SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS (4 July, 2020) – The GazX Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo (#88, Kenneth Gulbrandsen / Mirko Bortolotti) currently leads an Audi 1-2-3 after the opening four hours of the inaugural ESPORTS 12H SPA Long-time leader Cor Euser Racing remains well within striking distance.
Having qualified on pole position for the first round of the new Virtual 24H SERIES championship at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, the Cor Euser Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo (#8, Rik Koen / Joey Alders / Tim Matzke) maintained its advantage into turn one and held the top spot for much of the opening three hours. Shortly after the second round of GT3 pit stops though, the lead GazX Racing entry managed to scythe past Cor Euser’s eponymous entry on-track.
The second GazX Racing entry (#11, Kenton Koch / Marcin Skrzypczak / Ole Steinbraten) rounds out the current top three, meaning Audi thus far monopolizes the outright ESPORTS 12H SPA podium.
After four hous, DUWO by SimRC GT3 (#76, Philip Weber / Cedric Bollen / Diogo C. Pinto) is the highest-placed Ferrari runner in 4th, just ahead of fellow 488 GT3 competitor, Ferry Monster Esports Red (#20Lorenzo van Riet / Huub Eterman / Robin Monster / Danny Kroes). The place had been held in the early stages by Red Camel Esports (#98, Rik Breukers / Jorn Zoetekouw), the iRacing alter-ego of TCR SPA 500 winner Red Camel-Jordans.nl that also led several laps during the opening hours at Spa-Francorchamps. However, heavy contact with a TCR back marker has since sent the Dutch Ferrari to the pits with significant rear suspension damage.
The Team ABBA Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 (#9, Sam Neary / Tom Onslow-Cole / Adam Christodoulou) was another early front runner to hit trouble. Incredibly, the British team was sent spinning on the same lap by two different competitors. Despite dropping back from 5th place, Team ABBA Racing is still the highest placed Mercedes runner in 8th.
Having started from class pole position, the MRS SIM RACING Porsche 911-II Cup (#989, Jacqueline Kreutzpointner / Nicholas Silva / Nick Westphal / Alesia Kreutzpointner / Niclas Laubisch) currently leads the way in the 991 class after an unusual incident on the warm-up lap. A brief off for Raceunion 12H (#987, Alex Autumn / Felipe Fernández Laser / Justin Wichmann / Gunnar Miesen) heading into Spa’s Bus Stop Chicane inadvertently ended up collecting both DUWO by SimRC (#976, René Osterkamp / Patrick R Kessler / Steffen Herrmann) and Porsche Lorient Virtual Racing (#911, Jeremy Mazurais / Julien Fischer / John Boureau / Mathieu Pontais), sending all three to the pitlane in the opening laps.
The DUWO by SimRC Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS MR (#476, Dylan Pereira / Tom Vallenthini / Marcel Fassbender / Mathias Schoger) currently leads GT4 after four hours, albeit after a scintillating battle with nearest rival, and class polesitter, SIMMSA Esports (#466, Riley Thompson / Teemu Toikka). Heading into the fourth hour, the pair, both of which have spent time in the category lead, are split by less than 10 seconds. The Tibbett Racing BMW M4 GT4 (#451, Simon Tibbett / Thomas Pendergrass) thus far rounds out the category podium.
Further back, DUWO by SimRC also holds the lead in a very close, all-Audi TCR class (#176, Felix Luding / Jürgen Frank). The Luxembourg team, which took category victory at the ESPORTS 12H MONZA earlier this year, secured pole position by just 0.098s ahead of CoRe SimRacing (#104, Marius Golombeck / Carl Jansson / Kimmo Suominen), the latter of which currently holds 2nd in-class. The Ferry Monster Esports Grey Audi RS3 LMS (#120, Tony Vijfschaft / Sander van Haaren / Peter Hoevenaars / Ron Bosman) lies 3rd in-class.
The ESPORTS 12H SPA will run uninterrupted until the chequered flag is unfurled at 00.00 hrs CEST tonight. Live coverage of the event, complete with analysis and commentary, is available on the RaceSpot TV YouTube channel. Regular updates will be published on Twitter (@24HSeries), Facebook (24H Series) and Instagram (24H Series). Further information can be found at www.24hseries.com.
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