Action-packed start to this season's DTM eSports Championship

• Isaac Price is the early leader
• Defending champion Tim Jarschel within striking distance
• Action-packed debut for the Community Cup

Munich. The DTM eSports Championship kicked off the 2025 season with a feast of action at the virtual Zandvoort circuit. Fans were treated to numerous battles and an impressive Isaac Price (privateer), with commentary in both German and English on the livestream. The Brit finished runner-up in the sprint race, before taking victory in the main race. The sprint was won by Philipp Drayss (Needracing.com). Defending champion Tim Jarschel (Falken Simracing Team) ended the races in sixth and third place.

Lights-to-flag victory for Drayss in the sprint race
The first qualifying session of the season highlighted the huge strength in depth within the DTM eSports Championship: the top 20 were separated by a mere 0.2 seconds. Drayss took pole with a time of 1:32.629 minutes and was joined on the front row of the grid by Leonard Krippner in second place. Price and Lucas Müller (Falken Simracing Team) occupied the second row.

Drayss successfully defended his lead at the start of the opening sprint of the season. Price immediately passed Krippner to take second place, and set about putting the leader under pressure. Over the following laps, Drayss and Price pulled a little way clear of the rest of the field. The Brit repeatedly attempted to put the German under pressure, but Drayss allowed Price no opportunity to overtake. The McLaren driver kept battling right through to the finish, but was unable to find a way past Drayss and into the lead. Krippner finished third to secure the final spot on the podium. Defending champion Jarschel had to settle for sixth place.

Price dominates the main race
The second qualifying of this season's DTM eSports Championship was another close affair. Drayss backed up his impressive performance from the first session and secured pole position again. Price qualified second, followed by Christian Michel and Turkka Häkkinen (both Needracing.com).

Price took his chance at the start, passing Drayss to lead coming out of turn one. He then held onto first place for the entire race. Drayss, on the other hand, fell back to sixth place after a poorly timed pit stop. His team-mates Häkkinen and Michel overtook him and initially slotted into second and third place. Defending champion Jarschel was embroiled in an exciting battle with third-placed Michel that went right down to the finish, with Jarschel eventually coming out on top.
 
Price starts as championship leader at the Norisring
With a win and a second place, Price (74 points) picked up just short of the maximum points haul. As such, he now travels to the virtual Norisring for round two on 4th April 2025 as the championship leader. Price's lap time of 1:32.930 also secured him the Fastest Lap Award and with it a JBL Charge Essential 2 speaker in the DTM design. Drayss won the Pole Position Award in both qualifying sessions.

Isaac Price: "My goal has to be to win the championship. I was very happy with the McLaren today. The Norisring should suit the McLaren, although I have not had any good results there to date."

Tim Jarschel: "My strategy worked out well: I came into the pits early and was then in front of my team-mate. That allowed me to take advantage of the clear track. I had the screw, which I needed after my injury, removed from the ankle on my throttle foot on Tuesday. Things are gradually improving now."

Action-packed debut for the Community Cup
The Community Cup arrived in Zandvoort with an international field. The sim racers were at the wheel of DTM cars from the 1992 season and produced an exciting and action-packed race. After twenty minutes of racing, it was Krisztian Orban (GPSE) who celebrated victory in a Ford Mustang - followed by the Portuguese pair of Nuno Santos (privateer) in an Audi and Tomás Ribeiro (RR Shenanigans) in a Mercedes. Pole-sitter Christian Grotte from Norway dropped back through the field at the start and had to settle for the thankless fourth place.

Krisztian Orban: "Qualifying went really well with second place. After the start, I found myself on the inside in turn one, which allowed me to take the lead. After that, I just pushed. The cars from the 1992 season are super, as they don't have traction control. They do, however, have H gearboxes and you have to use the clutch. I really enjoyed it."