The virtual part of the FANATEC GT World Challenge Europe was closed this Saturday (01) with the FANATEC ESports GT Pro Series champions being crowned at Barcelona behind Nicklas Nielsen’s No. 51 Iron Lynx Ferrari, who won a real thriller against Daniel Juncadella.
Nicklas Nielsen had to survive a three-pronged attack to keep the No. 51 Iron Lynx Ferrari in the lead, but Daniel Juncadella was decided to not let the Danish go, keeping track of the leader as close as possible, all while some cars at the back of the field were too close, which triggered two multi-car accidents before the first lap was completed.
Without any Silver Cup cars in the top-six, it was open fight without any reservations for the win, but Juncadella was falling more to Dries Vanthoor’s clutches than posing a real threat to Nielsen. A status quo with the top-five packed together was kept, but Vanthoor was knocked out of the fight due to Stop and Go penalty, and this practically broke the top group as Nielsen was getting more secure in front, thanks to the No. 19 Emil Frey Lamborghini of Arthur Rougier pressing Juncadella for the second place.
What was quite surprising was that Juncadella was closing in, and this forced Nielsen to a slight mistake that opened the lead battle again in the Final Lap, but despite better pace, Juncadella couldn’t find room to pass the No. 51 Iron Lynx Ferrari, who kept it safe and covered all spots to get the win by only 0.132 seconds.
ESports GT Pro - Barcelona Race results
Alex Aka carried the No. 99 Attempto Audi to a commanding Silver Cup win, never being threatened by the class opposition and in fact carving his way to a fourth overall though a mix of shenanigans from the competitors ahead and skillful overtaking moves.
Despite the agonizingly close loss on track, the 14 points scored by Juncadella and Raffaele Marciello secured the ESports GT Pro title in the Pro Cup for Akkodis-ASP’s No. 88 Mercedes, while Alex Aka carried alone the No. 99 Attempto Audi to the Silver Cup title with 20 points over Tommaso Mosca’s 13 points.
The FANATEC ESports GT Pro Series is expected to return next season by continuing its link with the FANATEC GT World Challenge Europe, starting at Monza on 22 April 2023. With all circuits already featured in Assetto Corsa Competizione, there won’t be the need of covering a missing track like it was seen this season.
PHOTO: SRO/Xynamic
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