Job extends championship lead after perfect weekend

The Snetterton 200 circuit in Norfolk hosted the fourth Porsche Esports Carrera Cup GB weekend on Sunday 31 January. The third Porsche Motorsport GB championship in is aimed at professional sim racers and sits alongside Porsche Visit Cayman Islands Sprint Challenge GB and Porsche Carrera Cup GB – the fastest single marque GT racing championship in the UK.

2020 Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup champion Sebastian Job took pole position and two wins in a perfect weekend – broadcast live online via the Porsche Twitch channel. Snetterton's shorter 200 layout delivered two close and incident-packed races that saw Job followed home on both occasions by chief championship rival Kevin Ellis Jr, though a post-race penalty for Ellis Jr relegated him to fourth in race two. As a result 29 points now separate Job and Ellis Jr at the midpoint of the championship ahead of its blue riband weekend at Le Mans where double points will be awarded.

Qualifying
A grid of 25 professional sim racers, including guest drivers 2014 Porsche Carrera Cup GB champion Josh Webster and 2020 race winner Will Martin, took part in a 60-minute practice session followed by a 20-minute qualifying session to set the grid for the first of the day's two 25-minute races. Several drivers teamed-up with a fellow competitors to employ slipstreaming tactics, taking turns to benefit from the advantage it afforded on Snetterton's long straights.

Graham Carroll, Ellis Jr and Jamie Fluke all spent time at the top of the timesheet during the qualifying session, but it was Job who replicated his form in practice to secure pole position for the first of the weekend's two races. At the flag just 0.096secs covered the top three drivers of Job, Fluke and Ellis Jr on the two-mile 200 circuit, establishing a closer than ever level of competition.

Race one
At the start of the weekend's first race Job made a clean getaway with Fluke tucked in behind. At Riches, Carroll went wide and was shuffled backwards but Fluke was the driver on the move. At Brundle, the Northern Irishman took advantage of a slide from Job to snatch the race lead leaving the order at the front as Fluke, Job and Ellis Jr. Fluke was soon defending his position from Job – the latter got alongside the leader at Bomb Hole but while Fluke kept the inside line for Murrays, Job was ahead by the time they crossed the start/finish line. Capitalising on a wrong-footed Fluke, Ellis Jr passed him for second before Josh Thompson and Carroll followed suit, leaving Fluke relegated to fifth by Montreal as a result of his attempted pass on the previous lap.

With 10-minutes remaining on the clock, third-placed driver Thompson ran wide at Montreal allowing Carroll to get a run on him down the straight and into Brundle. The order was now Job, Ellis Jr and Carroll – Job was almost one-second clear of Ellis Jr, with the gap between second and third even greater at 1.8secs.

With less than five minutes of racing remaining, the key battle developing was for third place with Carroll, Thompson and Fluke all keeping close company. Jack Sedgwick occupied the all-important sixth spot – giving him reverse grid pole position for the second of the weekend's two races. Job took the flag to secure his fifth win of the season, joined on the podium by Ellis Jr and Carroll.

Following the race Jordan Weekes was handed a 10 sec penalty to be added to his race time for an incident with Craig A Williams on lap 19. Miroslaw Nastalczyk was also given a 10 sec penalty for an incident with Thomas O’Leary on lap 22.

Race two
The grid for the second race was determined by reversing the top six finishing positions from race one. Reverse grid pole position went to Sedgwick for the second consecutive weekend. Fluke would start alongside him with Thompson and Carroll forming the second row of the grid. Championship rivals and team mates Ellis Jr and Job formed row three. Sedgwick made a good start to lead into Riches, but spun on cold tyres at Montreal which allowed Fluke to take the lead of the race from Thompson and Carroll. Job made a decisive pass on Ellis Jr on the opening lap to occupy fourth, but the biggest gains came from Kieran Harrison – quickly up nine places from his starting position in dead last.

With 20 minutes of racing remaining, Ellis Jr drove offline to the inside of Job in a move that didn't come off. This wrong-footed Ellis Jr, backing him into Bart Horsten and Jon Robertson, provoking a battle between them which saw Robertson emerge ahead of Horsten in sixth. An equally close fight for P14 further back between Nastalczyk, Liam McNinch, Harrison and Simeon Lynch resulted in Harrison leaving the circuit and making contact with the barrier at Riches in a replica of his exit from race one.

With 15-minutes left of the clock, Carroll passed Thompson for second at Montreal. Wasting no time at all, Job followed him through for third. Carroll now set after leader Fluke with Job in hot pursuit. Behind, a recovering Sedgwick was involved in an incident with Nastalczyk, the latter leaving the circuit as a result. At the front of the race Ellis Jr made a confident move on Thompson for fourth at Montreal which paid off, leaving Ellis Jr sitting behind championship rival Job in the closing stages of the race.

With less than 10-minutes of the race remaining, a charging Carroll began a pass on Fluke at Riches and completed it at Montreal to take the lead of the race. Job pounced on the opportunity to follow Carroll through and immediately mounted a successful challenge for the lead on the run to Brundle. Behind, a fight between Ellis Jr, Fluke, Thompson and Horsten resulted in Thompson diving down the inside of Horsten at Riches and collecting Fluke, leaving both Horsten and Fluke down the order. This left Job leading the race from Carroll and Ellis Jr.

In the final few laps of the race, Ellis Jr was climbing all over the rear of Carroll and under this pressure Carroll locked a wheel into Nelson, the loss of momentum resulting in contact between the pair – Carroll left the circuit which promoted Ellis Jr to second and Robertson to third. Robertson was under attack from Jamie Moone, but Moone could not find a way by leaving the podium at the flag as Job, Ellis Jr and Robertson. Job's perfect weekend of pole position and two race wins marked his fifth win of the season.

After the race Kieran Harrison was given a 10 sec penalty to be added to his race time for an incident with Ryan Parkins on the opening lap. Will Martin was given a 10 sec penalty for an incident with Weekes on lap 8. For his incident with Fluke on lap 15, Thompson was handed a 10 sec time penalty. For the contact between Ellis Jr and Carroll towards the end of the race, Ellis Jr was given a 5 sec penalty. Robertson was given a 10 sec penalty for his incident with Horsten on the penultimate lap. As a result of post-race penalties, Moone inherited second spot and Blair Mann third with Ellis Jr relegated to fourth place.

The Snetterton weekend marks the midway point of the season. Following a short break, the championship embarks on its second half with a visit to Le Mans for round nine on Sunday 14 February. The Le Mans event pays homage to the Carrera Cup Le Mans race of 2017 – won by Porsche Carrera Cup GB double-champion Dan Cammish – when 61 Porsche racers from around the world took to the Circuit de la Sarthe to compete for victory in their 911 GT3 Cup racers. The Le Mans weekend will host one longer 45-minute feature race, presenting its own unique challenge to the drivers with double championship points on offer.

Championship positions:

1st Sebastian Job 176
2nd Kevin Ellis Jr 147
3rd Graham Carroll 125