Rogers Extends Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup Points Lead With Nurburgring Feature Win
Sebastian Job took the sprint race, but Joshua Rogers responded with a win where it counted most, taking the checkered flag in Saturday’s Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup feature event from the Nurburgring. The Australian driver’s bid to become the first driver to win the series title twice is now in terrific shape, as he holds a 127-point advantage with just two races remaining on the calendar.
Utilizing both the modern grand prix circuit and the Nordschleife, the Nurburgring is the longest circuit on this year’s schedule, meaning that while the race lengths were similar to the rest of the calendar, the lap counts were much smaller. Rogers qualified fastest for the three-lap sprint race, but it was Job who would earn the victory in the end, as the two former series champions traded the point multiple times after utilizing the draft throughout the race. Mitchell deJong would also nip Rogers for second on the final lap to steal valuable points in his own bid for the series title.
As always, the top eight drivers on the grid were inverted for the four-lap feature, meaning both drivers would need to find a way through the pack to take the victory. Unfortunately, Job’s bid for the victory ended early with mechanical trouble, swinging the door wide open for Rogers to extend his points lead with a good finish. And extend it he did—after jumping past three cars at once to take the lead, he managed to hold on for his third victory of the season, with rookie Diogo Pinto scoring his first career podium in second place and Tommy Ostgaard completing the top three after also leading a lap.
In the All-Star races preceding the Supercup events, Dave Cam and Jimmy Broadbent split the two victories in the Porsche 911 RSR. Jaroslav Honzik was the only dual podium finisher of the day, placing second in the spring race and third in the feature; Emily “Emree” Jones completed the podium in the first race, while Borja Zazo split Broadbent and Honzik in the second.
Full Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup results from the Nurburgring were as follows:
Fin. |
St. |
No. |
Driver |
Laps |
Interval |
Led |
Best |
Pts. |
| 1 | 6 | 92 | Joshua K Rogers | 4 | 3 | 80 | ||
| 2 | 3 | 121 | Diogo C. Pinto | 4 | -0.249 | 0 | 8:24.392 | 60 |
| 3 | 1 | 58 | Tommy Østgaard | 4 | -0.366 | 1 | 8:23.299 | 53 |
| 4 | 5 | 57 | Dayne Warren | 4 | -0.562 | 0 | 63 | |
| 5 | 4 | 77 | Jeremy Bouteloup | 4 | -1.054 | 0 | 8:23.934 | 52 |
| 6 | 7 | 24 | Mitchell deJong | 4 | -1.167 | 0 | 8:23.222 | 57 |
| 7 | 2 | 16 | Mack Bakkum | 4 | -1.557 | 0 | 42 | |
| 8 | 10 | 312 | Daniel Lafuente | 4 | -2.168 | 0 | 8:23.602 | 37 |
| 9 | 9 | 49 | Jamie Fluke | 4 | -2.212 | 0 | 8:23.209 | 36 |
| 10 | 12 | 7 | Jeff Giassi | 4 | -3.610 | 0 | 8:23.741 | 31 |
| 11 | 11 | 15 | Zac Campbell | 4 | -4.119 | 0 | 30 | |
| 12 | 14 | 5 | Martin Krönke | 4 | -4.156 | 0 | 8:23.618 | 25 |
| 13 | 15 | 8 | Graham Carroll | 4 | -7.590 | 0 | 8:24.347 | 22 |
| 14 | 22 | 11 | Maximilian Benecke | 4 | -11.306 | 0 | 8:23.313 | 14 |
| 15 | 20 | 729 | Maxim Ramsteijn | 4 | -11.723 | 0 | 13 | |
| 16 | 19 | 10 | Jack Sedgwick | 4 | -14.156 | 0 | 12 | |
| 17 | 25 | 51 | Josh Thompson | 4 | -14.335 | 0 | 9 | |
| 18 | 18 | 04 | Salva Talens | 4 | -16.511 | 0 | 8:24.058 | 11 |
| 19 | 17 | 93 | Charlie Collins | 4 | -24.331 | 0 | 11 | |
| 20 | 21 | 119 | Pekka Tuomainen | 4 | -24.907 | 0 | 8:27.986 | 6 |
| 21 | 26 | 43 | Brian Lockwood | 4 | -34.153 | 0 | 8:29.296 | 5 |
| 22 | 13 | 31 | David Williams | 4 | -2:09.334 | 0 | 8:24.707 | 12 |
| 23 | 23 | 107 | Tuomas Tähtelä | 3 | -1 L | 0 | 3 | |
| 24 | 16 | 69 | Moreno Sirica | 2 | -2 L | 0 | 7 | |
| 25 | 28 | 30 | Kevin Ellis Jr | 2 | -2 L | 0 | 8:22.849 | 1 |
| 26 | 24 | 33 | Ricardo Castro Ledo | 1 | -3 L | 0 | 0 | |
| 27 | 8 | 1 | Sebastian Job | 0 | -4 L | 0 | 31 | |
| 28 | 27 | 90 | Yohann Harth | 0 | -4 L | 0 | 0 | |
| 29 | 29 | 47 | Alejandro Sánchez | 0 | -4 L | 0 | 0 |
Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup points through eight rounds are as follows:
- Josh Rogers, 515
- Mitchell deJong, 388
- Sebastian Job, 367
- Kevin Ellis Jr., 305
- Charlie Collins, 300
- Dayne Warren, 300
- Maximilian Benecke, 268
- Zac Campbell, 260
- Graham Carroll, 257
- Tommy Ostgaard, 256
Just two rounds remain in the 2021 Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup season: a visit to Circuit de la Sarthe on April 10, and the traditional series finale at Autodromo Nazionale Monza on April 24. Coverage kicks off at 2PM ET with the All-Star action, and continues with the sim racing pros at 3PM ET. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.
Images via Justin Prince
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