All the Results and Standings from PESC Round 8

Did you miss the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup action last Saturday? Or maybe you want to find out who is leading the championship now. Here are the latest PESC standings after Round 8.

Image credit: Porsche

The end of the season is fast approaching, and a Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup season wouldn’t be a complete without a trip to the virtual Nordschleife, would it? The legendary circuit played host to Round 8. As always, it didn’t fail to deliver some amazing action.

The Main Event

At this point in the season, it’s a four horse race. Redline’s Diogo Pinto leads and has held that lead for the majority of the season despite not winning since Round 2. 2020 series champion and Red Bull driver Sebastian Job is in the form of his life, eating into Pinto’s lead with four wins prior to Round 8. Then there’s also Apex’s Kevin Ellis, Jr. and VRS driver Zac Campbell who are also in contention.

In qualifying, as to be expected due to the lengthy nature of the circuit, drivers only got one flying lap. In the end, it was Pinto who grabbed his first pole since Round 2. He seemed set to translate that into his first win since that same round, however on the last lap, disaster struck.

At some point during the lap, Pinto picked up significant damage on the front end of his car. This compromised his performance and championship rival Job was all over him. Aside from a lairy moment through Mutkurve between them, along with Campbell and Alejandro Sánchez, it all came down to the back straight on the run to the line.

Pinto desperately tried to break the tow but it was no good as Job overtook the ailing Portuguese driver and won his fifth race of the season. Pinto just missed out on out-dragging Job to the line and finished half a tenth behind him.

Sprint Race Results

Moving onto the main race, Max Benecke started from pole after finishing eighth in the sprint race. At the start, it was disaster for Sebastian Job who seemed to leave the track heading through the Schumacher S. Then a few corners later, he had an incident with Williams’ Alessandro Bico after joining the Nordschleife which resulted in him parking it.

With the championship battle already flipped on its head, the race continued and it was quite the battle up at the front. Benecke lost the lead to Ellis, Jr. at the start but quickly took it back, and then set about swapping the lead around for the remainder of the race. They were tailed by Dayne Warren and Charlie Collins, with Diogo Pinto making his way up to the lead group after passing Cooper Webster.

On the last lap, it all kicked off. During the run-up to the last few corners from the very long back straight, Warren clipped the grass, spinning and collecting Ellis, Jr. in the process. The Apex driver inadvertently blocked teammate Sánchez which left the door wide open for Pinto to get through unscathed. It also allowed Charlie Collins to take his second win of the season.

Main Race Results

What does this mean for the championship? Well Pinto is riding high. He may have missed out on only his second win of the season but being Mr. Consistent is paying off. A sprint race second and main race third makes it one of the biggest points hauls from a single round this season.

Job’s retirement in race two has halted his strong run of points finishes. He’s now level with Campbell, and new Porsche Esports Carrera Cup GB champion Kevin Ellis, Jr. has jumped ahead as well. It’s still between Pinto, Ellis, Jr., Job and Campbell for the championship.

Supercup standings

Elbows out in All-Stars

eNASCAR champion Casey Kirwan was back once again. It was once again no surprise that he was initially leading with ease, but he collided with a wall which left him vulnerable to likely All-Stars champion Tyson ‘Quirkitized’ Meier.

After taking the lead, Quirk did end up leaving the track on the last lap which left the opportunity open to not only to Kirwan but also Mabix. But Meier managed to break the pair well before the back straight leaving it clear for him to take yet another win and put one hand on the All-Stars championship trophy.

Chaos in All-Stars Race 2

In the second race, Tony Kanaan started from pole after his first race came to an early end. But he wouldn’t hold it for long as Matt Malone and reigning All-Stars champion Emily ‘Emree’ Jones initially went into the lead. That wouldn’t be for long though as Malone tripped over a kerb and collecting Emree in the process.

The Aussie was on double duties, competing in the VCO Infinity 24 races in 24 hours event along with plenty of Supercup drivers. Nevertheless it was another big points loss to Quirk once again, who like in the first race was in a battle with Mabix and Kirwan after making it to the front.

On the last lap, Kirwan and Quirk made it past Mabix on the back straight and it seemed to be between them for the win. But then disaster stgruck. Heading into the braking zone, Kirwan and Quirk touched despite not seeming to actually make any contact. The incident pushed Quirk onto the grass and allowed Mabix through to win. Kirwan crossed the line and second and Quirk got third in the end.

It’s now a 59 point lead for Quirk at the top ahead of Emree. While this is not an unassailable lead, there’s an outside chance of Quirk sealing the title at the next round.

All-Star standings

To rewatch all the action, Porsche’s YouTube channel has the full broadcast for the All-Stars and Supercup races.

The next round of the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup takes place 21 May at Circuit de la Sarthe, the 24 hours of Le Mans track. You can catch the action on Porsche YouTube and Twitch channels around 6:30pm CEST. See the pros in action in the 911 GT3 Cup Type 992 car and the All-Star drivers in potentially their last time in the 911 GT3 R before deciding which car to race in the Monza finale.

Who impressed you the most in Round 8 of the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!