Last lap drama delivers new championship leader at blue riband Le Mans weekend

Porsche Esports Carrera Cup GB entered the second half of its inaugural season with a thrilling blue riband weekend at Le Mans worth double championship points. The appearance on the calendar of the legendary French racetrack paid homage to the Carrera Cup Le Mans race of 2017 – won by Porsche Carrera Cup GB double-champion Dan Cammish.

The virtual Le Mans weekend – the only Porsche Esports Carrera Cup GB round hosted at a circuit outside of the UK – featured one longer 45-minute race, presenting its own unique set of challenges to the drivers. Championship contender Kevin Ellis Jr took pole position in a fiercely competitive qualifying session dominated by slipstreaming on the long straights, and emerged to take victory in a tactical race which delivered a spectacular final lap – broadcast live online via the Porsche Twitch channel. Following the double points awarded at Le Mans, a single point now separates new championship leader Ellis Jr from 2020 Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup champion Sebastian Job with three weekends remaining on the calendar.

Qualifying
A grid of 18 professional sim racers, including guest driver 2020 Porsche Carrera Cup GB race winner Will Martin, took part in a 60-minute practice session followed by a 45-minute qualifying session to set the grid for the day's 45-minute race. The long straights of Circuit de la Sarthe resulted in several drivers making alliances with fellow competitors to employ slipstreaming tactics, each taking turns to benefit from the advantage it afforded on the long 8.5-mile lap – especially along the famous Mulsanne Straight where the cars reach their maximum speed.

Following the first set of qualifying runs Job occupied the top of the qualifying timesheet from his main championship rival, Ellis Jr, with Jamie Fluke in third. However, with 12 minutes remaining of the session, Ellis Jr went faster by 0.156secs – a time Job could not match. In the dying moments of the session Fluke lapped to within 0.068secs of Ellis Jr to relegate Job to the second row of the grid where he would start the race alongside Carroll.

Race
At the start of the race, Job immediately engaged in a fight with Fluke over the first few corners, successfully taking second position with Ellis Jr ahead with Fluke now sitting in third. In a race that would see the front runners bide their time and play a tactical game of slipstreaming and tyre conservation, Ellis Jr and Job would trade places in first and second on more than one occasion during the opening laps. A lead train of eight cars developed and soon broke away from the rest of the field, each nose-to-tail. Meanwhile, a close three-car fight for P12 developed between Fraser Williamson, Matthew Dorrington and Matt Emery.

The leaders spent the first half of the race sizing up their opposition for what promised to be a flurry of activity in the final laps. With 15 minutes of the race remaining, Fluke made it to the front of the race, first mounting a successful pass on Job for second, then overtaking Ellis Jr for the lead. But Fluke and Ellis Jr would soon trade places again, the switch leaving Ellis Jr ahead. The focus of the race then fell to a close battle for tenth between Simeon Lynch, Emery, Dorrington, Craig A Williams and Williamson. With 12-minutes of the race remaining four drivers – Williams, Dorrington Lynch and Williamson – went side-by-side, Lynch initially passing Dorrington but the pair would soon make contact and leave the circuit at Indianapolis.

With 10 minutes remaining of the timed race, Ellis Jr was leading with Fluke in second. The pair then began working together to successfully block Job's attempts to find a route by. As the leaders entered their penultimate lap the race came alive, Job going to the outside of Fluke at Mulsanne in a move that didn't quite come off. However, he then replicated the attempt in a brave pass around the outside of Fluke at Indianapolis. This left Fluke in third and under attack from Carroll in fourth, while just behind there was contact between Jon Robertson and Bart Horsten in their fight for fifth which left Robertson leaving the circuit.

As the cars entered their final lap, Job was the first to blink – grabbing the lead from Ellis Jr on the run from Tertre Rouge to L'Arche Chicane. However, Ellis Jr quickly retook the position using the slipstream on the Mulsanne Straight, leaving Job under attack from Fluke as they ran three-wide with Carroll close behind in fourth. The top four cars were stacked two-by-two in close formation as they raced away from Mulsanne – Job narrowly ahead of Fluke, Carroll a nose ahead of Ellis Jr. As they bunched together through Arnage there was contact between Fluke and Job which sent Job into a spin. Carroll had nowhere to go and collected Fluke, but maintained enough momentum to snatch the lead of the race. With just a few corners of the race remaining, Carroll led Horsten – who had benefitted from the incidents ahead of him – from Ellis Jr, who immediately took second spot. This left the order at the flag: Carroll, Ellis Jr and Horsten. Fluke recovered to cross the line in seventh, Job in eighth.

After the race the incident between Job and Fluke on the final lap resulted in a 10 second time penalty for Fluke to be added to his final race time. For the subsequent incident between Fluke and Carroll at the same corner, a 10 second time penalty was added to the race time of Carroll. With both the penalties applied, Ellis Jr was awarded victory with Horsten second and Blair Mann third. Job was now classified in sixth, Carroll eighth and Fluke ninth.

The championship returns to Donington Park on Sunday 21 February, this time taking to the National circuit for rounds 10 and 11. The race weekend reverts back to its traditional format – and points scoring structure – with a 20-minute qualifying session setting the grid for the first of the day's two 25-minute races. Following the double points awarded at the Le Mans weekend just one point now separates new championship leader Ellis Jr from team mate Job. This is the first time Job has not sat atop the driver's points standings all season, meaning there is still everything to play for with three weekends remaining on the calendar.

Championship positions:

1st Kevin Ellis Jr 199
2nd Sebastian Job 198
3rd Graham Carroll 141