WTCC Race of Germany

For the third time this season, the eSports WTCC crew followed the real WTCC, for the on-site event at the Nürburgring. The RaceRoom café at the Nürburgring boulevard was the host for an action packed event featuring two professional drivers, Esteban Guerrieri and Yann Ehrlacher. Unlike the real series, the eSports WTCC used the Grand Prix layout for this event.

On the leaderboard previous to the race, German simracing veteran Danny Engels was the fastest driver and he also managed to take pole position, just two thousands ahead of Felix Piechotka. Richard Schäfer was 3rd, ahead of the fastest pro, Esteban Guerrieri. Vincent Jarschel and Yann Ehrlacher rounded out the top six. Engels defended his lead at the start, but Piechotka was on a charge, passing Engels already on the first lap, into the chicane. Engels lost a lot of momentum and also had to give up two positions to Guerrieri and Schäfer. As Piechotka extended his lead, the battle was on between Guerrieri and Schäfer. The Argentine used all of his experience to defend, but even he couldn’t stop Schäfer, who made a courageous move around the outside to take second place. Meanwhile, Yann Ehrlacher was engaged in a battle with Gianni Nicosia for 5th.Piechotka’s gap at the front got smaller and smaller after Schäfer, now clear of Guerrieri, found his pace. And then it got really dramatic:  Both Piechotka and Guerrieri slowed down with fuel issues. But the red flag was out a few moments later, meaning a restart for all the drivers.

At the restart, it was Volvo driver Richard Schäfer who took the lead of the race, but the battles continued immediately with Schäfer, Piechotka and Guerrieri all changing positions several times. It didn’t end well for Piechotka, who was clipped by Guerrieri leading up to the back straight and lost several positions. The race settled down at this point, with the positions set at the front. Piechotka however started a spectacular hunt to get back into the top 5. In the end, he had to settle for 6th though. The win went to Richard Schäfer, the 20-year-old German who lives close to the Nürburgring. Esteban Guerrieri finished 2nd and showed great sportsmanship on the podium, as he gave his trophy to Felix Piechtoka. Danny Engels finished in 3rd position eventually, with Gianni Nicosia and Malte Schneider rounding out the top 5.