Diogo C. Pinto is the newly-crowned champion of the 2022 Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup. Der Portuguese sim racer tackled the season finale at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza as the series leader. Driving for Porsche24 Team Redline, he played a tactical masterstroke in both races on the virtual Formula 1 racetrack in northern Italy: Pinto avoided all scuffles and scored decisive points with seventh place in the sprint race and sixth in the feature event. “My most important success for far,” said Pinto after wrapping up just his second year in the one-make cup with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup on the iRacing sim racing platform.

Heading to the final races, Sebastian Job from the Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports squad was Pinto’s hottest rival in the fight for the title. At the virtual wheel of the ca. 375 kW (510 PS) Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, the Briton turned the fastest lap in qualifying for the fifth time this season. For this, he received the TAG Heuer Pole Award. Scoring third place in the seven-lap sprint race, Job made sure he was still in contention for his second title after 2020.

In the feature event, the British sim racer delivered slipstream duels with the Spaniard Alejandro Sanchez from the SDK Gaming over almost the entire 17-lap distance. The two swapped places at the front multiple times. Towards the end, Britain’s Charlie Collins (VRS) and Dayne Warren (Coanda) from Australia joined the leading pack. In their bid for victory, the four swapped paint at times, with one such incident throwing Sanchez back to 18th and dashing all hopes of victory.

Sebastian Job, on the other hand, proved invincible in the feature race and brought home his third win of the season. He crossed the finish line just ahead of Collins and the Frenchman Yohann Harth from the Apex Racing Team. Thanks to his performance, Job shunted his fellow countryman Kevin Ellis Jr. (Apex Racing Team) off second place in the overall standings but was unable to catch Diogo C. Pinto.

“That was a truly great season with Diogo C. Pinto as a worthy champion,” commented Marius Golombeck, Programme Manager Porsche Esports Racing. “It’s hard to believe that 2023 will already be the fifth season for the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup. We’ll stay with the 992-generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. In addition to the classics, there’ll be a couple of new racetracks in the qualification. We’ll announce more details about this soon.”

Tyson “Quirkitized” Meier celebrates All-Stars title with third in the final race
Content creators from the esports scene also competed in Monza at the wheel of virtual Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. After scoring two victories at Hockenheim at the start of the season, Porsche Junior Laurin Heinrich returned as a guest driver. In Monza, the German again grabbed pole position and won the sprint. In the feature event, he became the unwitting victim of an accident. He was able to continue but ultimately finished ninth. The last win of the 2022 season went to Jaroslav “Jardier” Honzik from the Czech Republic ahead of Emily “Emree” Jones from Australia and the American Tyson “Quirkitized” Meier.

Meier was crowned champion even before the final doubleheader event. With her result from the finale, Jones defended second overall. Borja Zazo and Xabier “Heikki360” Sanchez from Spain as well as Casey Kirwan from the USA round off the top five in the final standings. As a bonus, these five influencers each receive a watch from the TAG Heuer Connected Series

Next season of the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup kicks off in July
The Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup will contest its fifth season in 2023. The 15 best-placed drivers from the 2022 season automatically receive a grid spot for next year. The remaining places in the Porsche one-make cup run on the iRacing sim racing platform will be awarded in a two-stage process. The qualification begins at the end of July with the “Qualifying Series” and is open to everyone. Starting in October, the top drivers from these heats will compete in the “Contender Series” against the sim racers who finished 16th to 30th in the final standings of this year’s Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup.

Driver impressions after the race
Diogo C. Pinto (P/Porsche24 Team Redline): “That was a crazy season. I wanted to put in a consistent performance and lose as few points as possible. I managed to do that. The last race was pretty intense. Luckily, I was able to drive a tidy lap in qual-ifying. In the races, I tried to keep out of any incidents and bring home the title.”

Sebastian Job (GB/Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports): “The poor results in the first two races ruined my season. I was nineteenth in the standings at that point! After that, I had to take some huge risks, which sometimes went wrong. Winning seven out of 20 races and still only coming second feels pretty awful right now. So, next year I will fight even harder for the title. Congratulations to Diogo. Out of us all, he was simply the most consistent in scoring points.”

Tyson “Quirkitized” Meier (USA): “The Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup is one of the best series I have competed in as a streamer so far. It was a great and un-forgettable experience. I would love to do it again and hope to see more content cre-ators getting involved next year. The positive atmosphere among us is simply over-whelming.”

Jaroslav “Jardier” Honzik (CZ): “Wrapping up the season with a win is simply fan-tastic. Obviously, I didn’t quite have the performance to fight with Emily and Tyson. So, I tried to stay calm and wait – after all, the slipstream was huge. In the end, I fi-nally had Lady Luck on my side.”

PESC results
Autodromo Nazionale Monza (I), sprint race
1. Charlie Collins (GB/VRS)
2. Dayne Warren (AUS/Coanda)
3. Sebastian Job (GB/Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports)
4. Kevin Ellis Jr. (GB/Apex Racing Team)
5. Yohann Harth (F/ApexTeam)

Autodromo Nazionale Monza (I), feature race
1. Sebastian Job (GB/Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports)
2. Charlie Collins (GB/VRS)
3. Yohann Harth (F/ApexTeam)
4. Jeremy Bouteloup (F/Coanda)
5. Jamie Fluke (GB/Apex Racing Team)

Final result after 10 of 10 championship races
1. Diogo C. Pinto (P/Porsche 24 Team Redline), 554 points
2. Sebastian Job (GB/Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports), 435 points
3. Kevin Ellis Jr. (GB/Apex Racing Team), 487 points
4. Zac Campbell (USA/VRS), 469 points
5. Charlie Collins (GB/VRS), 450 points