Jacob Tofts has taken home the championship title of the Porsche Club Great Britain Sim Racing Championship in the third season. Thanks to a truly dominant performance all season, the 17-year-old already claimed a deserving Pro Class championship on the penultimate round at Oulton Park. Heading into the final road at the notoriously tricky, Road Atlanta, Tofts showed his class with a Race One victory and pushed his virtual Porsche 911 Cup Car all the way through the order in the reverse grid and thus rounded off a dream result. Tofts becomes only the second champion in the history books alongside his PorscheSport teammate and two-time champion Ryan Parkins.

The Porsche Club Great Britain Sim Racing Championship on the iRacing platform this season welcomed the biggest grid to date. With an ever-growing participation, the series showcased a Pro and Club class. Luke Holroyd was pushed all the way and was made to work hard by his competitors to claim the Club Class championship honours at Road Atlanta. It was Danny Jones, who like Holroyd, has competed in all three seasons, with the opportunity to take the championship. It was a big ask for Jones who needed to outscore Holroyd by 28 points in the final two races. A sensible and cautious approach by the championship leader ensured two top five finishers and ultimately the title, meanwhile the fight for second place in the championship had all the drama. Season newcomer Tom Slater, whose pace this season has gone from strength to strength, put on a superb performance to claim victory in race one and a top five finish in the reverse grid. With final round dramas, an unfortunate Jones was involved in incidents and was unable to stop Slater from a second-place championship position.

Heading to Road Atlanta, second place was also up for grabs in the Pro Class. Austin Greatorex showcased a strong performance all season and had many notable battles with the likes of Simon Povey and Gary Tall. Veteran in the PCGB Sim Racing Championship, Mark Baxter-Jones, was looking to grab the second place in the championship. Although a mammoth task, Baxter-Jones was handed a lifeline when drama between Greatorex and Christian Szurata in race one resulted in a DNF for Greatorex. Given the nature of the reverse grid, a front line position handed Greatorex an opportunity as he brought home a second place finish in both the race and the championship.

As the curtain falls on what has been a spectacular third season of the PCGB Sim Racing Championship, there have been many highs to reflect upon. The Pro class was the most competitive season the championship has seen, with close lap times and racing throughout. Fans watching on the SimRacersWorld Youtube channel were entertained all season, with extremely close racing between newcomers Simon Povey and Jacob Tofts. The whole field was so competitively tied on lap times that throughout the season there was fantastic wheel-to-wheel racing, proving that sims can be as thrilling to watch as real-world racing.

One of the most enjoyable aspects to the league, as reported by many participants, is the strong feeling of camaraderie in the virtual paddock. This ends up being reflected by respectful racing on track. Whilst Holroyd claimed the title, the whole Club field can reflect on a successful season with many drivers improving as the weeks progressed. With nine different race winners, fifteen different podium finishers and a healthy participation rate throughout. There were huge improvements from the whole field, notably so as newcomers like Gregory Butterworth, Joao Esteves and Michael Roe adapted to the tricky 911 GT3 Cup car, showcasing how a supportive league can help you develop.

Jacob Tofts: “This was a really fun season, I enjoyed the battles between myself, Simon (Povey) and Matt (Dorrington), and also enjoyed the challenge of the full reverse grid races. Most of the time they came down to luck, avoiding incidents that quite often, you had no part of, but I still found ways to improve my chances in each race and each situation. As a team we've done very well, securing both championships and a 1-2 in the Pro class. Everyone put the hours in to help each other improve and it showed. Lastly, I'd like to thank all our sponsors, Mydas Simulation, Strasse, Shark e-bikes, Bracket Racing Wear and Jonny Moore Watches, but in particular everyone involved with organising the championship, including the commentators who have done an amazing job all season.”

Gary Tall: "Its been great to be part of the community that is PCGB Sim Racing for another season and as a long time Sim Racer I particularly like seeing newcomers to the sport getting hooked and the encouragement and support that this league gives them. On a personal level I've learnt more about how to get lap times out of the iRacing 911 GT3 Cup which I'm pleased about but have unfortunately made far too many mistakes this season which I need to reflect on and address. There has been some great racing though which is incredibly enjoyable to be a part of. Thanks to the organisers for giving up their free time for what I know at times is a thankless task.

Luke Holroyd: "Wow, I can honestly say whilst the race car might be virtual, the racing is very, very real. That was one amazing season and whilst I've really enjoyed it, the pressure was huge. I took more victories than I expected, my goal was always to finish in a decent points scoring position. That's something we always strive for in the PorscheSport eSports team and it's a proven method. I have to give credit to Danny Jones, he pushed me all the way, surprisingly we didn't have many on track battles but both scored good points each round to take it to the finish. Also Tom Slater, he has improved dramatically and become arguably the quickest driver in our class. I can't thank every driver enough, it's been a superb season and we've all grown and developed hugely, to have 8 different winners in the championship says everything you need to know."

On behalf of everyone at Porsche Club Great Britain and PorscheSport, a huge congratulations to the drivers, league organisers and everyone associated with the series. The championship heads into a summer break, with Season 4 set to start later in 2021.

Photography: Gilles Gardner