Sim racing championship takes on Germany’s “Green Hell”
The Nordschleife of the Nürburgring is one of the most demanding racetracks in the world – both in the real and digital world. Featuring 73 corners, with inclines up to 17 percent and descents reaching 11 percent, the 20.832-kilometre-long course poses a real challenge. This coming Saturday, the some 40-strong field of sim racers contesting the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup (PESC) will tackle the legendary “Green Hell” with their digital Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. The tradition-steeped circuit in Germany’s hilly Eifel region is the venue for the eighth of ten rounds of this year’s global Esports championship run on the iRacing simulation platform. With more than 25 kilometres per lap, it’s the longest track of the season. The gaming specialists will take on the combination of the Nordschleife and the 24-hour variant of the nearby Grand Prix circuit.
About a fortnight ago, the defending champion Sebastian Job from the Red Bull Racing Esports team rejoined the fight for the title: At Spa-Francorchamps, the Briton won both the sprint and the main race. The Belgian event ran less smoothly for his main rival, Joshua Rogers (Virtual Racing School): After becoming entangled in a collision, the Australian had to settle for 26th in the sprint and 13th in the main event. Nevertheless, the 2019 champion retained his overall lead in the championship with 435 points. Sebastian Job ranks second with a 99-point gap to the leader, closely followed by Mitchell deJong from the Virtual Racing School squad (331 points) and Kevin Ellis Jr. (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Esports) with 304 points.
At the Nürburgring, the PESC sim racers pit themselves against each other in a sprint race over three laps starting at 8.15 pm (CET) on Saturday, followed by a main event over four laps from 8.45 pm. Round eight also includes a free practice, qualifying and warm-up session. Fans can watch the events live on Porsche’s channels YouTube (https://youtu.be/l9u1Pd846yI) and Twitch (www.twitch.tv/porsche).
Beforehand, renowned content creators from the world of Esports will showcase their skills in a curtain-raiser. Like at Spa-Francorchamps, they fight for victory with the virtual Porsche 911 RSR GTE race car. The live stream begins at 6.30 pm with the All-Star qualifying session. The two influencer races get the green light at 6.45 pm and 7.10 pm respectively.
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, 26 March
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
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