four cars into a final in ESL R1’s history.

An error from Rogers in qualifying put the Australian down in 12th on the grid, which was headed by Job and Dayne Warren (Coanda), with Csincsik and McCormack on the second row. Job initially made a clean getaway as Warren, Cinscsik, McCormack, and Brzezinski fought among themselves, but it soon became a top-five battle as they gradually broke away from Jajovski behind. Indeed the drivers seemed to take turns going for Job into the Rettifilo chicane, but no matter what the situation was going into the turn, Job would hold firm and pull out a small advantage each lap.

Eventually, Warren would lose his place in the queue, muscled out of position by first Csincsik and then McCormack, and tussling with Brzezinski allowed the front three to pull clear. While there was still no way past Job, a final attempt at Parabolica from Csincsik just allowed McCormack to sneak up the inside and take second.

Having successfully qualified all four cars for the final, Williams takes the lead in the fledgling championship with a seven-point advantage over R8G. Gamers8 champion team Coanda is a distant third, 57 points further back after Warren was classified in 12th following post-race penalties.

ESL R1 Fall Season Round 1 Results

1. Sebastian Job (G2 Esports – BMW M4 GT3) – 9 laps
2. Daire McCormack (Williams Esports – Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo) +0.186
3. Marcell Csincsik (R8G Esports – Audi R8 GT3 Evo) +0.220

Jyeed Hutchinson took his first win of the year in the final round of the GT World Challenge America, as newly crowned champion Igor Rodrigues missed out on a perfect season in a mixed-conditions race at Indianapolis.

For the first time this year, Rodrigues didn’t take pole position, but his team-mate Fidel Moreira – second in the championship standings – did, ahead of the Silver class Leandro Werle. Vinny Oliveira and Renan Negrini made up the second row, with Chris Severt and Rodrigues next and Hutchinson only seventh. It was Hutchinson who made the best of the running in the early wet conditions, moving up to fourth as Rodrigues – who also picked up a five-second penalty for an incident in qualifying – slid off, but ultimately the race came down to the pit stop window.

Silver class driver Cody Sherratt was the first to stop for slicks as the track dried, jumping past Negrini who was among a gaggle of cars who stopped on the next couple of laps. Hutchinson left it a little later but still before the front trio and undercut them all to hit the front. Worse for Moreira was the fact Werle also beat him to the end of pit lane, putting a car between him and his first win of the year.

That left Hutchinson unchallenged at the front as he’d coast to victory by just over two seconds from Werle. Moreira would cross the line third overall but second in class to secure second place in the championship ahead of Hutchinson, with Oliveira the third Pro car home.

Sherratt’s second-in-class finish, fifth overall, was enough to secure the Silver class title, as his nearest competitor, Merick Leveque, could only secure a fifth-place class finish in 12th.

GT World Challenge America Round 5 Results

1. Jyeed Hutchinson (Lamborghini – Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo) – 36 laps
2. Leandro Werle (Arnage [Silver] – Aston Martin Vantage GT3) +2.021
3. Fidel Moreira (Williams – Porsche 911 GT3 R) +2.969

Chris Severt will have a chance to join the Lamborghini squad for 2024, after winning the Real Race Super Trofeo Esports final for the Americas region. 

Severt managed a solid second in a dry-to-wet race at Indianapolis that saw Jyeed Hutchinson dominate after electing not to pit. However, Hutchinson found himself in the wars in the second race, collected in two separate accidents by Fidel Moreira and Marcelo Berticelli Rodio – both earning penalties. That left Severt clear to win the race and the title.

Lamborghini Real Race Super Trofeo Esports NALA Final Results

1. Chris Severt (Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo) – 19 laps
2. Fidel Moreira – Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo) +10.573
3. Jonathan Clifford (Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo) +15.402