Sebastian Job wins twice at the Red Bull Ring: Race #5 of the PESC 2022

For the fifth main race, the 35 iRacing drivers met in digital Spielberg beforehand for qualifying and sprint races. Once again, the All-Star race proved to be thrilling as well. But, let's take it one step at a time:

This time, the winner of the shorter sprint race was Briton Charlie Collins from Team VRS. The fastest in qualifying, he started the race from pole position. An overtaking manoeuvre by Kevin Ellis Jr. (Apex Racing) before Turn One put him in a tight spot but, two corners later, Collins was able to counter-attack directly, securing first place from there to the finish and celebrating his first PESC victory. Ellis followed in second place ahead of rookie Cooper Webster (Oracle Red Bull Racing). 

The following places went to Matti Sipilä (KOVA Esports), Sebastian Job, Zac Campbell (VRS) and Jordan Caruso (Logitech G Altus Esports). Newcomer Julien Soenen from Team R8G eSports was happy about his special eighth place, earning him pole position in the main race.

Zac Campbell, winner of the main race in Interlagos and third on the grid, lost control of his Porsche in the first corner. This mistake also caused numerous following drivers, including teammate David Williams and Graham Carrol (Oracle Red Bull Racing), to go off the track for a short time. Julien Soenen took advantage of the chaos on the track and was able to gain a small lead.

Portuguese driver Diogo C. Pinto, who started the fifth race as leader in the standings, managed a worthy recovery that brought him all the way forward to third place, back within reach of Soenen and Job. A successful manoeuvre by Job was also exploited by Pinto to pass the rookie Soenen who dropped to sixth place. The final victory went to Job, with Pinto in second place. Third place went to sprint winner Collins.

Pinto is still the season leader keeping Job at bay with 38 points. On the other hand, only two points separate Job from third-placed Kevin Ellis Jr. – guaranteeing that the PESC remains exciting even after the first half of the season.

Once again, famous content creators kicked off the evening at Austria’s Red Bull Ring, in the All-Star Race by iRacing – this time with the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsports. Jaroslav "Jardier" Honzik managed to win the qualifying, but only finished in fourth place in the first race. The only 17-year-old, American youngster Casey Kirwan took the lead ahead of his close pursuer Emily "Emree" Jones, although she came dangerously close to him on lap eight. Third place went to Xabier "Heikki360ES" Sanchez from Spain.

American Tyson "Quirkitized" Meier was lucky: since he finished last due to a spin in the first race, he now started in pole position when the order was  reversed. After some confusion in the first laps, the line-up rearranged itself. The trio of Meier, Jones and Kirwan fought a thrilling three-way battle for the podium places all the way to the finish line. In the end, the young guest driver was able to keep his nerve again, to make it a perfect Austrian double victory.

The All-Star Top 5 at the halfway point of the season: 
Meier seven points ahead of Jones, followed by Zazo, Honzik and Sanchez.

On 9 April, the Formula 1 street circuit of Île Notre-Dame in Montreal, Canada awaits the drivers in the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup. For race #6, the 4.361-kilometre Circuit Gilles Villeneuve leads past the infamous "Wall of Champions" and over streets normally used for public traffic. However, it is much easier to close these off in the digital world of iRacing than in reality.

The All-Star live stream will start at 19:30 (CEST) with qualifying. At around 21:15, the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup racing action will continue. As always, the PESC can be watched on the Porsche channels on YouTube and Twitch.