New look esports wtcr is go

Bence Bánki has been confirmed as the winner of the 2023 Esports WTCR Championship on RaceRoom Racing Experience.It follows his success during the season-deciding race night at the Slovakia Ring last week (March 22) when a win in Race 1 and fourth position in Race 2 ensured the prestigious title and a share of the €10,000 prize purse.Driving for Dörr Esports, Bánki’s advantage over runner-up Gianmarco Fiduci (Veloce Esports) was an impressive 48 points following a season when Hungary-born Slovakian Bánki scored four race victories. Ratification of the Slovakia Ring results also confirms Fiduci’s team-mate Alessandro Ottaviani in third place in the final standings, just two points behind Fiduci. Florian Hasse (Dörr Esports) and Petr Pliska (Team Fordzilla) were classified fourth and fifth respectively.The Slovakia Ring event, selected as the venue of the season finale through a community vote, brought the curtain down on the five-race Esports WTCR series.Bánki also won the Esports WTCR Shoot Out, a three-event qualification series last November.

Bence Bánki is showing no sign of slowing down in his bid to win the Esports WTCR title on RaceRoom Racing Experience – and a big share of the €10,000 prize pool – following his third win of the campaign at Suzuka.The Dörr Esports driver beat Gianmarco Fiduci (Veloce Esports) and his team-mate Florian Hasse to top honours in the first of two action-packed races at the legendary Japanese venue, which hosted two real-life WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup events in 2018 and 2019.Bánki’s Suzuka success means he has an advantage of 45 points at the top of the provisional standings ahead of the season finale at the Slovakia Ring, a made-for-Esports WTCR track and selected as the venue of the deciding race night via a community vote.Although he was born in Hungary, Bánki lives in Slovakia and flies the Slovakia flag on the side of his Dörr Esports’ Audi RS 3 LMS, making the Esports WTCR closing rounds on March 22 even more significant.Following Bánki’s success in Race 1, Axel Vermeylen took the chequered flag in Race 2, to become the sixth different on-the-road winner of the Esports WTCR season. However, decisions taken by the stewards post-event led to Dávid Nagy being declared the winner for M1RA Esports ahead of Adam Pinczes (Arnage Competition) and Team Fordzilla’s Juan Manuel Gomez.Bánki takes lights to flag success in opening Suzuka encounterHaving taken two maximum scores already this season, Bence Bánki lined up at the front for Suzuka’s opening race, his third pole position in four attempts. And the Audi driver made full use of his first-place start to lead the pack through the sweeping first right-hander with Gianmarco Fiduci and Florian Hasse in tow. Further back, Martin Barna attempted to pass Axel Vermeylen for eighth, but the CUPRA drive resisted Audi-powered Barna’s advances.Into the hairpin for the first time, a determined Alessandro Ottaviani tried to pass Juan Manuel Gomez but there was contact and Gomez was bumped into his fellow Team Fordzilla driver Fiduci. Gomez’s loss of momentum allowed Ottaviani to overtake on the exit only for Gomez to fight back and reverse the place change. Elsewhere, Barna succeeded in passing Vermeylen at the Casio Triangle.Ottaviani was handed a helping hand in his bid to pass Gomez when the Argentine ran wide at the First Turn, only for Gomez to rebuff the move with a forceful block. But Ottaviani was soon finally ahead with an opportunistic down-the-inside pass for sixth place at the ‘S’ Curves.Ottaviani made more progress when he demoted Petr Pliska (Team Fordzilla) at the Casio Triangle but fourth would be as far as Ottaviani would rise up the order. Despite his best efforts, Fiduci was unable to pass Bánki on the run to the line as Hasse came home a distant third.Having fended off Adam Pinczes at the Casio Triangle, a mistake by Vermeylen at the First Turn let Pinczes through for ninth, although by finishing 10th, Vermeylen secured the reverse-grid Race 2 pole for the second event running. Meanwhile, Barna headed home his M1RA Esports team-mate Dávid Nagy in seventh.Having qualified a strong fourth Max Pfeifer (Dörr Esports) retired with a mechanical failure. Vermeylen holds firm but top points go to Nagy in Race 2While his lead from the reverse-grid pole in Macau lasted for two corners, Axel Vermeylen held firm at Suzuka, leading from start to finish for Virtualdrivers By TX3. With his work cut out initially to keep his pursuers at bay, there were moments in the race when battles behind allowed Vermeylen some breathing space. But after being hit by Dávid Nagy at the Casino Triangle, Vermeylen faced another determined onslaught from Nagy’s M1RA Esports’ team-mate Martin Barna – who’d got ahead of Nagy after the squabble at the chicane – on the final lap of the race. Having closed up to Vermeylen, Barna shot out of his slipstream to the left side, but there was contact on the approach to the First Turn, Barna was forced onto the grass and although he rejoined the track, he understeered wide on the exit of the corner. That allowed Nagy, Adam Pinczes, Juan Manuel Gomez, Petr Pliska and Alessandro Ottaviani to stream ahead, leaving Barna to finish a distant seventh followed by Gianmarco Fiduci, Bence Bánki and Florian Hasse. Fiduci had overtaken Hasse at the Casio Triangle and Bánki at Spoon Curve following a nudge.What’s next? The Esports WTCR Championship concludes at Slovakia Ring from 19h30 CET on Wednesday March 22 after the challenging track was chosen via a community vote. For more on Esports WTCR, including the provisional standings, go to: https://www.wtcr-esports.com

Juan Manuel Gomez ended his long wait for Esports WTCR glory with a sublime overtake to win the second of two races on Macau’s ultra-demanding Circuito da Guia.The Argentine has been a regular on the RaceRoom Racing Experience platform since April 2017 but had never previously taken an Esports WTCC or Esports WTCR victory.But all that changed in Race 2 when the Team Fordzilla driver made his dramatic final-lap move for top spot count. Latched onto the tail of Martin Barna’s Audi through the flat-out Mandarin turn, Gomez jinked to the left on the approach to the tight Lisboa corner before diving to the right heading into the braking zone and squeezing into the lead. However, with Gomez’s exit speed compromised, Barna was handed a gilt-edged opportunity to try to re-pass heading towards the San Francisco right-hander. But Gomez stood firm in his identical Audi and edged clear on the final ascent of Hospital Hill as Barna almost hit the tyre barrier on the exit of San Francisco.And it would go from bad to worse for Barna (M1RA Esports). With his momentum lost, Alessandro Ottaviani and Florian Hasse were both able to muscle their way ahead through before Maternity Bend, leaving Barna to come home in a disconsolate fourth place.Team Fordzilla’s Petr Pliska came out on top of a close battle for victory in Race 1 as he demoted championship pacesetter Bence Bánki (Dörr Esports) for first place on the penultimate lap with a robust move entering San Francisco, having failed to succeed around the outside at Lisboa. Gianmarco Fiduci took advantage of Bánki’s slight delay entering Hospital Hill to take