Rudy Van Buren defeated Kevin Siggy to claim victory in the second All-Star simulation racing event, with Nuno Pinto completing an all-pro sim racing podium in the grand final.
As with last weekend’s inaugural all-star event held by The Race, RFactor 2 was the simulation software of choice, while the Tatuus PM-18- a spec-machine used in the US-based Indy Pro 2000 series in reality- proved to be the virtual set of wheels the drivers would compete with at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
This event was structured slightly differently to last weekend’s running, with three group contests preceding the final battle. The five top finishing drivers in each would head directly into the final battle, while a last chance race would decide the final five racers to join them in the final.
The first two group races contained mostly real-life professional race drivers; while the final qualifier saw the best of the qualifying sim racers take part.
Van Buren-who won the inaugural World’s Fastest Gamer contest in 2017- managed to pass pole-man Siggy in the opening tours of the 20 lap final, leading a train of four drivers for most of the race.
Siggy looked to have the pace to challenge Van Buren, but then came under attack from behind by the chasing Pinto and Sebastian Job.
This allowed Van Buren to build an advantage of just over a second-breaking the slipstream in the process- which gave him the opportunity to edge away.
He duly did, eventually crossing the line 1.8 seconds clear of Siggy, while Pinto survived a clash with Job at Turn 2 just past mid-distance to take third.
The duo went side by side into the slow left-hander, but Job failed to leave enough on the inside for Pinto. The resulting contact spun Job around and into the gravel, and with his car damaged he retired soon afterwards.
This allowed Ganassi Indycar racer Felix Rosenqvist-who also claimed victory in the opening group race ahead of the final- to move into fourth, although ex-DTM man Daniel Juncadella had designs on the position.
The Spaniard dived past into Turn 1, but Rosenqvist was having none of it and re-passed him just a couple corners later.
Juncadella was not to be denied though, and in the dying moments of the race snatched the advantage back, ultimately claiming the honour of being the highest placed real life professional driver as he crossed the line fourth.
Risto Kappet led another trio of eSport drivers in sixth, shading Erhan Jajovski and James Baldwin, while a pair of Formula E pilots in Mercedes’ Stoffel Vandoorne and BMW man Maximillian Guenther completed the top ten.
Several high profile drivers failed to make it into the final 20, including Indy 500 winners Juan Pablo Montoya and Tony Kanaan and ex-F1 hotshoe Nico Hulkenberg.
Max Verstappen was an early casualty from the contest, a late equipment issue forcing the current Red Bull Formula 1 driver to miss the event, with Ginetta Junior racer James Hedley replacing him.
