The final meeting of Porsche Esports Carrera Cup GB took place on Sunday 8 May at a virtual Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit, delivering high drama and excitement in two action-packed races. Kevin Ellis Jr's 16-point advantage going into the finalé was gradually eroded by a flying Sebastian Job, who did everything in his power to take the championship fight down to the very last lap of the final race. Scotsman Ellis Jr ultimately emerged ahead to be crowned 2022 champion.

The weekend format saw drivers take part in a one-hour practice session, a 17-minute open qualifying session and two 25-minute races, all broadcast live via the Porsche Twitch channel. Job was immediately on top form, taking pole position for the first race at the pixel-perfect Kent circuit. However, Ellis Jr snatched the lead at the first corner, forcing Job to overtake his rival later in the race, establishing a winner-takes-all finalé.

The last race of the season was one of the most dramatic and nail-biting Porsche Esports Carrera Cup GB races to date. Job carved through the pack to lead the race and crossed the finish line assuming he had done enough to take championship glory. When Kevin Ellis Jr's Apex Racing Team colleague Peter Berryman set the fastest lap of the race on the last lap of the season, it stripped Job of the single point he needed to win the championship. However, with post-race penalties applied retrospectively for Job, Ellis Jr emerged ahead with a comfortable 17-point buffer.

Ellis Jr's result means he is crowned 2022 Porsche Esports Carrera Cup GB champion, netting his share of the championship's healthy £15,000 prize pot – the overall winner receives £7,500, while second and third place in the championship standings claim £5,000 and £2,500 respectively.

Qualifying
The weekend's qualifying session saw a determined Job set the pace with a time of 1:23.526, with Berryman and Ellis Jr close behind – all three covered by less than three tenths of a second. The surprise of the session was former race winner Graham Carroll, who was languishing down in P15 with just minutes remaining on the clock.

In the very closing stages of qualifying there were few improvements. Nobody could beat Job's benchmark time meaning he secured his third pole position of the season and the point awarded with it. Job would share the front row with Berryman while championship leader Ellis Jr took third. In the final minute of qualifying, Carroll improved to fourth.

Race one
When the lights went out for the penultimate race of the season, Ellis Jr immediately challenged Job, snatching the lead at the first corner. Berryman also managed to get alongside Job in the run through Paddock Hill and up to Druids, passing the championship hopeful, too. That relegated Job to third while Carroll maintained fourth. The top four of Ellis Jr, Berryman, Job and Carroll soon began pulling away from the chasing pack.

With 18 minutes remaining on the clock, Job began to close on Berryman, finally getting a good run on him out of Surtees. Job carried his overlap all the way to Westfield and onto Sheen's where he had the inside line. Side-by-side at Sheen's, the pair made contact, causing Berryman to briefly leave the circuit before rejoining – Job stayed ahead to capture second place. The fierce battle for second had allowed Ellis Jr to pull clear, increasing his lead to almost one second.

Job began to close on the leader and, with 10 minutes of the race remaining, pounced with a confident late braking move up the inside at Paddock Hill. Ellis Jr attempted to come straight back at him but Job had room to successfully defend into Druids to cement his lead. Ellis Jr then stayed close behind Job, forcing him to cover the inside line once more at Hawthorn Bend. On the next lap, Ellis Jr tried the same trick at the same spot, moving to the outside of Job while Carroll looked to pick up the pieces should it end in a clash, yet the order remained the same.

In their tight battle for seventh, Leon Penn was forced to defend from an attacking William Chadwick. There was contact between them at Surtees, forcing Penn off the track and allowing Chadwick to grab the position. Back at the front, two distinct fights developed, one between championship rivals Job and Ellis Jr for the overall lead, and another between Carroll and a recovering Berryman for the final podium place. However, in the closing stages of the race, Job pulled a gap giving him a cushion of almost a full second back to the chasing Ellis Jr.

