Qualifying draws to a close: 28 permanent drivers confirmed. Season starts on 15th February.
The field has been finalised for season four of the ADAC GT Masters eSports Championship powered by EnBW mobility+. Two shootouts, each consisting of two races, offered the best sim racers in the world the opportunity last week to secure a permanent starting place in the series, which boasts a prize purse of € 70,000. A total of 20 permanent starting places were allocated over the course of the four races, with eighth drivers having already qualified on the back of their performances last year. The remaining four places in the 32-strong field will be taken by guest starters. The opening race in the 2022 ADAC GT Masters eSports Champions powered by EnBW mobility+ takes place on 15th February at the virtual Brands Hatch circuit.
The world’s best sim racers had the chance to secure a starting place in the two shootouts by setting a flying lap in advance of the two events. The first shootout took place at Spa-Francorchamps and the first race immediately provided plenty of drama. Many well-known drivers from recent seasons, including Marko Pejic (Veloce Esports), Michael Rächl (Dörr Esports), Alexander Dornieden (MRS Esports) and Marc Gassner (MRS Esports), struggled in the race, either failing to finish or dropping well down the field. Out in front, Jack Keithley (Williams Esports) and Gianmarco Fiduci (Team Fordzilla) worked together to open up a gap. That same pair went on to finish on the podium, alongside Leonard Krippner (privateer), thus earning their starting places. In race two, victory went to former ADAC GT Masters driver Gassner, ahead of Rächl, with both drivers securing their ticket to contest the entire season.
Shootout 2 saw the competitors go head to head at the virtual Hockenheimring. This time, Pejic was victorious in race one. Third place in race two was enough for him to secure one of the remaining starting places. Dornieden also impressed with good results and qualified for the championship. His MRS Esports team-mate Tim Jarschel also qualified, courtesy of a second place and victory in race two. One surprise was Jonas Wanner, who performed very well in both races and also qualified.
Eight drivers were already assured of a starting place, thanks to the good results they enjoyed last year. Undefeated three-time champion Moritz Löhner (Dörr Esports), Jakub Brzezinski (Williams Esports), Bence Banki (Dörr Esports), Florian Hasse (Dörr Esports) and Isaac Price (Privateer) will be on the starting grid, as will Emre Cihan (Team Fordzilla), Adam Pinczes (Arnage Competition) and Alessandro Ottaviani (Virtualdrivers by TX3).
In each race, four guest drivers will also have the opportunity to secure a starting place via a community race, which will be held on the eve of each championship race. The leaderboard for the community race will open ten days before the respective event.