Deletraz Takes Controlled SRO E-Sport Victory in Barcelona

Louis Deletraz eased to victory in the fourth round of the SRO E-Sport GT Series at Barcelona in a race that had major championship implications.

The GPX Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R of Deletraz won comfortably in the one-hour Pro series race over Lorenzo Marcucci in his Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo, while wildcard Federico Leo filled third spot.

It was a chaotic start to the race as pole-sitter Deletraz held the lead on the run down to the first corner with the raging pack on his heels off the start.

The action kicked off at Turn 1 as a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo speared into the pack across the grass and a number of cars spun through Turn 2.

Points leader coming into the round, Ben Barnicoat, was caught up in all the drama and ended up facing the wrong direction, incurring damage on his McLaren 720S GT3.

The Brit dropped outside the top 20, while fellow championship contender Jordan Pepper retired to pit lane aboard his Bentley Continental GT3 in the opening laps with issues.

At the front of the field, the battle was intense as Deletraz led Leo and Arthur Rougier squeezed by title contender Marcucci for third.

Further down the road, they swapped back again when Marcucci swung around the outside at Turn 1 to re-claim third.

The top four remained in close quarters for most of the race while Barnicoat charged back up the order before Deletraz opened up a three-second gap.

Marcucci eventually made his move on Leo to get into second in the final 20 minutes and chased after the leading Porsche, however, it proved fruitless.

Deletraz’s gap to Marcucci at the checkered flag was 0.9 seconds, while Rougier and Ivan Pareras completed the top five.

On recovery, Barnicoat came home 12th in his McLaren.

The result sees Deletraz leap into the points lead on 59 points, 10 points clear in the standings of Marcucci while Barnicoat holds onto third with 43 points.

The location of the fifth round of the series will be decided by a public vote ahead of the final event on June 14.