Mercedes-AMG eRacing battles continue

Do you like virtual racing? Do you want to compete against current Formula One drivers, DTM drivers and GT3 drivers? Do you want to show your talent in the races, streamed live on the official social media channels of Mercedes-Benz? Do you want to visit the DTM final, flight and accommodation paid? And do you want to drive a real AMG with racing drivers as instructors?
Well, you can do it, because that is exactly what the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport eRacing competition is all about. We are already two rounds in, but it’s far from decided yet. You can still enter the competition for free here. But for now, it’s time to look back at the past rounds.

For the opening round, no less than 2851 drivers tried to qualify online for the 17 spots in the race at Hockenheim. EURONICS Gaming’s Julian Kunze was the fastest. The 18th spot on the grid was taken over by a very special guest: Former DTM Champion and current F1 driver Pascal Wehrlein was sitting in a RaceRoom simulator, directly in the paddock of the Hockenheim DTM race, and competed against the fastest virtual racers.

In the qualifying session, Tim Heinemann, the champion of the previous year, took the pole position ahead of Kevin Siggy Rebernak. Heinemann won the start, but was immediately set under lots of pressure by Alexander Dornieden. Right behind, Jack Keithley was waiting for a mistake. Dornieden eventually dropped back a bit and started battling with Keithley. Coming up to the Mercedes tribune, it went wrong for both drivers, with Dornieden hitting the wall hard as a result. Heinemann took a dominant victory. followed by Kunze and the recovering Jack Keithley. Pascal Wehrlein had a challenging race. After moving through the field quickly in the beginning, he was involved in a few incidents and finished in 16th place.

For the second round of the season, the drivers went to the Lausitzring. VIP driver this time: Daniel Juncadella, former F3 Euroseries champion, former DTM driver and currently driving in the Mercedes AMG GT3. With championship leader Heinemann absent, a new rivalry formed at the front of the field: Jack Keithley versus Kevin Siggy Rebernak. Rebernak led in the beginning but was passed by Keithley, who then had his mirrors full with the pink BWT Mercedes C63 AMG of the Austrian. Rebernak went for the move in turn 1, Keithley tried to do a cutback but clipped Rebernak, sending him into a spin. Keithley kept the lead, while behind him, Julian Kunze and Moritz Löhner had caught up rapidly. Keithley managed to win the race, but collected quite a few penalty points after the event. Daniel Juncadella meanwhile was right in the middle and just missed out on points by one position, finishing 11th.

With 2 rounds done, it’s Julian Kunze who is leading the championship right now. The cards are reshuffled though for the next race at the Hungaroring, June 18th. The race will be streamed live on the Facebook channel and the Youtube channel of Mercedes Benz.