second with Bánki dropping down to third.Bad times for Baldi as Pliska denies Bánki in Race 1Bence Bánki made a perfect start from pole position with Petr Pliska and Gianmarco Fiduci in hot pursuit followed by Dávid Nagy and Juan Manuel Gomez.The top three of Bánki, Pliska and Fiduci were soon embroiled in a three-way fight for the lead. Bánki resisted lap after lap but contact exiting San Francisco corner on lap 10 proved to be the turning point as Pliska got ahead followed by Fiduci.Florian Hasse had made a bold move on Martin Barna stick at Lisboa earlier in the race while Alessandro Ottaviani also took advantage to demote Barna. After battling Adam Pinczes for eighth, Barna got the better of Hasse for seventh on lap four. But Hasse (Dörr Esports) was back ahead at San Francisco on lap five with Barna dropping back to 11th following contact at Maternity as Grega Hudjek spun at the Melco Hairpin and retired. Barna recovered to ninth after passing Axel Vermeylen at Lisboa for P10 with Nagy finishing fourth ahead of Gomez, Ottaviani, Hasse and Pinczes.Multiple Esports WTCR winner Gergo Baldi was in sixth position on the approach to the high-speed Mandarin kink for the first time of asking but was unable to avoid sliding wide into the barriers. The heavy contact sent his Audi into the pack and triggered a multi-car collision, which took out or delayed several runners.James Montgomery, Sebastian Reeh and Mariusz Zabdyr were among the drivers delayed during a clash at the Melco Hairpin on lap eight. Gomez leaves it late in Race 2 with dramatic glory overtakeWith P10 in Race 1 securing pole position on the partially-reversed Race 2 grid, Axel Vermeylen lined up at the front and didn’t falter at the getaway as a multi-car collision erupted exiting the first corner, Reservoir Bend. But Vermeylen’s tenure of first place wouldn’t last for long when he got out of shape through Mandarin and nudged the barriers and dropped back.Martin Barna led despite contact from Adam Pinczes exiting Lisboa, which allowed Juan Manuel Gomez to get ahead of Pinczes for second as Bence Bánki moved into sixth.Florian Hasse snatched third from Pinczes at Lisboa on lap two and it was Alessandro Ottaviani’s turn to do the same to Pinczes at the same corner one lap later. Gianmarco Fiduci overtook Dávid Nagy at Lisboa on lap four with Petr Pliska hitting a momentum-lost Nagy, leading to delays for both drivers as Gomez began to put the pressure on leader Barna.  Ottaviani almost spun at Lisboa during his battle with Hasse with Fiduci taking sixth from Pinczes at Lisboa on lap eighth.With Hasse running wide and hitting the barriers at Lisboa on lap nine, Ottaviani moved into third as the focus switched to the lead battle.Latched onto the tail of Barna’s Audi through Mandarin, Gomez jinked to the left on the approach to Lisboa before diving to the right heading into the braking zone and squeezing into the lead. However, with Gomez’s exit speed compromised, Barna was handed a gilt-edged opportunity to try to re-pass heading towards San Francisco. But Gomez stood firm in his identical Audi and edged clear on the final ascent of Hospital Hill as Barna almost hit the tyre barrier on the exit of San Francisco.And it would go from bad to worse for Barna. With his momentum lost, Ottaviani and Hasse were both able to muscle their way ahead through before Maternity Bend, leaving Barna to come home in a disconsolate fourth place as Bánki, Fiduci, Pinczes, Nagy, Pliska and Max Pfeifer completed the top 10. Meanwhile, Baldi made up for his Race 1 crash by setting the fastest lap of all in Race 2.What’s next? The fourth Esports WTCR race night takes place at Suzuka from 19h30 CET on Wednesday March 8. For more on Esports WTCR, including the provisional standings, go to: https://www.wtcr-esports.com

Bence Bánki boosted his hopes of winning the Esports WTCR title from RaceRoom Racing Experience courtesy of two strong race results at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.Driving for Dörr Esports, Hungary-born Slovakian Bánki took the Race 1 victory ahead of team-mate Max Pfeifer before he completed the Race 2 podium on the back of another strong showing by the Audi driver.But while Bánki was able to celebrate his impressive Race 1 performance, Adam Pinczes could reflect on a fine final-corner move that was just enough to beat Martin Barna to first place in Race 2 after the Hungarians had circulated in formation for much of the 10-lap counter during their lead battle.Meanwhile, there was a first current Esports WTCR Championship podium for Italy’s Alessandro Ottaviani, who placed third in Race 1 ahead of multiple champion Gergo Baldi from Hungary.It was a tough race night for Jack Keithley and Petr Pliska, who shared the wins in the Esports WTCR season-opening event on the Nürburgring Nordschleife last month. Retrospective driving penalties not only demoted Keithley (Williams Esports) down the order in the first race of round one and hand victory to Bánki in the process, the Briton was also prevented from taking part in Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps qualifying and was forced to start at the back of the pack in the first Spa race. Having posted the fastest leaderboard time with a 2m29.501s the frustration was obvious. Nevertheless, he charged through from P32 to P13 in Race 1 before taking P12 in Race 2 after twice being penalised.After finishing sixth in Race 1, Team Fordzilla driver Pliska crashed out of Race 2 following contact with Baldi at the Bus Stop chicane, with Baldi being dropped down the finishing order as a result of a penalty.Pfeifer tries hard but can’t keep team-mate Bánki at bay in opening contestMax Pfeifer made his intentions known by claiming pole with a 2m29.639s best lap for Dörr Esports. But Bence Bánki made the better getaway from the front row of the grid and capitalised on his inside line at La Source to snatch the lead from his team-mate as Gergo Baldi and Alessandro Ottaviani battled for third.Pfeifer briefly got back ahead of Bánki exiting Les Combes on the opening lap and Baldi also attempted to gain a position, clashing with Ottaviani on the entry to the Bruxelles right-hander where Bánki managed to repass Pfeifer for top spot. Elsewhere, Petr Pliska and Dávid Nagy were in a fight for sixth, while Ottaviani briefly edged into second at Pfeifer’s expense exiting the Bus Stop chicane but couldn’t make the move count as contact sent Juan Manuel Gomez into a spin.With Pfeifer and Ottaviani battling for second, Bánki seized his opportunity to make a break out front, although with Ottaviani under pressure from Baldi on lap two, it wasn’t long before Pfeifer was back in the chase for first position as Gianmarco Fiduci joined the battle for third in fifth place.Pfeiffer continued to put Bánki under big pressure and squeezed ahead at the Bus Stop chicane on lap nine, only for Bánki to respond and retake the lead at La Source starting the last lap. Pfeifer gave his all at the Bus Stop for the final time of asking, having set the fastest lap during his race-long charge, but Bánki held on for victory. Ottaviani took third ahead of Baldi with Fiducci a distant fifth ahead of Pliska.  