The fight for the title in the ADAC GT Masters eSports Championship powered by EnBW mobility+ is coming to a head after the penultimate event in the virtual Silverstone.
Before the finale in Monza, Christopher Högfeldt (Virtualdrivers by TX3) managed to return to the top of the overall standings in the championship, which is endowed with prize money of 70,000 euros, with a lead of 23 points.
With second place in the sprint race and victory in the main race, he pushed Bence Bánki (Dörr Esports) into second place. Emre Cihan (Team Fordzilla) caused a surprise: the Turkish SimRacer secured his first win in the ADAC GT Masters eSports Championship in the sprint race.
With the pole position in qualifying, Emre Cihan started the sprint race with the best conditions. At the start he kept his Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO in front and in the following laps benefited from a duel between Högfeldt and third-placed Kevin Siggy (Team Redline). During the course of the race, Cihan was able to pull away and later win with a lead of 1.241 seconds. Second place, on the other hand, was hard fought: Despite several attacks from Siggy, Högfeldt remained steadfast and crossed the finish line in second place. Bánki had to settle for fourth place.
Contact with the pit wall
In the second qualifying, Högfeldt secured pole position, with Bánki lurking next to him for a chance to attack. During the first laps, Högfeldt stayed in front, while things got dramatic behind him: Williams eSports driver Keithley spun and not only blocked numerous competitors, but almost fell back to the end of the field.
Bánki meanwhile stayed close to Högfeldt and turned into the pit lane earlier for an undercut. There, however, he made a serious mistake: The Dörr eSports pilot mixed up the lines of the pit entrance and switched on the speed limiter too early. His team-mate Hasse, who was driving close behind him, tried to swerve at the last moment, but caught the rear of Bánki’s Bentley Continental GT3. After contact with the pit wall, Bánki returned to the track with a damaged vehicle.
In the meantime, Högfeldt continued to pull away from the front and crossed the finish line 4.511 seconds ahead of Siggy. Moritz Löhner (Dörr Esports) finished the race in third place. Banki secured sixth place after the pit accident.
After the success at Zandvoort, it was a difficult evening at Silverstone for Bánki. “I made a mistake entering the pits and switched on the speed limiter too early. Florian wasn’t able to brake in time because of the big difference in speed and caught me. I had hoped that my teammates would help me later in the race, but I was on my own.”
“In the first race I had to defend myself all the time”
“In the first race I had to defend myself from behind the whole time and therefore didn’t have a chance to attack Cihan,” said Högfeldt. “In the main race I was able to stay out of all the chaos and drive a clean race. I’m a little afraid of Monza because the BMW wasn’t that fast in tests there.”
Before the season finale of the ADAC GT Masters eSports Championship, Högfeldt is at the top of the table with 301 points. Second-placed Bánki is 23 points behind and will have to attack fully in the final. Keithley was able to secure the motorsport.com Fastest Lap Award with the fastest lap (1:58.644 min.), but is trailing behind in third place with 227 points.
The final of the ADAC GT Mastes eSports Championship powered by EnBW mobility+ 2022 is just a week away. On April 19, 2022, the 32 SimRacers will complete the last two races of the season in virtual Monza. One thing is already certain: after three titles in a row, Löhner will be replaced as champion of the ADAC GT Masters eSports Championship.
Calendar:
2022-02-15: Brands Hatch GP
03/01/2022: Watkins Glen
03/15/2022: Nürburgring Sprint
03/29/2022: Zandvoort
04/12/2022: Silverstone