Reigning Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup champion Joshua Rogers as well as several other Coanda Simsport drivers have made the unexpected announcement that they’re withdrawing from the series.
Image credit: @JKRogers_92
In a move that has taken the entire esports racing world by surprise, Coanda Simsport have announced that five of their highest profile drivers will be withdrawing from the upcoming season of the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup. Mack Bakkum, Martin Krönke, Tommy Østgaard, Mitchell deJong and last but not least, 2019 and 2021 series champion Joshua K Rogers will not be participating in the series’ upcoming season. It seems as though the team will instead field other drivers from their extensive ranks in the series.
Rogers and deJong in particular were consistent contenders for wins and the championship along with 2020 series champion Sebastian Job of Red Bull Racing Esports Team. The news of their withdrawal has been quite the shock to everyone in the community.
Dear #racing community, dear #Coanda fans, dear @iRacing. We’d like to share some team news with you all. Trust us, there are easier decisions to make. @realVRS @LEGO_Group #LEGOTechnicEsports #rig #simracing @JKRogers_92 @Mack_Bak @TommyOstgaard @MitchelldeJong1 @MKroenke pic.twitter.com/lJXdxcNaWw
— Coanda Simsport (@CoandaSimsport) December 3, 2021
In a statement released on Twitter, Coanda has indicated that other drivers in the Coanda family will still participate in the season. Whether these drivers such as Charlie Collins and Jeremy Bouteloup will compete on behalf of Coanda or in some other guise such as Virtual Racing School is not yet clear.
Many of Coanda’s drivers compete in multiple championships such as the BMW SIM GT Cup, the Le Mans Virtual Series 2021, SRO GT World Challenge Esports, the eNASCAR iRacing Series, VRS GT iRacing World Championship and the iRacing Rallycross World Championship Series. Plus, according to a tweet by Mack Bakkum, there seems to be something major in store for the future of Coanda. It seems likely that the five drivers have been pulled from the PESC in order to focus on another, different and as yet unannounced racing series.
The PESC is widely renowned for having one of the most competitive fields in all of esports racing. Along with Coanda’s drivers and 2020 champion Job, the likes of Maximilian Benecke, Graham Carroll and Kevin Ellis Jr. are also participants. But with the removal of the likes of Rogers and deJong, there’s set to be a shakeup in the pecking order for the upcoming season.
Does that mean an easy run of it to the 2022 title for Job? Or can Benecke or anybody else deliver an exciting championship charge? We will all find out very soon when the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup returns early next year.
Why do you believe Coanda withdrew from PESC? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