Axel Vermeylen finished seventh followed by Adam Pinczes in eighth and Martin Barna ninth following contact with Kodi Nikola Latkovski at the Bus Stop on lap two.James Montgomery completed the top 10 to secure pole position for the partially-reverse-grid second race. The British driver had been eighth but slipped to P10 at Pouhon on lap three before a mid-race battle with Latkovski developed. Meanwhile a slow-down penalty restricted Nagy to P11 as Latkovski settled for P12.Pinczes leaves it late to beat Barna to top spot in Race 2James Montgomery took full advantage of his pole position to lead Martin Barna and Adam Pinczes into La Source. Petr Pliska demoted Axel Vermeylen for fourth at Bruxelles while Gianmarco Fiduci and Gergo Baldi battled for position as Dávid Nagy dropped back during a frantic opening lap.Barna drew alongside Montgomery at La Source on lap two with Pinczes and Pliska running side by side down the hill to Eau Rouge. Although Montgomery remained in front through Raidillion and onto the Kemmel straight, he couldn’t fend off his Hungarian rival for much longer and the lead was Barna’s before the leading pack reached Les Combes with Pinczes following through into second. With Montgomery and Pliska scrapping for third, Baldi was able to close up and demoted Pliska for fourth on the charge to Blanchimont. But just as Baldi was sizing up Montgomery for third at the Bus Stop, contact between him and Pliska sent the latter skating off track. Baldi’s exit was compromised and Fiduci seized his opportunity to move into fourth behind Montgomery with Baldi fifth and Bence Bánki up to sixth from 10th on the grid.Montgomery’s tenure of third lasted until lap four when Fiduci got by heading to the Bus Stop chicane and the Jersey driver would fall to sixth behind Bánki and Max Pfeifer on lap five. A slow-down penalty would leave Baldi outside the top 15.Not content with fourth, Bánki now started to close on Fiduci for third with Pfeifer in tow to create a big battle for the final podium spot on lap six. The charging Bánki snatched third from Fiduci at Les Combes on lap seven but an attempt by Pfeifer to demote Fiduci failed. Fiduci fought back, however, and, by lap eighth, was putting the pressure on third-placed Bánki. He made a move for the position at La Source on lap nine but Bánki resisted. Pfeifer then tried to get ahead of Fiduci at the Bus Stop at the end of the lap. Despite contact, Fiduci stayed in front until La Source on the final lap as Pfeifer got ahead. But Fiduci wasn’t done and pulled off a spectacular move for fourth on the inside through Eau Rouge only for Pfeifer to reverse the positions at Malmedy. However, when the German ran wide exiting the right-hander, further contact followed approaching Bruxelles where Fiduci reclaimed fourth.Out front, the battle was similarly intense between Barna and Pinczes. Pinczes made his move entering the Bus Stop on the final lap. Although he appeared to run too deep, the Arnage Competition driver was able to recover and beat Barna (M1RA Esports) for victory in a sensational drag race to the line.Bánki took a fine third ahead of Pfeifer, who collided with Fiduci at the final turn. That left Alessandro Ottaviani to claim fifth ahead of Florian Hasse. Fiduci took the flag in seventh but a penalty dropped him to ninth behind Vermeylen and Montgomery with Pavel Mukonin P10.What’s next? Macau’s legendary Circuito da Guia street track hosts the third Esports WTCR race night from 19h30 CET on Wednesday February 22. For more on Esports WTCR, including the provisional standings, go to: https://www.wtcr-esports.com    

Jack Keithley and Petr Pliska were the winners on a thrilling night of Esports WTCR action from RaceRoom Racing Experience on the Nürburgring Nordschleife.Briton Keithley (Williams Esports) made his bold final-lap overtake count to win the opening Esports WTCR race on the toughest track of them all before Team Fordzilla’s Pliska triumphed in the reverse-grid second race.Dörr Esports’ Hungary-born Slovakian Bence Bánki, who topped the points after the pre-season Shoot Out series and qualified on pole position, finished second in Race 1 followed by Hungarian multiple Esports WTCR champion Gergo Baldi (M1RA Esports). Juan Manuel Gomez flew the Argentine flag in fourth after starting second, with Gomez’s fellow Team Fordzilla driver Gianmarco Fiduci in fifth for Italy.Starting third on the reverse-grid Race 2, Italian Pliska moved to the top of the order at the end of the two-kilometre-long Döttinger Höhe straight on lap one and was never headed, pulling out a winning margin of 2.74s over Germany’s Florian Hasse (Dörr Esports). Fiduci completed the Race 2 podium after contact with Hasse’s team-mate Tim Jarschel at the final Hohenrain corner. Jarschel recovered spectacularly to keep the closing Baldi at bay for fourth. Keithley beats pole-sitter Bánki to Race 1 victoryBánki was the driver to beat at the start of Race 1 with Gomez, Keithley – racing a CUPRA as WTCR legend Rob Huff – Baldi and Fiduci in hot pursuit as Hasse and Jarschel made contact in their battle for ninth. Dávid Nagy (M1RA Esports) was soon putting Fiduci under pressure for fifth while Gomez made his victory intentions known with an attempted pass on Bánki at the end of the Döttinger Höhe on lap one.It wasn’t long before a five-car battle for the lead had materialised, and Gomez appeared to have the better of Bánki as he latched onto the rear bumper of the first-placed Audi. But before Gomez had the chance to duck out of Bánki’s slipstream and pass, Keithley charged into second and almost completed a double overtake with a move on Bánki.Keithley did get ahead of Bánki with a fine pass at Turn 1 with Gomez trying to go from third to first on the exit of the corner. Bánki briefly got back ahead of Keithley, and after several touches and half-passes, Keithley, who set the fastest race lap, snatched a lead he wouldn’t relinquish as the charging field swapped the Grand Prix circuit for the Nordschleife with Gomez losing out to Baldi in a similarly forceful exchange.Hungary’s Martin Barna charged through from the lower reaches of the top 20 to finish P14 with Jarschel grabbing the reverse-grid pole for Race 2 by finishing P10, one place behind Hasse.Charging Pliska takes Race 2 gloryJarschel capitalised on starting at the front to lead through the opening sequence of corners, but Hasse was ahead by the chicane. And there was more woe for Jarschel when a mistake on the Nordschleife let in Pliska for second, albeit after light contact between the pair. Second then became first for CUPRA-driving Pliska when he edged ahead of Hasse through Tiergarten before the end of the first lap.Nagy was next to demote Jarschel with a pass for third, but he couldn’t make it stick as a mistake allowed Fiduci to snatch fourth with Nagy dropping to fifth, while Jarschel held on to third. This squabbling for position allowed fastest lap-setter Pliska and Hasse to pull clear, while Baldi demoted Nagy for fifth.Baldi almost snatched fourth from Jarschel after the German lost out to Fiduci’s final-corner move but he settled for fifth with Pliska winning ahead of Hasse and Fiduci. Keithley finished P10 behind Barna, Gomez slipped to P12, while Bánki took important points in seventh behind Nagy. Replay the Nürburgring Nordschleife action HERE.What’s next? Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is next up on the Esports WTCR schedule from 19h30 CET on Wednesday February 8. For more on Esports WTCR, including the provisional standings, go to: https://www.wtcr-esports.com

