Weekly Racing Roundup (4.27.20)

Guven Builds Title Lead in Porsche Supercup Esports Series

Porsche junior driver Ayhancan Guven has opened up a slim lead in the championship standings for the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Virtual Edition after scoring a third race win on Saturday.

The Turkish driver won the second race of the day on virtual Spa-Francorchamps, while the first round had been won by Dylan Pereira.

In the previous two race days of the single-make esports series, Guven and Larry ten Voorde each shared a win, but ten Voorde’s failure to keep up his win streak has changed the championship standings in Guven’s favor.

Ten Voorde started Saturday’s first race from pole but contact between the two title contenders sent ten Voorde spinning into the gravel, and dropped Guven back several positions. This allowed Pereira to take the lead to the line, ahead of ten Voorde and Guven in second and third.

In Race 2, Guven made a decisive move on Pereira at La Source on the second lap, and went on to celebrate his third win after 11 laps of racing.

Hurley, Kicera Take Trans Am Esports Wins

Josh Hurley and Tyler Kicera claimed one win each in the Trans Am by Pirelli Esports Championship double-header at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Hurley stalled on the grid after accidentally shifting to four gear but his slow getaway allowed him to avoid a melee in front of him that claimed several cars, including polesitter Kicera.

The Jetco Racing driver used his surprise advantage to chase down new leader Ernie Francis Jr. to take the lead midway through the race and eventually take his first win.

In Race 2, Kicera claimed the lead at the Corkscrew after a heated battle with John Paul Southern Jr.

The double-header took place to accommodate for the delayed opening round that was supposed to take place a week earlier but was postponed due to server issues.

It has led to a further calendar change, with two rounds at Laguna Seca taking place on Saturday but the next round at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta now pushed back to May 3 instead of its original slot on Sunday, April 26.

COVID-19 News & Notes

***The first race event in China since the COVID-19 pandemic took place on Friday and Saturday. The Honda Cup one-make series raced at Ningbo Speedpark. 

***Legendary motorsport commentator Bob Varsha revealed on Twitter that he tested negative for COVID-19 on Monday. Varsha was diagnosed with the disease earlier this month amid his ongoing fight with cancer.

***RLR MSport played a key role in constructing one of the UK’s temporary hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients. The Lancashire-based team, which competes in the European Le Mans Series and Michelin Le Mans Cup, aided construction of the Rainbow Hospital Deeside in north Wales.

***Jota Cargo, the sister company of LMP2 team Jota Sport, took part in the shipping effort to deliver personal protective equipment (PPE) into the United Kingdom on behalf of the government. It delivered the PPE goods with its BAe 146 freighter aircraft.

***Riley Technologies delivered its first in-house designed and manufactured Powered Air Purifying Respirator mask system on Thursday. The Mooresville, N.C.-based company developed the prototype in less than four weeks.

***VP Racing Fuels has started production of hand sanitizer to support businesses, retailers and race tracks. It will be available in a variety of sizes, from 32-ounce to 325-gallon containers.

***Historic Sportscar Racing has revealed new dates for its two rounds at Road Atlanta. The HSR Atlanta Fall Historics will run on Oct. 8-11, while the 43rd running of the HSR Mitty, which was set to take place last weekend, has been moved to April 22-25, 2021.

***This year’s edition of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance has been canceled from its Aug. 16 date. The world-famous event, which forms center piece of the Monterey Car Week, will now host its 70th edition on Aug. 15, 2021. 

***Aston Martin Racing has started a Stay at Home Challenge involving its FIA World Endurance Championship factory drivers to provide some entertainment during lockdown.

Esports News & Notes

***A BMW Z4 GT3 driven by Philipp Eng won the iRacing 24 Hours of Nürburgring on Sunday. The Austrian BMW works driver shared the car with BS Competition’s Laurin Heinrich and Alexander Voss for the virtual 24-hour enduro.

***Patrick Selva won the SRO E-Sport GT Series’ Silver Series, which caters exclusively for top-level sim racers, opener at Silverstone on Sunday. Driving a McLaren 720S GT3, Selva finished nine seconds clear of SRO E-Sport Charity Challenge winner Arthur Kammerer. The Silver Series race took place immediately after the Pro round, which was won by Jordan Pepper.

***Red Bull Esports clinched the Le Mans Esports Series Pro title last weekend, with victory in the final round of the season at Spa. The team duly qualified for the ‘Super Final’ which is due to be held on-site at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Other News & Notes

***Christian Engelhart will be part of a new program in the ADAC GT Masters with support from Manthey Racing. SSR Performance will launch its first full-season effort in the German series with Engelhart and Michael Ammermueller, running a Porsche 911 GT3 R with technical support from Porsche specialist Manthey.

***Spanish outfit Teo Martin Motorsport has signed Miguel Ramos and Fabrizio Crestani to drive one of its McLaren 720S GT3s in International GT Open. The pair drove a Mercedes-AMG GT3 for SPS Automotive Performance last year.

Daniel Lloyd contributed to this report