Sebastian Job wins nail-biting duel with Joshua Rogers

The race

After securing fourth place in the previous sprint race, the Red Bull Racing Esports driver treated viewers to gripping duels over many laps at his virtual home event at Silverstone, in the UK. In his digital Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, the defending champion maintained the upper hand against his attacking arch-rival Joshua Rogers. Clinching two second places, the Australian, who drives for the Virtual Racing School team, still managed to extend his lead in the standings over his teammate Mitchell deJong.

DeJong won the qualifying for the first time this season. The American took up the seven-lap sprint from pole position and promptly led the field at the start ahead of Dayne Warren (DirectForce Pro). Hot on the bumper of the leading pair were Sebastian Job and Joshua Rogers. In lap four, Rogers made the most of Job’s braking blip to sweep into third place. One lap later, it was Warren’s turn: approaching Stowe corner, the Australian used his compatriot’s unintentional drift to pitch out of the slipstream and pass him. DeJong, however, was beyond reach and Rogers had to settle for second place.

Warren took the flag in third place ahead of Job, Charlie Collins (Great Britain/Virtual Racing School), Graham Carroll (Great Britain/Red Bull Racing Esports) and Mack Bakkum (Netherlands/LEGO Technic Esports Team). The all-important eighth place went to Tommy Östgaard (Coanda Simsport): because of the reversed grid line-up, P8 meant that the Norwegian could start the feature race from pole position. His Turkish teammate Ayhancan Güven battled his way up the order from position 23 to 11th. The Porsche Junior – who contests the real-world Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup with the 911 GT3 Cup – profited from a massive collision in the first lap. 

The title defender Sebastian Job moves up to third place

While Östgaard took the lead in the main race from his prime spot on the grid, Job gained the most positions in the first lap: he catapulted from fifth to second place, followed closely by Bakkum, Collins and Rogers. In lap three, the leading pair made contact while battling for the lead. Östgaard nudged the stack of tyres, Job salvaged third place behind Bakkum and Rogers. In lap four, the Australian snatched the lead from the Dutchman – but not for long. In the eighth lap, Job launched a successful attack on the leading duo and went into the second half of the 14-lap race as the new leader. 

However, the British online racer could not afford to rest on his laurels: Rogers followed him like a shadow and Bakkum and Carroll proved impossible to shake off as well. At times, barely a second separated the leading quartet. The championship leader saved his final push until the last lap. When Job slipped briefly in the Chapel corner, it looked like a sure change at the top – however, the reigning champion held on to his lead and clinched his second win of the season in the main event. Rogers finished second, Bakkum third and Carroll fourth. The other positions went to Collins, DeJong and Kevin Ellis Jr. (Great Britain/Rahal Letterman Lanigan Esports). Porsche Junior Güven lost a top-ten result in the final lap and was ultimately flagged-off in position 29. 

With two second places to his credit, Joshua Rogers has extended his championship lead over Mitchell deJong. The title defender Sebastian Job moves up to third place. The next round of the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports will be contested on the virtual Road Atlanta racetrack in the US state of Georgia on 20 February. 

Comments after the races

Sebastian Job (GB/Red Bull Racing Esports): “I never thought I could make it back to the front after that contact with Tommy Östgaard earlier on. When I got into the lead, I was trying to take care of my tyres and control the pace. I was expecting that Joshua thought it better to be second going into the last lap. I had a specific plan to counter that. It somehow worked out, because when he made his move we both locked up, and I got away with it.”

Joshua Rogers (AUS/Virtual Racing School): “Analysing the gaps at the beginning of the race, I knew the fight for victory would be between Seb and me. Because my strategy was to save tyres, I let him through into the lead. During the last lap, I wanted to overtake Seb on the outside of turn seven, but that didn’t work out as planned. In the end, it was an awesome race. Congratulations to Seb. Obviously, I wanted to win, but second in the sprint and second again in the feature race earns me some decent points.”

Mack Bakkum (NL/LEGO Technic Esports Team): “In the sprint, I tried to keep my car in shape and finish in P7 or P8 to be in the front row for the feature race. The start went well for me. I knew that I couldn’t keep up with Sebastian Job and Joshua Rogers, even when I inherited the lead briefly. I didn’t really fight with them. I just followed. That strategy worked. Without them, I definitely would have been slower. I was hoping for a chance during the last lap because I knew there would be a fight between Seb and Josh, but it never really eventuated.”

Results

Silverstone, sprint race
1. Mitchell deJong (USA/Virtual Racing School)
2. Joshua Rogers (AUS/Virtual Racing School)
3. Dayne Warren (AUS/DirectForce Pro)
4. Sebastian Job (GB/Red Bull Racing Esports)
5. Charlie Collins (GB/Virtual Racing School)

Silverstone, main race
1. Sebastian Job (GB/Red Bull Racing Esports)
2. Joshua Rogers (AUS/Virtual Racing School)
3. Mack Bakkum (NL/LEGO Technic Esports Team)
4. Graham Carroll (GB/Red Bull Racing Esports)
5. Charlie Collins (GB/Virtual Racing School)

Points’ standings after 4 of 10 championship rounds
1. Joshua Rogers (AUS/Virtual Racing School), 265 points 
2. Mitchell deJong (USA/Virtual Racing School), 227 points
3. Sebastian Job (GB/Red Bull Racing Esports), 183 points

The 2021 racing calendar (number of laps sprint / main race)