The Honda-powered ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport star has a strong pedigree in simracing and uses virtual competition to keep race fit.Speaking following confirmation of a three-event Esports WTCR Shoot-Out ahead of five-round championship, the Argentine ace said: “For me racing can be anywhere, on the race track or on the simulator behind the computer. But the fact that you are racing challenges you in the same way, the mental focus, the intensity, the pressure of competition, whatever you need to do to be fast and to be consistent it’s the same approach for racing on the track or in simracing. It’s great and I really like it.“Guerrieri continued: “It’s good for anyone who wants to compete and have the feeling of competition. Esports WTCR is a great way to do it at a high level and I really enjoyed the championship we did with the simracers in 2020 because the challenge was really high to try to be close to them.“Click HERE for the more details on the new-look Esports WTCR and the €10,000 prize fund that’s up for grabs.

Part of a long-term and successful alliance with RaceRoom Racing Experience, Esports WTCR is the perfect platform for simracers to experience doorhandle-to-doorhandle FIA World Touring Car action and also get the opportunity to race against some of the real-life WTCR stars who compete online from time to time to keep in competitive shape.SHOOT-OUT FORMAT SETThe return of Esports WTCR begins with a three-round Shoot-out consisting of the usual time attack/qualifying phases and multiplayer races. Racers can select the liveries of Audi, CUPRA, Honda and Hyundai cars competing in the 2022 WTCR − FIA World Touring Car Cup and compete on three tracks, Nürburgring GP Strecke, Hungaroring and MotorLand Aragón, as follows:Round 1: Nürburgring GP Strecke (new to Esports WTCR) Leaderboard opens: October 14 Leaderboard closes: November 13 Live stream race day: November 16Round 2: Hungaroring Leaderboard opens: October 14 Leaderboard closes: November 20 Live stream race day: November 23Round 3: MotorLand Aragón Leaderboard opens: October 14 Leaderboard closes: November 27 Live stream race day: November 30The top 20 teams after three rounds choose their own liveries, but incorporating existing sponsor and partner placement, for the main season kicking off in January 2023. The deadline for livery design submissions is January 3.FIVE ALIVE FOR EXCITING CHALLENGE The five-event main season, featuring a maximum of 32 drivers on the grid for each race, including the 20 permanent esports drivers who qualified through the Shoot-out, will take place as follows:Round 1: Nürburgring Nordschleife Leaderboard opens: January 9 Leaderboard closes: January 22 Live stream race day: January 25Round 2: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (new to Esports WTCR) Leaderboard opens: January 22 Leaderboard closes: February 5 Live stream race day: February 8Round 3: Circuito da Guia, Macau Leaderboard opens: February 5 Leaderboard closes: February 19 Live stream race day: February 22Round 4: Suzuka Circuit Leaderboard opens: February 19 Leaderboard closes: March 5 Live stream race day: March 8Round 5: Track to be selected by Esports WTCR competitors via an online vote during Round 2 and 3 of the 2023 main season On January 25 the vote will open for all Esports WTCR competitors. The vote will close on raceday of Round 3 and announced during the Round 3 livestream. Leaderboard opens: March 5 Leaderboard closes: March 19 Live stream race day: March 22All event racedays will be streamed live on RaceRoom’s and WTCR’s social media channels. A €10,000 prize pool is provided by long-term WTCR series partner KW Suspensions.Jean-Baptiste Ley, WTCR Director, Discovery Sports Events, said:“As we wait with great anticipation for the season-deciding WTCR races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in November, the new-look Esports WTCR will create plenty of excitement and interest within the online racing community − which continues to expand around the globe − and among WTCR fans and motorsport fans as a whole. We’ve seen just how high the level of simracers is and, through Norbert Michelisz, the 2019 King of WTCR, we know what’s possible when drivers who have excelled racing virtually get the opportunity to race for real. We thank our partners at RaceRoom Racing Experience for all their work and expertise behind the scenes and we can’t wait for the online battles to begin.“Holger Stangl, Head of RaceRoom Events and Esports, said: “Touring cars have a long tradition in RaceRoom. I believe through the long-term relationship with the WTCR, RaceRoom is actually able to offer the best possible realism of virtual touring car racing out there. I am very excited about the upcoming new official Esports WTCR season. Together we have chosen a great selection of tracks and participants can look forward to a sporting format that will be new to the Esports WTCR. We hope to bring more continuity for drivers and spectators through a partially fixed starting grid, giving the top esports teams great team exposure and still giving everyone the chance to join in and reshuffle the championship at any stage. So I can only encourage everyone to join in and become part of this thrilling Esports WTCR season ahead of us.“Esteban Guerrieri, WTCR race winner for Honda-powered ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport and prolific online racer, said: “For me racing can be anywhere, on the race track or on the simulator behind the computer. But the fact that you are racing challenges you in the same way, the mental focus, the intensity, the pressure of competition, whatever you need to do to be fast and to be consistent it’s the same approach for racing on the track or in simracing. It’s great and I really like it. It’s good for anyone who wants to compete and have the feeling of competition. Esports WTCR is a great way to do it at a high level and I really enjoyed the championship we did with the simracers in 2020 because the challenge was really high to try to be close to them.“

Bence Bánki has been confirmed as the winner of the 2023 Esports WTCR Championship on RaceRoom Racing Experience.It follows his success during the season-deciding race night at the Slovakia Ring last week (March 22) when a win in Race 1 and fourth position in Race 2 ensured the prestigious title and a share of the €10,000 prize purse.Driving for Dörr Esports, Bánki’s advantage over runner-up Gianmarco Fiduci (Veloce Esports) was an impressive 48 points following a season when Hungary-born Slovakian Bánki scored four race victories. Ratification of the Slovakia Ring results also confirms Fiduci’s team-mate Alessandro Ottaviani in third place in the final standings, just two points behind Fiduci. Florian Hasse (Dörr Esports) and Petr Pliska (Team Fordzilla) were classified fourth and fifth respectively.The Slovakia Ring event, selected as the venue of the season finale through a community vote, brought the curtain down on the five-race Esports WTCR series.Bánki also won the Esports WTCR Shoot Out, a three-event qualification series last November.

