The fourth and final round of the Global Series is fast approaching. Taking place on Friday 12th November at 18:00 (GMT +2), the event will not only see the finale of the 2021 MotoGP™ eSport Championship; the eleven finalists will be present at the Valencian Grand Prix for the first on-site event in two years!
A total of four gamers are separated by just 20 points after a season of drama, excitement and surprise. Established names Adriaan_26, Trast73 and AndrewZh have regularly been at the front; new name Piero Ricciuti55_ proved himself a genuine contender, and has a shot at deposing all three former champions.
A total of 22 gamers (16 from Europe, 6 from the Rest of the World category) were entered into the Draft Selection phase, with that then whittled down to the 11 riders who have been chosen by the MotoGP™ teams as their competitors in the Global Series. Those 11 hail from all around the world, creating an incredibly strong Global Series entry list.
Round one – Trast73 and Adriaan_26 neck and neck
Held in the middle of July, the hotly anticipated round one didn’t disappoint! The first race was held around the fabulous Algarve International Circuit – a first for the MotoGP™ eSport Championship -, and the second one will be on the stunning Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello.
Race one started in dramatic circumstances when pole sitter AndrewZh and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jack Hammer4658 came together at turn one at the start of the second lap. That allowed Adriaan_26, the reigning MotoGP™ Champion, and Trast73 through. From there, it was a classic cat-and-mouse contest, with Trast73 shadowing his compatriot. Adriaan_26 showed he is an expert at dealing with relentless pressure, with the Spaniard resisting Trast73’s attention and winning by just 0.402s.
Race two was more of the same. And this time it was Trast73 who got the jump and led from turn one. From there, it was an exhibition in concentration, as the Italian headed off race-long pressure from Adriaan_26 and AndrewZh. The three were never more than 1.5s apart on track, but the Yamaha man was faultless, as he came home 0.713s ahead of Adriaan_26, with AndrewZh 1.3s back in third.
Round two – chaos reigns!
After a month-long break, the first race was held in wet conditions around the historic Sachsenring Circuit, with the second outing coming from the high-speed Red Bull Ring in the Austrian mountains.
The wet conditions in race one threw the proverbial cat among the pigeons, with reigning champion Adriaan_26 qualifying down in eighth place. In a brilliant race that went right the way to the final corner of the final lap, AndrewZh won out in the rain, taking his first victory of this year’s Global Series with new stars RiccardoBottaro64 second and Jack Hammer4658 third. The podium was covered by just 0.9s!
The championship really heated up here, with Adriaan_26 fighting back to finish fifth, one place ahead of rival Trast73, who was unable to make good on his pole position. Both men finished behind new star, LCR Honda’s Piero Ricciuti55_, who was fourth.
And the drama didn’t end there! Adriaan_26 jumped the start for race two, bringing about a Double Long Lap Penalty from Race Direction. Untroubled up front, Piero Ricciuti55_, grabbed the initiative from the start and entered into a race-long duel with the highly experienced Williams_Cristian. The Ecstar Suzuki rider put the pressure on all race, but Piero Ricciuti55_ held on brilliantly for a first win of this year’s Global Series. Trast73 was third, Adriaan_26 fifth.
Round three – The cream rises to the top
The first race was held at the stunning Phillip Island Circuit in Australia, before the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli on Italy’s east coast hosted race two.
The first race was just two turns old when the championship was blown wide open. While attempting to take the lead, Trast73 crashed out, with Williams_Cristian falling when taking avoiding action. The pair would finish no higher than seventh and eighth respectively. Meanwhile at the front, an incredible battle between Adriaan_26 and AndrewZh developed with the lead changing hands several times. In the end, the Spaniard just hung on to win – but by the incredibly close margin of 0.001s!
Trast73 started race two knowing a good result was crucial. He duly posted a performance of perfection, withstanding heavy pressure from Adriaan_26 throughout to take a much-needed win by 0.6s. Williams_Cristian also attuned for his earlier error, scoring a fine third.
Fans can watch via MotoGP™ broadcasters, on motogp.com and esport.motogp.com, and across social media platforms including YouTube (via the MotoGP™ and MotoGP™ eSport channels), MotoGP™ eSport Twitter, Instagram, Facebook (via MotoGP™ and MotoGP™ eSport pages) and Twitch via MotoGP™ and MotoGP™ eSport.
Who will walk away with this year’s MotoGP™ eSport crown? Be sure to tune in on Friday 12th November at 18:00 (GMT+1) to find out!
