Charity events, Virtual Grand Prix, Formula 1 drivers versus YouTube stars: The past weekend was packed with all sorts of esports racing action. Let’s take a look at the latest events.
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Subaru iRX All-Star Invitational Race 4 – Lucas Oil Raceway
The US-division of car manufacturer Subaru partnered up with iRacing to host the Subaru iRX All-Star Invitational. The drivers, featuring well-known names such as Mitchell deJong or Alexander Rossi, compete for a $10,000 prize pool which they will donate to a charity of their choice.
On Friday, the fourth of a total of six rounds was completed: The Lucas Oil Raceway. Finnish Sami-Matti Trogen was able to claim the victory on the fourth circuit. He was followed by Red Bull athlete Mitchell deJong who came second with a gap of +3.766 seconds. Last on the podium was American professional stock car racing driver Parker Kligermann with a gap of +10.799.
The next virtual stop for the drivers will be the Atlanta Motor Speedway on 8 May. If you want to gain more information, see as well our article about the Subaru IRX All-Star Invitational.
IndyCar iRacing Challenge Round 6 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway
On Saturday, the six-week racing series IndyCar iRacing Challenge came to and end. The sixth and last round was the Indy 175 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Formula 1 driver Lando Norris recently had his IndyCar-debut in a previous round – and promptly won his first race. He was however not able to continue his victory run and finished 21st after being taken out intentionally by Simon Pagenaud.
The podium:
- Scott McLaughlin from Team Penske
- Conor Daly from Team Carlin(+0.282)
- Santino Ferrucci from Team Dale Coyne Racing(+0.669)
Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup Round 1 – Zandvoort
The Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup returns in 2020, featuring a $200,000 prize pool and a stacked competition of 40 drivers from 14 different nations. On Saturday, the event went into its first round at Circuit Park Zandvoort.
British racer Sebastian Job from Red Bull Esports managed to get the first victory in the Supercup. His teammate Graham Carroll came second with a +2.227 gap, Australian Joshua K. Rogers from Virtual Racing School made it to the third place with a +2.931 gap.
The event continues on 9 May with Circuit the Barcelona – Catalunya. Find more information about the Porsche Supercup and the schedule on our article.
Not The GP Series: Race for charity
The Not The GP… Series by Veloce Esports came back with a special event: In cooperation with UNICEF and Formula 1, they organised a charity race on Saturday to collect money in UNICEF’s fight against the coronavirus. The event collected nearly £10,000.
Several racing and YouTube stars participated at the charity event which took part at the Hockenheim circuit. Formula 1 drivers such as Charles Leclerc and Jean-Éric Vergne got joined by gaming influencers such as Noel Miller or Peter “Pietsmiet” Smits.
Esports racing youtuber James “TRL_Limitless” Doherty claimed the victory in the event. Leclerc made it to the second place, simracer Benjamin “Tiametmarduk” Darly to the third place.
The YouTuber and comedian Noel Miller recently got the news world’s attention when he was playing Call of Duty with a steering wheel. What started as a joke eventually led him to participate at an official Formula 1 esports racing tournament – a huge turn of events.
F1 Virtual Grand Prix
The past weekend also featured some serious competitive simracing action with the Virtual Grand Prix Interlagos Circuit. The third round of the Grand Prix series once again featured Formula 1 drivers such as Antonio Giovinazzi and Lando Norris, as well as esports racing personalities or stars from other traditional sports.
F1 Red Bull driver Alex Albon was able to claim the victory at the GP, but it was a close match. Charles Leclerc was eager to win his third GP event, after he already got to the first place in Bahrain and Shanghai – but Albon broke his victory spree. He and Leclerc had a straight up neck-to-neck race and continuously swapped positions.
Leclerc eventually faced a time penalty which enabled Albon to establish his lead. Albon finished first, British Williams driver George Russell got second and Leclerc ended on the third place.
What was your esports racing highlight of the past weekend? Tell us on social media!
Photo credit: Veloce Esports Twitter / IndyCar iRacing YouTube