Bence Bánki is showing no sign of slowing down in his bid to win the Esports WTCR title on RaceRoom Racing Experience – and a big share of the €10,000 prize pool – following his third win of the campaign at Suzuka.The Dörr Esports driver beat Gianmarco Fiduci (Veloce Esports) and his team-mate Florian Hasse to top honours in the first of two action-packed races at the legendary Japanese venue, which hosted two real-life WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup events in 2018 and 2019.Bánki’s Suzuka success means he has an advantage of 45 points at the top of the provisional standings ahead of the season finale at the Slovakia Ring, a made-for-Esports WTCR track and selected as the venue of the deciding race night via a community vote.Although he was born in Hungary, Bánki lives in Slovakia and flies the Slovakia flag on the side of his Dörr Esports’ Audi RS 3 LMS, making the Esports WTCR closing rounds on March 22 even more significant.Following Bánki’s success in Race 1, Axel Vermeylen took the chequered flag in Race 2, to become the sixth different on-the-road winner of the Esports WTCR season. However, decisions taken by the stewards post-event led to Dávid Nagy being declared the winner for M1RA Esports ahead of Adam Pinczes (Arnage Competition) and Team Fordzilla’s Juan Manuel Gomez.Bánki takes lights to flag success in opening Suzuka encounterHaving taken two maximum scores already this season, Bence Bánki lined up at the front for Suzuka’s opening race, his third pole position in four attempts. And the Audi driver made full use of his first-place start to lead the pack through the sweeping first right-hander with Gianmarco Fiduci and Florian Hasse in tow. Further back, Martin Barna attempted to pass Axel Vermeylen for eighth, but the CUPRA drive resisted Audi-powered Barna’s advances.Into the hairpin for the first time, a determined Alessandro Ottaviani tried to pass Juan Manuel Gomez but there was contact and Gomez was bumped into his fellow Team Fordzilla driver Fiduci. Gomez’s loss of momentum allowed Ottaviani to overtake on the exit only for Gomez to fight back and reverse the place change. Elsewhere, Barna succeeded in passing Vermeylen at the Casio Triangle.Ottaviani was handed a helping hand in his bid to pass Gomez when the Argentine ran wide at the First Turn, only for Gomez to rebuff the move with a forceful block. But Ottaviani was soon finally ahead with an opportunistic down-the-inside pass for sixth place at the ‘S’ Curves.Ottaviani made more progress when he demoted Petr Pliska (Team Fordzilla) at the Casio Triangle but fourth would be as far as Ottaviani would rise up the order. Despite his best efforts, Fiduci was unable to pass Bánki on the run to the line as Hasse came home a distant third.Having fended off Adam Pinczes at the Casio Triangle, a mistake by Vermeylen at the First Turn let Pinczes through for ninth, although by finishing 10th, Vermeylen secured the reverse-grid Race 2 pole for the second event running. Meanwhile, Barna headed home his M1RA Esports team-mate Dávid Nagy in seventh.Having qualified a strong fourth Max Pfeifer (Dörr Esports) retired with a mechanical failure. Vermeylen holds firm but top points go to Nagy in Race 2While his lead from the reverse-grid pole in Macau lasted for two corners, Axel Vermeylen held firm at Suzuka, leading from start to finish for Virtualdrivers By TX3. With his work cut out initially to keep his pursuers at bay, there were moments in the race when battles behind allowed Vermeylen some breathing space. But after being hit by Dávid Nagy at the Casino Triangle, Vermeylen faced another determined onslaught from Nagy’s M1RA Esports’ team-mate Martin Barna – who’d got ahead of Nagy after the squabble at the chicane – on the final lap of the race. Having closed up to Vermeylen, Barna shot out of his slipstream to the left side, but there was contact on the approach to the First Turn, Barna was forced onto the grass and although he rejoined the track, he understeered wide on the exit of the corner. That allowed Nagy, Adam Pinczes, Juan Manuel Gomez, Petr Pliska and Alessandro Ottaviani to stream ahead, leaving Barna to finish a distant seventh followed by Gianmarco Fiduci, Bence Bánki and Florian Hasse. Fiduci had overtaken Hasse at the Casio Triangle and Bánki at Spoon Curve following a nudge.What’s next? The Esports WTCR Championship concludes at Slovakia Ring from 19h30 CET on Wednesday March 22 after the challenging track was chosen via a community vote. For more on Esports WTCR, including the provisional standings, go to: https://www.wtcr-esports.com

Juan Manuel Gomez ended his long wait for Esports WTCR glory with a sublime overtake to win the second of two races on Macau’s ultra-demanding Circuito da Guia.The Argentine has been a regular on the RaceRoom Racing Experience platform since April 2017 but had never previously taken an Esports WTCC or Esports WTCR victory.But all that changed in Race 2 when the Team Fordzilla driver made his dramatic final-lap move for top spot count. Latched onto the tail of Martin Barna’s Audi through the flat-out Mandarin turn, Gomez jinked to the left on the approach to the tight Lisboa corner before diving to the right heading into the braking zone and squeezing into the lead. However, with Gomez’s exit speed compromised, Barna was handed a gilt-edged opportunity to try to re-pass heading towards the San Francisco right-hander. But Gomez stood firm in his identical Audi and edged clear on the final ascent of Hospital Hill as Barna almost hit the tyre barrier on the exit of San Francisco.And it would go from bad to worse for Barna (M1RA Esports). With his momentum lost, Alessandro Ottaviani and Florian Hasse were both able to muscle their way ahead through before Maternity Bend, leaving Barna to come home in a disconsolate fourth place.Team Fordzilla’s Petr Pliska came out on top of a close battle for victory in Race 1 as he demoted championship pacesetter Bence Bánki (Dörr Esports) for first place on the penultimate lap with a robust move entering San Francisco, having failed to succeed around the outside at Lisboa. Gianmarco Fiduci took advantage of Bánki’s slight delay entering Hospital Hill to take second with Bánki dropping down to third.Bad times for Baldi as Pliska denies Bánki in Race 1Bence Bánki made a perfect start from pole position with Petr Pliska and Gianmarco Fiduci in hot pursuit followed by Dávid Nagy and Juan Manuel Gomez.The top three of Bánki, Pliska and Fiduci were soon embroiled in a three-way fight for the lead. Bánki resisted lap after lap but contact exiting San Francisco corner on lap 10 proved to be the turning point as Pliska got ahead followed by Fiduci.Florian Hasse had made a bold move on Martin Barna stick at