At the flag, Job took his fifth win of the season, with Ellis Jr second and Carroll third. In securing the fastest lap of the race, Job gained the championship point awarded with it, meaning he was now just nine points adrift from Ellis Jr in the points table going into the final race of the season. Job needed to win the race and get the point for fastest lap, with Ellis Jr third or lower, to take the title. However, with any post-race penalties still pending, the points standings were not set in stone.

Race two
The grid for the second race was determined by reversing the top six finishing positions from race one. Matt Emery started on pole position, with Jamie Moone sharing the front row. Berryman lined up in third with Carroll fourth, Ellis Jr fifth and Job sixth. When the final race of the season got underway, Berryman got a great start to run three wide with Emery and Moone through Paddock Hill. Still dicing for position, the pack arrived at Druids where there was contact between Moone and Berryman, resulting in Berryman spinning before continuing. At the same time, Job (fourth) got alongside Ellis Jr (third) as the championship rivals fought, and Job ran onto the grass before continuing.

With still Emery leading from Caroll and Chadwick, all eyes turned to the positions of the championship hopefuls – Ellis Jr was running fourth with Moone behind him, Job in sixth. On the second lap, Job overtook Moone at the first corner for fifth and mounted a challenge on Ellis Jr and Chadwick ahead. As Ellis Jr attacked Chadwick for third, Job was able to capitalise. He cleverly boxed his rival in behind Chadwick and snatched third place as they approached Druids – Ellis Jr was left in fifth with a windscreen full of Chadwick.

Keen not to let Job get away from him, Ellis Jr quickly challenged Chadwick at Surtees but in doing so he clipped the rear of Chadwick's car, causing him to spin off, while Ellis Jr continued in fourth with Job ahead. Job took the fastest lap and wasted little time in passing Emery for second at Paddock Hill, narrowing his championship points deficit to Ellis Jr, who in turn drove up behind Emery but could not immediately find a route through.

After a failed attempt to pass at Hawthorn Bend, Ellis Jr finally got a good run on Emery through Druids and made his pass stick at Graham Hill. With 10 minutes of racing remaining there was now a five-second gap on the road between the championship rivals. Job approached leader Carroll – his Red Bull Racing Esports team colleague – and was shown no resistance as he took the race lead at Surtees. In doing so, Job now assumed the provisional lead of the championship, not taking into account any post-race penalties applied in retrospect.

Having pitted to repair damage accrued on the opening lap and to fit a fresh set of tyres, Berryman now exited the pits and began an attempt to snatch the fastest lap of the race from Job. If successful, this would potentially put Ellis Jr back into the championship lead. Job's fastest time of 1:23.716 was Berryman's target, and all Job could do now was hope. Job crossed the line as – in his eyes – provisional champion, followed home by Carroll and Ellis Jr. But attentions turned to Berryman as his sector times lit up on the final lap of the race.

Berryman crossed the line with a time of 1:23.697 – good enough to see him take the fastest lap of the race and the point awarded with it, taking it away from Job. This meant Ellis Jr provisionally sat just a single point ahead of Job in the standings, making him champion-elect. However, the final points standings would be decided following the application of any post-race penalties applied from both rounds after the event.

Following the weekend, for the incident between Job and Berryman on lap five of the first race, Job had five seconds added to his race time, relegating him to fourth place in the final results, handing victory to Ellis Jr and promoting Carroll and Berryman to the virtual podium. For the incident between Berryman and Moone on lap one of the second race, 10 seconds were added to the race two time of Moone.

With penalties applied, Ellis Jr would top the final standings with a comfortable 17-point advantage over Job, making the Scotsman the 2022 Porsche Esports Carrera Cup GB champion. The result brings the second year of the virtual championship for professional sim racers to a close, in what has proven to be another exciting and closely contested season of esports racing.

Championship positions:

1st - Kevin Ellis Jr - 318
2nd - Sebastian Job - 301
3rd - Graham Carroll - 291