Did you miss the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup on iRacing last weekend? Here are the results and standings after PESC Round 2 on Magny-Cours.
Image credit: Porsche
After an action packed first round, the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup got underway for another set of races. This time, it was on the new to iRacing Magny-Cours circuit, the venue of the French Grand Prix between 1991 and 2008.
With how competitive the series has become, no surprise that the drivers were once more getting stuck in. Here is our recap of all the action from PESC’s second round.
Campbell Continues Momentum
In qualifying, Sebastian Job initially set the fastest time but bemoaned a mistake he made in the third sector which he claims cost him a tenth of a second. This proved vital as Round 1 Main Race victor Zac Campbell went quicker by only five thousandths of a second.
Job was followed by reigning champion Diogo Pinto, his teammate Cooper Webster and Altus’ Oscar Mangan. At the start, the competitors were all line astern for the most part. However, there were some calamities. Max Benecke took a trip to the gravel trap when he got caught up between Charlie Collins and Tuomas Tähtelä. Then, Jamie Fluke lost control heading towards the hairpin thanks to a misjudgement from one of his ART teammates.
Job tried to close down on Campbell, but he bit off more than he could chew. After taking too much kerb in the last corner chicane, he incurred a slow down penalty which allowed Red Bull teammate Cooper Webster and Pinto to move up a couple of spots.
But none of them could make inroads on Campbell, who earned his second consecutive victory.
Sprint Race Result:
1. Zac Campbell (USA, VRS Coanda)
2. Cooper Webster (AUS, Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports) +0.474
3. Diogo Pinto (PRT, Team Redline) +1.242
4. Sebastian Job (GBR, Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports) +1.678
5. Oscar Mangan (IRL, Altus Esports) +2.139
Collins takes Advantage
With the top eight being inverted, Charlie Collins – who thanks to his two consecutive second place finishes in the first round was points leader in the build-up to the event – would be starting on pole. Heroic’s Tuomas Tähtelä would line up alongside him on the front row. Third on the grid was round one pole winner Jordan Caruso.
The race began with Collins managing a nice getaway. Alessandro Bico immediately took to the grass at T1, thankfully avoiding taking anyone with him. Race one winner Campbell had his Main Race hopes dashed when he was turned around at the hairpin. The American was quick to pin the blame on Yohann Harth.
After being shadowed by Tähtelä for the first few laps, Collins began breaking away and building up an advantage. Behind the Heroic driver were Job, Pinto and Caruso, all of whom were trying their hardest to disembark the Tähtelä train which was holding them up.
But, only after the halfway point could Job finally make the move and got up to second at the hairpin. Pinto immediately followed suit a few corners later, barging Tähtelä out of the way. Meanwhile, Collins was building up even more of a lead. He had all but won the race already, and it was up to the drivers behind to deliver some excitement.
On the last lap, Pinto did just that. He executed a successful divebomb on an already defensive Job, once more barging his opponent out of the way. This allowed Caruso to take advantage and slot in-between them into third. They remained that way until the chequered flag, over six seconds down the road from the dominant Charlie Collins.
Main Race Result:
1. Charlie Collins (GBR, VRS Coanda)
2. Diogo Pinto (PRT, Team Redline) +6.604
3. Jordan Caruso (AUS, Altus Esports) +7.081
4. Sebastian Job (GBR, Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports) +7.503
5. Cooper Webster (AUS, Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports) +7.847
In terms of the championship, two podium finishes on top of his sprint win in the opening round means reigning champion Pinto tops the standings, just two points ahead of Collins.
Supercup Standings:
1. Diogo Pinto (PRT, Team Redline) – 138
2. Charlie Collins (GBR, VRS Coanda) – 136
3. Jordan Caruso (AUS, Altus Esports) – 122
4. Zac Campbell (USA, VRS Coanda) – 100
5. Sebastian Job (GBR, Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports) – 87
Factory Drivers Star in All-Stars
As ever in the pre-show Porsche TAG Heuer Esports All-Stars, the typical crop of sim racing content creators were doing battle. However, they were also joined this round by two special guests. Porsche works drivers in the form of Carrera Cup Deutschland champion Laurin Heinrich and upcoming Porsche LMDh driver Laurens Vanthoor entered the frey.
Heinrich is also an avid sim racer, and was even one of pro entries in last month’s 24 hours of Le Mans Virtual, where he fell just short of the overall victory. It was no surprise to see pole go his way, with current All-Stars leader Kirwan in second and our very own Emily Jones in third.
Heinrich got the perfect getaway while Kirwan struggled off the line, allowing Jones to take advantage. At the hairpin, Jones initially ran wide allowing Kirwan back through. But immediately thereafter, the eNASCAR champion picked up a slowdown for cutting one of the fast chicanes, subsequently letting both Emree and Borja Zarzo through.
Being the dominant All-Stars force that he is, Kirwan managed to fight his way back up to second. However, he couldn’t get close to Heinrich, who claimed victory just as he had done in the 2022 All-Stars opener. This meant he was right at the back for the second race. Consequently, the front row was made up of Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan and the other Porsche factory driver Laurens Vanthoor.
At the start, Kanaan got away well, but a relatively rusty Vanthoor had a shocker, which sent him tumbling down the order. Heinrich didn’t fare much better, as he was sent into a spin by reigning All-Stars champion Quirkitized. Vanthoor’s poor race was solidified when he lost the car all on his own heading into the hairpin. It was a terrible second race for the real life Porsche racers.
Kanaan – whose next Indy 500 start will be his last – set about trying to build up a lead but he had Basic Ollie chasing him down. After having a victory cruelly ripped from his grasp in the season opener, he was eager for redemption. But, as ever, cutting through the field like a hot knife through butter was Kirwan, having made up eight places in just the first lap alone.
It wasn’t long before Kirwan was breathing Basic Ollie’s neck. He wasted no time making the move into the sweeping T9. All that stood between Kirwan and victory now was Tony Kanaan. Kirwan made light work of the Brazilian at the hairpin, with still a majority of the race to go. Clearly, Kirwan is OP and needs to be given a spot in PESC Contenders so he can qualify for the Supercup next year.
Whilst various calamities ensued behind on the last lap, resulting in Tony Kanaan spinning out along with a few others, Kirwan had an immensely healthy 12+ second gap at the front. He took another victory in the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports All-Stars. Basic Ollie was second and round one race-winner Jardier was third.
This further increases Kirwan’s lead at the top of the standings.
All-Stars Standings:
1. Casey Kirwan (USA) – 89
2. Jaroslav ‘Jardier’ Honzik (CZE) – 53
3. Oliver ‘Basic Ollie’ Furnell (GBR) – 47
4. Emily ‘Emree’ Jones (AUS) – 45
5. Tyson ‘Quirkitized’ Meier (USA) – 45
To the Beach!
Just like last season, Round 3’s track came down to a public vote. The vote was between Imola, Laguna Seca and the Long Beach street circuit, and Long Beach came out on top. This is the first time in the five years that PESC has been held that they’re racing on a street circuit, making it a new challenge for all competitors.
With how aggressive many of the drivers have been, perhaps there’s plenty of potential for the close trackside barriers to inflict some disappointment for many of the drivers if they end up clipping the wall.
All the racing will be broadcast on Porsche’s YouTube and Twitch channels starting at 7pm CET. To rewatch all the action from the Magny-Cours, the entire stream is available below.
Who impressed you the most in the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
