With two wins in the heat races and a podium finish in the final, the Porsche Coanda Esports Racing Team concluded the team championship of the ESL R1 sim racing series in third place. In the final corner, Joshua Rogers managed to commandeer second place at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. Charlie Collins finished eleventh in his virtual Porsche 911 GT3 R.

The ESL R1 series on the “Rennsport” platform comprises six rounds. The first three count towards the team ranking. Following the digital rendition of Daytona International Speedway and the new ‘Orchard Road’ street circuit in Singapore, the digitalised Grand Prix circuit in the Royal Park at Monza was the decisive race on the Friday evening programme.

Out of its quartet of works drivers, Porsche Coanda sent Briton Charlie Collins into the first of four quarter-final races, where he pitted himself against sim racers from eleven other teams. Of the twelve participants in each qualifying round, only the best six progress to the next round. Like Collins: he started from third place and crossed the finish line second after nine laps of the storied 5.793-kilometre circuit.

Defending champion Joshua Rogers had an even better day: the Australian secured pole position for his quarter-final and, despite a tussle in the first corner, drove to a largely uncontested lights-to-flag victory. His compatriot Dayne Warren also scored maximum points in his heat. In the final metres, he fought a gripping three-way battle with Kevin Siggy from Slovenia and Jiri Toman from the Czech Republic. Mitchell deJong, the fourth Coanda driver in the lineup, started from sixth place. The American dropped back to eighth position after contact in the first chicane. He worked his way up the order but was subsequently dealt a three-second time penalty and just missed out on advancing to the next round in seventh place.

Rogers and Collins tackled the first semi-final from second and fourth place. The Australian took the lead on the fifth lap only to lose it again on the last lap to UK racer Luke Bennett after a successful drafting move. Almost simultaneously, Collins overtook Czech racer Martin Csincsik to take third place. This meant that both Coanda drivers progressed to the final. Warren finished eleventh in his semi-final race.

Rogers and Collins had built up a strong foundation for the final with the third and sixth fastest time in qualifying. The Australian managed to clinch second place on the last lap with a spectacular overtaking manoeuvre on the outside of the high-speed Parabolica corner. His British teammate finished eleventh after an eventful race and an unfortunate time penalty.

Comments after the race
Nina Braack (D, Esports Manager at Porsche Motorsport): “The final ESL R1 team championship race before the grand finale in Riyadh came to a good end for us with first and second places in the heats, and Joshua Rogers’ second place in the final. Sure, some things could’ve gone better, all we can do now is analyse the data for the upcoming races and head confidently into the upcoming drivers’ championship.”

Joshua Rogers (AUS, Porsche Coanda Esports Racing): “After the scramble in turn 1, it was difficult to get back to the front in the finale – especially because the two Redline cars in front of me were working together. This increased the gap to Sebastian Job, the leader. But with the overtake in the final corner, I managed to move into second place. All in all, it went quite well for us in the team standings, even if not everything worked in our favour. Still, with two cars in the final, we can be proud of ourselves and feel optimistic about the Esports World Cup.”

Charlie Collins (GB, Porsche Coanda Esports Racing): “Qualifying for the final with sixth place was just good enough to get me on the grid, but the race start didn’t go my way. I had to let several cars pass, and on top of that, I picked up a time penalty. I learnt another lesson there. I’m upping the ante in the drivers’ standings, which gets underway from the fourth ESL R1 race. There’s still room for improvement.”

Monza (I), Result of the final
1. Sebastian Job, BMW M4 GT3 (UK, Team Redline)
2. Joshua Rogers, Porsche 911 GT3 R (AUS, Porsche Coanda Esports Racing)
3. Luke Bennett, BMW M4 GT3 (UK, Team Redline)
11. Charlie Collins, Porsche 911 GT3 R (GB, Porsche Coanda Esports Racing)

Team standings after three of three races
1. Team Redline, 560 points
2. Vitality R8G Esports, 399 points
3. Porsche Coanda Esports Racing, 351 points

Complete results and standings:
https://eslr1.com/fall23-2/

ESL R1 – Brief overview
• The unofficial sim racing premier class is contended on the “Rennsport” platform.
• The cars fielded are based on GT3 regulations, including the 911 GT3 R.
• Like in real racing, the Balance of Performance (BoP) ensures a level playing field.
• 12 teams consisting of 4 drivers each compete in a team and driver championship.
• The drivers qualify for the final live event through the online events.
• 500,000 US dollars in prize money up for grabs in ESL R1 and Esports World Cup.
• The Porsche Motorsport Hub offers more information about the series.