Lisboa earlier in the race while Alessandro Ottaviani also took advantage to demote Barna. After battling Adam Pinczes for eighth, Barna got the better of Hasse for seventh on lap four. But Hasse (Dörr Esports) was back ahead at San Francisco on lap five with Barna dropping back to 11th following contact at Maternity as Grega Hudjek spun at the Melco Hairpin and retired. Barna recovered to ninth after passing Axel Vermeylen at Lisboa for P10 with Nagy finishing fourth ahead of Gomez, Ottaviani, Hasse and Pinczes.Multiple Esports WTCR winner Gergo Baldi was in sixth position on the approach to the high-speed Mandarin kink for the first time of asking but was unable to avoid sliding wide into the barriers. The heavy contact sent his Audi into the pack and triggered a multi-car collision, which took out or delayed several runners.James Montgomery, Sebastian Reeh and Mariusz Zabdyr were among the drivers delayed during a clash at the Melco Hairpin on lap eight. Gomez leaves it late in Race 2 with dramatic glory overtakeWith P10 in Race 1 securing pole position on the partially-reversed Race 2 grid, Axel Vermeylen lined up at the front and didn’t falter at the getaway as a multi-car collision erupted exiting the first corner, Reservoir Bend. But Vermeylen’s tenure of first place wouldn’t last for long when he got out of shape through Mandarin and nudged the barriers and dropped back.Martin Barna led despite contact from Adam Pinczes exiting Lisboa, which allowed Juan Manuel Gomez to get ahead of Pinczes for second as Bence Bánki moved into sixth.Florian Hasse snatched third from Pinczes at Lisboa on lap two and it was Alessandro Ottaviani’s turn to do the same to Pinczes at the same corner one lap later. Gianmarco Fiduci overtook Dávid Nagy at Lisboa on lap four with Petr Pliska hitting a momentum-lost Nagy, leading to delays for both drivers as Gomez began to put the pressure on leader Barna.  Ottaviani almost spun at Lisboa during his battle with Hasse with Fiduci taking sixth from Pinczes at Lisboa on lap eighth.With Hasse running wide and hitting the barriers at Lisboa on lap nine, Ottaviani moved into third as the focus switched to the lead battle.Latched onto the tail of Barna’s Audi through Mandarin, Gomez jinked to the left on the approach to Lisboa before diving to the right heading into the braking zone and squeezing into the lead. However, with Gomez’s exit speed compromised, Barna was handed a gilt-edged opportunity to try to re-pass heading towards San Francisco. But Gomez stood firm in his identical Audi and edged clear on the final ascent of Hospital Hill as Barna almost hit the tyre barrier on the exit of San Francisco.And it would go from bad to worse for Barna. With his momentum lost, Ottaviani and Hasse were both able to muscle their way ahead through before Maternity Bend, leaving Barna to come home in a disconsolate fourth place as Bánki, Fiduci, Pinczes, Nagy, Pliska and Max Pfeifer completed the top 10. Meanwhile, Baldi made up for his Race 1 crash by setting the fastest lap of all in Race 2.What’s next? The fourth Esports WTCR race night takes place at Suzuka from 19h30 CET on Wednesday March 8. For more on Esports WTCR, including the provisional standings, go to: https://www.wtcr-esports.com

Bence Bánki boosted his hopes of winning the Esports WTCR title from RaceRoom Racing Experience courtesy of two strong race results at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.Driving for Dörr Esports, Hungary-born Slovakian Bánki took the Race 1 victory ahead of team-mate Max Pfeifer before he completed the Race 2 podium on the back of another strong showing by the Audi driver.But while Bánki was able to celebrate his impressive Race 1 performance, Adam Pinczes could reflect on a fine final-corner move that was just enough to beat Martin Barna to first place in Race 2 after the Hungarians had circulated in formation for much of the 10-lap counter during their lead battle.Meanwhile, there was a first current Esports WTCR Championship podium for Italy’s Alessandro Ottaviani, who placed third in Race 1 ahead of multiple champion Gergo Baldi from Hungary.It was a tough race night for Jack Keithley and Petr Pliska, who shared the wins in the Esports WTCR season-opening event on the Nürburgring Nordschleife last month. Retrospective driving penalties not only demoted Keithley (Williams Esports) down the order in the first race of round one and hand victory to Bánki in the process, the Briton was also prevented from taking part in Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps qualifying and was forced to start at the back of the pack in the first Spa race. Having posted the fastest leaderboard time with a 2m29.501s the frustration was obvious. Nevertheless, he charged through from P32 to P13 in Race 1 before taking P12 in Race 2 after twice being penalised.After finishing sixth in Race 1, Team Fordzilla driver Pliska crashed out of Race 2 following contact with Baldi at the Bus Stop chicane, with Baldi being dropped down the finishing order as a result of a penalty.Pfeifer tries hard but can’t keep team-mate Bánki at bay in opening contestMax Pfeifer made his intentions known by claiming pole with a 2m29.639s best lap for Dörr Esports. But Bence Bánki made the better getaway from the front row of the grid and capitalised on his inside line at La Source to snatch the lead from his team-mate as Gergo Baldi and Alessandro Ottaviani battled for third.Pfeifer briefly got back ahead of Bánki exiting Les Combes on the opening lap and Baldi also attempted to gain a position, clashing with Ottaviani on the entry to the Bruxelles right-hander where Bánki managed to repass Pfeifer for top spot. Elsewhere, Petr Pliska and Dávid Nagy were in a fight for sixth, while Ottaviani briefly edged into second at Pfeifer’s expense exiting the Bus Stop chicane but couldn’t make the move count as contact sent Juan Manuel Gomez into a spin.With Pfeifer and Ottaviani battling for second, Bánki seized his opportunity to make a break out front, although with Ottaviani under pressure from Baldi on lap two, it wasn’t long before Pfeifer was back in the chase for first position as Gianmarco Fiduci joined the battle for third in fifth place.Pfeiffer continued to put Bánki under big pressure and squeezed ahead at the Bus Stop chicane on lap nine, only for Bánki to respond and retake the lead at La Source starting the last lap. Pfeifer gave his all at the Bus Stop for the final time of asking, having set the fastest lap during his race-long charge, but Bánki held on for victory. Ottaviani took third ahead of Baldi with Fiducci a distant fifth ahead of Pliska.  