Moritz Löhner extends his eSports lead in Zandvoort

• Keithley and Löhner win at round three of the eSports championship
• Strategic battle in main race
• Cihan remains the man to beat in the ADAC GT4 eSports Championship

Munich. Moritz Löhner (Dörr Esports) still has his nose in front in the ADAC GT Masters eSport Championship powered by EnBW mobility+ after the races at the virtual CM.com Circuit Zandvoort. The reigning champion followed up tenth place in the sprint race with his second victory of the season in the main race. Jack Keithley (Williams Esports) won the opening race of the evening. The races in Zandvoort formed round three of the ADAC GT Masters eSports Championship powered by EnBW mobility+ and were held on Tuesday evening, in the run-up to the races in the German GT Championship, which take place in Zandvoort this weekend.

In the first of the two races, Jack Keithley benefitted from a mistake made by pole-sitter Tim Jarschel (MRS Esports) immediately after the start. Jarschel went wide in turn one – the famous Tarzanbocht – and opened the door for Keithley, who took the opportunity and moved into the lead. There was worse to come for Jarschel: he ended up in the barriers after contact with another car, resulting in him dropping down the field and ultimately ending the race in 17th place. Keithley, on the other hand, soon pulled clear of the chasing pack and went on to take a commanding victory. Kevin Siggy (Team Redline) crossed the finish line in second place, ahead of Alexander Dornieden (MRS Esports).

This was Keithley’s first win of the season. “I am super happy,” said the delighted Williams Esports driver. “To be honest, I am trying not to think too much about the championship, but to take it one race at a time.”

Championship leader Löhner had an eventful start to the evening’s racing. The Dörr Esports driver started race one from tenth place. Whilst he did initially climb into seventh place, he then fell back to twelfth as a result of an incident. From that point on, the new goal was tenth place and with it pole position for the main race. After battling it out with his team-mate Florian Hasse and Poland’s Jakub Brzezinski for several laps, he did indeed manage to cross the finish line tenth. Ninth-placed Spaniard Nestor Garcia was handed a 10-second penalty after the race, meaning that Löhner started the main race from second place on the grid. Brzezinski inherited pole position.

Strategic duel in the main race

Brzezinski was initially able to defend his lead at the start, but the Pole was powerless to prevent Löhner passing him in turn three. The two SimRacers proceeded to pull clear of the rest of the field over the following laps. When the pit stop window opened, they opted for different strategies: while Löhner came in for an early tyre change, Brzezinski waited until later to come into the pits. As such, the two rivals did not spend the majority of the race competing directly out on the track. However, when the Pole returned to the track, he did so just behind Löhner. Brzezinski did put the leader under pressure, but Löhner held his nerve to take win number two of the season. “I felt confident and knew that I could defend well,” said the championship leader after the race. “This year is even closer, and you have to invest more time in practice.”

In the championship, Löhner now leads with 181 points, ahead of Brzezinski (157 points) and Kevin Siggy (137). Jack Keithley follows in fourth place with 131 points. The Faber Exposize Fastest Lap Award in Zandvoort went to Tim Jarschel with a time of 1:35.857 minutes. The MRS Esports driver is also the third SimRacer to score points in the Pirelli Pole-Position Award.

ADAC GT4 eSports Championship: All good things come in threes

Emre Cihan (Team Fordzilla) completed a hat-trick in Zandvoort, taking his third race win in a row. The Turkish sim racer held off Adam Pinczes (Arnage Competition) and Alessandro Ottaviani (Virtualdrivers By TX3). As well as these three drivers, Julian Kunze (EURONICS Gaming) and Axel Vermeylen (Virtualdrivers by TX3) also qualified for the next race at the Nürburgring.

The races in Zandvoort can be watched in full at this link: https://youtu.be/49IfGg7metM

Fans of the ADAC GT Masters eSport Championship powered by EnBW mobility+ can look forward to round four: the 32 drivers line up at the Nürburgring on 3rd August 2021.