Mitchell deJong aims to defend his points’ lead at digital Imola
Premiere in the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup (PESC): This Saturday, Imola plays host to the global esports championship for the first time. The storied Grand Prix circuit in Italy is the venue for the third of this season’s ten rounds contested on the iRacing simulation platform. The tracks long straights offer the 40 sim racers ideal conditions for gripping slipstream duels at the wheel of their virtual Porsche 911 GT3 cars. Several of the corner combinations with such illustrious names as “Variante Tamburello”, “Tosa”, “Variante Alta” and “Rivazza” entice drivers to attempt bold outbraking manoeuvres. Like at the season-opening round in Interlagos, Brazil, the online gamers will race on the 4.909-kilometre Autodromo Internazionale in an anti-clockwise direction.
After the first two race weekends, the American Mitchell deJong (Virtual Racing School) leads the championship with 124 points. With 118 points, his teammate and 2019 champion, Joshua Rogers, follows hot on his bumper. At the two previous races, the Australian underscored his reputation as a qualifying ace by clinching pole position at both Interlagos and Barcelona. His compatriot from Down Under Dayne Warren (DirectForce Pro) currently ranks third in the series with 107 points. After a rocky start to the PESC year in Brazil, the defending champion Sebastian Job scored his first win of the season in Barcelona. Driving for the Red Bull Racing Esports squad, the British driver progressed up the points’ ladder of the notoriously-competitive to seventh place.
At Imola, sim racers pit themselves against each other in a sprint race over nine laps followed by a main event over twice the distance. Round three also includes a free practice, qualifying and warm-up session. As part of the programme, influencers from the world of esports will showcase their skills at Imola. They contest two All-Star races at the wheel of the virtual Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. The live stream begins at 6.30pm with the All-Star qualifying session. The two influencer races get the green light at 6.45pm and 7.10pm respectively.
Fans can watch the events live on Porsche’s channels YouTube (https://youtu.be/VJfhUHV7ZC0) and Twitch (www.twitch.tv/porsche). The races are also streamed on these two video platforms via iRacing. Further information on the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup can be found on the Porsche Motorsport Hub, Porsche Newsroom and the Twitter account @PorscheRaces.
The schedule (all times CET)
Saturday, 30 January
6:35 – 6:45 pm: Qualifying All-Stars
6:45 – 7:00 pm: Sprint race All-Stars
7:05 – 7:10 pm: Warm-up All-Stars
7:10 – 7:30 pm: Main race All-Stars
7:45 – 8:03 pm: Free practice PESC
8:03 – 8:15 pm: Qualifying PESC
8:15 – 8:32 pm: Sprint race PESC
8:34 – 8:44 pm: Warm-up PESC
8:45 – 9:15 pm: Main race PESC
Remaining races on the 2021 calendar
06.02.2021 – Great Britain: Silverstone Grand Prix circuit (7/14 laps)
20.02.2021 – USA: Road Atlanta (10/20 laps)
27.02.2021 – Canada: Montreal (10/20 laps)
13.03.2021 – Belgium: Spa-Francorchamps (6/12 laps)
27.03.2021 – Germany: Nürburgring Nordschleife, 24h version (2/4 laps)
10.04.2021 – France: Le Mans (3/6 laps)
24.04.2021 – Italy: Monza (7/14 laps)
In brackets: number of laps sprint / main race