Axel Vermeylen finished seventh followed by Adam Pinczes in eighth and Martin Barna ninth following contact with Kodi Nikola Latkovski at the Bus Stop on lap two.James Montgomery completed the top 10 to secure pole position for the partially-reverse-grid second race. The British driver had been eighth but slipped to P10 at Pouhon on lap three before a mid-race battle with Latkovski developed. Meanwhile a slow-down penalty restricted Nagy to P11 as Latkovski settled for P12.Pinczes leaves it late to beat Barna to top spot in Race 2James Montgomery took full advantage of his pole position to lead Martin Barna and Adam Pinczes into La Source. Petr Pliska demoted Axel Vermeylen for fourth at Bruxelles while Gianmarco Fiduci and Gergo Baldi battled for position as Dávid Nagy dropped back during a frantic opening lap.Barna drew alongside Montgomery at La Source on lap two with Pinczes and Pliska running side by side down the hill to Eau Rouge. Although Montgomery remained in front through Raidillion and onto the Kemmel straight, he couldn’t fend off his Hungarian rival for much longer and the lead was Barna’s before the leading pack reached Les Combes with Pinczes following through into second. With Montgomery and Pliska scrapping for third, Baldi was able to close up and demoted Pliska for fourth on the charge to Blanchimont. But just as Baldi was sizing up Montgomery for third at the Bus Stop, contact between him and Pliska sent the latter skating off track. Baldi’s exit was compromised and Fiduci seized his opportunity to move into fourth behind Montgomery with Baldi fifth and Bence Bánki up to sixth from 10th on the grid.Montgomery’s tenure of third lasted until lap four when Fiduci got by heading to the Bus Stop chicane and the Jersey driver would fall to sixth behind Bánki and Max Pfeifer on lap five. A slow-down penalty would leave Baldi outside the top 15.Not content with fourth, Bánki now started to close on Fiduci for third with Pfeifer in tow to create a big battle for the final podium spot on lap six. The charging Bánki snatched third from Fiduci at Les Combes on lap seven but an attempt by Pfeifer to demote Fiduci failed. Fiduci fought back, however, and, by lap eighth, was putting the pressure on third-placed Bánki. He made a move for the position at La Source on lap nine but Bánki resisted. Pfeifer then tried to get ahead of Fiduci at the Bus Stop at the end of the lap. Despite contact, Fiduci stayed in front until La Source on the final lap as Pfeifer got ahead. But Fiduci wasn’t done and pulled off a spectacular move for fourth on the inside through Eau Rouge only for Pfeifer to reverse the positions at Malmedy. However, when the German ran wide exiting the right-hander, further contact followed approaching Bruxelles where Fiduci reclaimed fourth.Out front, the battle was similarly intense between Barna and Pinczes. Pinczes made his move entering the Bus Stop on the final lap. Although he appeared to run too deep, the Arnage Competition driver was able to recover and beat Barna (M1RA Esports) for victory in a sensational drag race to the line.Bánki took a fine third ahead of Pfeifer, who collided with Fiduci at the final turn. That left Alessandro Ottaviani to claim fifth ahead of Florian Hasse. Fiduci took the flag in seventh but a penalty dropped him to ninth behind Vermeylen and Montgomery with Pavel Mukonin P10.What’s next? Macau’s legendary Circuito da Guia street track hosts the third Esports WTCR race night from 19h30 CET on Wednesday February 22. For more on Esports WTCR, including the provisional standings, go to: https://www.wtcr-esports.com    

Jack Keithley and Petr Pliska were the winners on a thrilling night of Esports WTCR action from RaceRoom Racing Experience on the Nürburgring Nordschleife.Briton Keithley (Williams Esports) made his bold final-lap overtake count to win the opening Esports WTCR race on the toughest track of them all before Team Fordzilla’s Pliska triumphed in the reverse-grid second race.Dörr Esports’ Hungary-born Slovakian Bence Bánki, who topped the points after the pre-season Shoot Out series and qualified on pole position, finished second in Race 1 followed by Hungarian multiple Esports WTCR champion Gergo Baldi (M1RA Esports). Juan Manuel Gomez flew the Argentine flag in fourth after starting second, with Gomez’s fellow Team Fordzilla driver Gianmarco Fiduci in fifth for Italy.Starting third on the reverse-grid Race 2, Italian Pliska moved to the top of the order at the end of the two-kilometre-long Döttinger Höhe straight on lap one and was never headed, pulling out a winning margin of 2.74s over Germany’s Florian Hasse (Dörr Esports). Fiduci completed the Race 2 podium after contact with Hasse’s team-mate Tim Jarschel at the final Hohenrain corner. Jarschel recovered spectacularly to keep the closing Baldi at bay for fourth. Keithley beats pole-sitter Bánki to Race 1 victoryBánki was the driver to beat at the start of Race 1 with Gomez, Keithley – racing a CUPRA as WTCR legend Rob Huff – Baldi and Fiduci in hot pursuit as Hasse and Jarschel made contact in their battle for ninth. Dávid Nagy (M1RA Esports) was soon putting Fiduci under pressure for fifth while Gomez made his victory intentions known with an attempted pass on Bánki at the end of the Döttinger Höhe on lap one.It wasn’t long before a five-car battle for the lead had materialised, and Gomez appeared to have the better of Bánki as he latched onto the rear bumper of the first-placed Audi. But before Gomez had the chance to duck out of Bánki’s slipstream and pass, Keithley charged into second and almost completed a double overtake with a move on Bánki.Keithley did get ahead of Bánki with a fine pass at Turn 1 with Gomez trying to go from third to first on the exit of the corner. Bánki briefly got back ahead of Keithley, and after several touches and half-passes, Keithley, who set the fastest race lap, snatched a lead he wouldn’t relinquish as the charging field swapped the Grand Prix circuit for the Nordschleife with Gomez losing out to Baldi in a similarly forceful exchange.Hungary’s Martin Barna charged through from the lower reaches of the top 20 to finish P14 with Jarschel grabbing the reverse-grid pole for Race 2 by finishing P10, one place behind Hasse.Charging Pliska takes Race 2 gloryJarschel capitalised on starting at the front to lead through the opening sequence of corners, but Hasse was ahead by the chicane. And there was more woe for Jarschel when a mistake on the Nordschleife let in Pliska for second, albeit after light contact between the pair. Second then became first for CUPRA-driving Pliska when he edged ahead of Hasse through Tiergarten before the end of the first lap.Nagy was next to demote Jarschel with a pass for third, but he couldn’t make it stick as a mistake allowed Fiduci to snatch fourth with Nagy dropping to fifth, while Jarschel held on to third. This squabbling for position allowed fastest lap-setter Pliska and Hasse to pull clear, while Baldi demoted Nagy for fifth.Baldi almost snatched fourth from Jarschel after the German lost out to Fiduci’s final-corner move but he settled for fifth with Pliska winning ahead of Hasse and Fiduci. Keithley finished P10 behind Barna, Gomez slipped to P12, while Bánki took important points in seventh behind Nagy. Replay the Nürburgring Nordschleife action HERE.What’s next? Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is next up on the Esports WTCR schedule from 19h30 CET on Wednesday February 8. For more on Esports WTCR, including the provisional standings, go to: https://www.wtcr-esports.com

