MSI eSports from Spain wins 24H SERIES ESPORTS powered by VCO season-opener at Imola

56 virtual GT and touring cars provide thrilling Esports racing right up to the final lap.
Alejandro Sánchez and Marc Perez are the first winners in the 24H SERIES ESPORTS powered by VCO.
Hard-fought battles for podium spots in other classes to the final lap.

Munich – On Sunday, the 24H SERIES ESPORTS powered by VCO lived up to its reputation as one of the best endurance championships on the iRacing race simulation. At the maiden appearance for Virtual Competition Organisation (VCO) as series partner, victory in the Imola season-opener went to Spanish team MSI eSports. After six hours, Alejandro Sánchez and Marc Perez in their Audi R8 LMS were nearly one and a half minutes ahead of their closest challenger from Williams Esports with drivers Martin Christensen, Arthur Lehouck and Dominik Staib. Dino Lombardi, Alessandro Bico und Matteo Ugolotti from the Leo Racing Team claimed third place. The results were even closer in the other classes.

For a long time, Williams Esports seemed to be on course for victory in the Porsche 911 category. However, the Inertia SimRacing EuroRC.com team from Finland – with Esports racers Eero Tuominen and Matias Vitikainen – managed to overtake the English team during an exciting closing stage in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. In the GT4 class, Emanuele Petri and Sacha Gorlè from the SRC Squadra Corse team claimed the first win of the season with the BMW M4 GT4.

The German SimRC team set the benchmark in the TCR category. Jürgen Frank and Felix Luding crossed the finish line over 34 seconds ahead of the second-placed car in their Audi RS3 LMS TCR.

Selected post-race statements:

Alejandro Sánchez (MSI eSports, GT3 winner): “Of course we are pretty happy with the result from today. We didn’t know this would happen after our incident on my second stint that cost me like 12 seconds. But we had a constant pace and didn’t take too many risks in the traffic. That paid off in the end.“

Eero Tuominen (Inertia SimRacing EuroRC.com, Porsche 911 winner): “That was really close towards the end. I didn’t expect that when I was leaving the pits for the last time so the win feels great. In the previous stint I had taken it pretty easy, saving tyres and fuel, but when I realised I was getting closer after the pit stop, I started pushing. That brought us this fantastic result.”

Jürgen Frank (SimRC, TCR winner): “At the start, I managed to push up to second place. That was important as I was able to close the gap to Alessandro Bacchilega and save fuel behind him. Then we had a short pit stop and got ahead after that. This is now my fifth season in this series – and we really enjoy competing here.”

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24H SERIES ESPORTS powered by VCO calendar:

25^th October 2020: 6h Imola
29^th November 2020: MAHLE 6h Sebring
10^th January 2021: 6h Silverstone
14^th February 2021: 6h Monza
21^st March 2021: 6h Barcelona
17^th April 2021: 12h Spa-Francorchamps

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About iRacing
iRacing is the world’s premier motorsport simulation. With hundreds of cars and tracks from nearly every major racing discipline, iRacing partners with some of the world’s premier manufacturers, drivers, and motorsport sanctioning bodies, to deliver an unparalleled driving experience. From World Championship and special event competitions to public, hosted, and league racing, there’s an iRacing event out there for users of all skill levels and racing backgrounds. Learn more about iRacing and join more than 170,000 active iRacers today at www.iRacing.com.

About VCO

Virtual Competition Organisation (VCO) brings together different stakeholders in Esports, from simulation or gaming platforms and interested partners to active teams, drivers and the community. In a rapidly growing sector, VCO stands for professionalism, focus and a broad media presence. With its international network, VCO provides solutions for the best possible conception and implementation of Esports projects of all kinds.