Diogo C. Pinto defends his lead in the Porsche Esports Supercup

The race

Driving for Coanda, he immediately took the lead from pole position in the virtual version of the 375 kW (510 PS) Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and defended it to the flag. Victory in the previous sprint race on the Canadian street circuit went to the American Zac Campbell (VRS). In the championship standings, Diogo C. Pinto from Portugal (Porsche24 Team Redline) has consolidated his lead with sixth and third place. Content creator Tyson “Quirkitized” Meier from the USA won both All-Star races in the support programme. Porsche’s international esports one-make cup uses the iRacing simulation platform. 

After securing pole position, Dayne Warren initially struggled at the start of the race and returned from the first lap in ninth place. Kevin Ellis jr. (Apex Racing Team) from Great Britain took the lead ahead of Zac Campbell and the two British sim racers from the Oracle Red Bull Racing team, Sebastian Job and Graham Carroll. This order remained the same until the tenth and last lap. In a gripping wheel-to-wheel duel, Campbell pulled alongside Ellis and edged ahead through the final chicane to cross the finish line first. Diogo C. Pinto took the flag in sixth place behind Germany’s Maximilian Benecke (Porsche24 Team Redline). The Portuguese racer competed on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve as the championship leader. 

Luck eventually returned to Dayne Warren: After an accident involving Alejandro Sánchez (SDK Gaming) from Spain, he moved up into eighth place. With the top eight from the sprint starting the feature race in reverse order, he tackled the 20-lap event from pole position. The Australian made good use of his advantage: With a blistering start, he remained in the lead and calmly fended off his pursuers Salva Talens (E/MSi eSports), Pinto and Benecke. In fifth place, Ellis squeezed past Carroll, who lost his sixth place to Job shortly afterwards. Just before the flag, the sprint winner Campbell snatched P6 from Job. 

In this formation, the top group wrapped up a comparatively composed feature race on the 4.361-kilometre Grand Prix circuit: Warren was celebrated as the winner, with Talens taking a surprising second place ahead of Pinto. With this result, the Portuguese built on his championship lead in the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup: As the season has headed into the second half, Pinto now leads the PESC with 320 points, with Ellis (299) replacing Job (291) in second place. 

Tyson “Quirkitized” Meier wins both All-Star races in Montreal

In Canada, too, content creators from the world of esports racing contested two All-Star races as part of a support programme driving the digital version of the 313 kW (425 PS) Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport. The first race began with a surprise: Series leader Emily Jones had only qualified on the fifth grid spot – and in the first metres was pushed into the barriers by a car blocking the racing line. Tyson “Quirkitized” Meier immediately seized his chance: The American claimed a commanding lights-to-flag victory from pole position followed over the line by Xabier “Heikki360ES” from Spain and Germany’s Dan “Suzuki” Sosulski. “Emree” Jones had to settle for seventh. 

For the second race, the participants lined up in the reverse order of the previous race results. For Meier, this meant P12. “Quirkitized”, however, returned from his first lap in sixth place. Two laps later, he was running in third place behind Matt Malone and “Emree” Jones. When the Australian tried to outbrake the leader, Meier became entangled and spun after contact. This threw him back to fourth place – but not for long. The American had only just squeezed past the Spaniard Borja Zazo into third place when another tough duel at the front resulted in a nudge. “Quirkitized” and Zazo benefited and moved into first and second places ahead of Jones. She later received a time penalty for her robust driving style and was classified ninth. A little later, Malone was introduced to the “Wall of Champions” at the entrance to the start-finish straight and lost ground. Germany’s Mathieu “rAii” Wacker from DiePixelHelden inherited third place. 

Spectacle on the “Ardennes Rollercoaster”: PESC heads to Belgium

Eau Rouge, Raidillon and Blanchimont: The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is regarded as one of the most spectacular circuits of the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup (PESC) season. On 23 April, the global esports championship run on the iRacing simulation platform will contest round seven on the 7.004-kilometre “Ardennes Rollercoaster”. The track’s fast corner combinations, brutal compressions, long full-throttle passages and the tight La Source hairpin at the end of the start-finish straight give the 35 sim racers a chance to showcase their driving prowess while also underlining their skill in finding a finely balanced setup for the digital Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. In 14 days, fans will be treated to a six-lap sprint and 12-lap feature race. Sebastian Job will be particularly excited to take a virtual trip to Belgium: in 2019, the British sim racer turned the fastest lap in both races; in 2020 and 2021, he promptly scored a double victory there. 

Content creators from the esports racing scene will again contest two All-Star races as part of a support programme at Spa-Francorchamps. After three events each with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport, they tackle the Ardennes racetrack driving the ca. 367 kW (500 PS) 911 GT3 R. The All-Star live stream begins on 23 April at 7.30 pm (CEST) with the qualifying session. The two influencer races get the green light at 7.45 pm and 8.05 pm respectively. The Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup race action will begin at around 9.15 pm.

Fans can watch the iRacing action live online via Porsche’s channels on YouTube and Twitch. Further information on the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup can be found on the Porsche Motorsport Hub, Porsche Newsroom and the Twitter account.

Comments after the races

Tyson “Quirkitized” Meier (USA): “What a race! I need to thank my coach Tony Kanaan for giving me some very useful tips. The most important: Be patient, focus and just go for it. Tony, this win is for you.”

Zac Campbell (USA/VRS): “Going into the last chicane side by side with another driver is not something that typically works out. Fortunately, Kevin Ellis let me through. Thanks to him for not charging there. I think I would’ve been the one to come out of it worse off.” 

Dayne Warren (AUS/Coanda): “I made a little mistake in the sprint, but at least it earned me pole position for the feature race. But it’s never easy when you are leading and you have a pack of more than 30 cars behind you. I tried to keep it smooth and hit every mark. This win is really amazing.”

Salva Talens (E/Msi eSports): “I’m a bit disappointed because I think I had a chance to win. It’s very hard to overtake on this track. The best spot is the hairpin. Dayne always had a very good run out of the chicane. I struggled to stay close enough behind him. I tried to put pressure on him, but it wasn’t possible today.”

Diogo C. Pinto (P/Porsche24 Team Redline): “Overall a really enjoyable race for me, although my qualifying wasn’t that good. I finished only sixth in the sprint, which meant I started into the feature race from third. I decided to save my tyres and push at the end of the race. But I didn’t have the pace to force anything, so that didn’t really work out.” 

Result

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, sprint race
1. Zac Campbell (USA/VRS)
2. Kevin Ellis jr. (GB/Apex Racing Team)
3. Sebastian Job (GB/Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports)
4. Graham Carroll (GB/Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports)
5. Maximilian Benecke (D/Porsche24 Team Redline)

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, feature race
1. Dayne Warren (AUS/Coanda)
2. Salva Talens (E/MSi eSports)
3. Diogo C. Pinto (P/Team Redline)
4. Maximilian Benecke (D/Porsche24 Team Redline)
5. Kevin Ellis jr. (GB/Apex Racing Team)

Points’ standings after 6 of 10 championship rounds
1. Diogo C. Pinto (P/Team Redline), 320 points
2. Kevin Eliis jr (GB/Apex Racing Team), 299 points 
3. Sebastian Job (GB/Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports), 291 points