The Honda-powered ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport star has a strong pedigree in simracing and uses virtual competition to keep race fit.Speaking following confirmation of a three-event Esports WTCR Shoot-Out ahead of five-round championship, the Argentine ace said: “For me racing can be anywhere, on the race track or on the simulator behind the computer. But the fact that you are racing challenges you in the same way, the mental focus, the intensity, the pressure of competition, whatever you need to do to be fast and to be consistent it’s the same approach for racing on the track or in simracing. It’s great and I really like it.“Guerrieri continued: “It’s good for anyone who wants to compete and have the feeling of competition. Esports WTCR is a great way to do it at a high level and I really enjoyed the championship we did with the simracers in 2020 because the challenge was really high to try to be close to them.“Click HERE for the more details on the new-look Esports WTCR and the €10,000 prize fund that’s up for grabs.

Part of a long-term and successful alliance with RaceRoom Racing Experience, Esports WTCR is the perfect platform for simracers to experience doorhandle-to-doorhandle FIA World Touring Car action and also get the opportunity to race against some of the real-life WTCR stars who compete online from time to time to keep in competitive shape.SHOOT-OUT FORMAT SETThe return of Esports WTCR begins with a three-round Shoot-out consisting of the usual time attack/qualifying phases and multiplayer races. Racers can select the liveries of Audi, CUPRA, Honda and Hyundai cars competing in the 2022 WTCR − FIA World Touring Car Cup and compete on three tracks, Nürburgring GP Strecke, Hungaroring and MotorLand Aragón, as follows:Round 1: Nürburgring GP Strecke (new to Esports WTCR) Leaderboard opens: October 14 Leaderboard closes: November 13 Live stream race day: November 16Round 2: Hungaroring Leaderboard opens: October 14 Leaderboard closes: November 20 Live stream race day: November 23Round 3: MotorLand Aragón Leaderboard opens: October 14 Leaderboard closes: November 27 Live stream race day: November 30The top 20 teams after three rounds choose their own liveries, but incorporating existing sponsor and partner placement, for the main season kicking off in January 2023. The deadline for livery design submissions is January 3.FIVE ALIVE FOR EXCITING CHALLENGE The five-event main season, featuring a maximum of 32 drivers on the grid for each race, including the 20 permanent esports drivers who qualified through the Shoot-out, will take place as follows:Round 1: Nürburgring Nordschleife Leaderboard opens: January 9 Leaderboard closes: January 22 Live stream race day: January 25Round 2: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (new to Esports WTCR) Leaderboard opens: January 22 Leaderboard closes: February 5 Live stream race day: February 8Round 3: Circuito da Guia, Macau Leaderboard opens: February 5 Leaderboard closes: February 19 Live stream race day: February 22Round 4: Suzuka Circuit Leaderboard opens: February 19 Leaderboard closes: March 5 Live stream race day: March 8Round 5: Track to be selected by Esports WTCR competitors via an online vote during Round 2 and 3 of the 2023 main season On January 25 the vote will open for all Esports WTCR competitors. The vote will close on raceday of Round 3 and announced during the Round 3 livestream. Leaderboard opens: March 5 Leaderboard closes: March 19 Live stream race day: March 22All event racedays will be streamed live on RaceRoom’s and WTCR’s social media channels. A €10,000 prize pool is provided by long-term WTCR series partner KW Suspensions.Jean-Baptiste Ley, WTCR Director, Discovery Sports Events, said:“As we wait with great anticipation for the season-deciding WTCR races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in November, the new-look Esports WTCR will create plenty of excitement and interest within the online racing community − which continues to expand around the globe − and among WTCR fans and motorsport fans as a whole. We’ve seen just how high the level of simracers is and, through Norbert Michelisz, the 2019 King of WTCR, we know what’s possible when drivers who have excelled racing virtually get the opportunity to race for real. We thank our partners at RaceRoom Racing Experience for all their work and expertise behind the scenes and we can’t wait for the online battles to begin.“Holger Stangl, Head of RaceRoom Events and Esports, said: “Touring cars have a long tradition in RaceRoom. I believe through the long-term relationship with the WTCR, RaceRoom is actually able to offer the best possible realism of virtual touring car racing out there. I am very excited about the upcoming new official Esports WTCR season. Together we have chosen a great selection of tracks and participants can look forward to a sporting format that will be new to the Esports WTCR. We hope to bring more continuity for drivers and spectators through a partially fixed starting grid, giving the top esports teams great team exposure and still giving everyone the chance to join in and reshuffle the championship at any stage. So I can only encourage everyone to join in and become part of this thrilling Esports WTCR season ahead of us.“Esteban Guerrieri, WTCR race winner for Honda-powered ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport and prolific online racer, said: “For me racing can be anywhere, on the race track or on the simulator behind the computer. But the fact that you are racing challenges you in the same way, the mental focus, the intensity, the pressure of competition, whatever you need to do to be fast and to be consistent it’s the same approach for racing on the track or in simracing. It’s great and I really like it. It’s good for anyone who wants to compete and have the feeling of competition. Esports WTCR is a great way to do it at a high level and I really enjoyed the championship we did with the simracers in 2020 because the challenge was really high to try to be close to them.“