Indonesian gamer DipoAkbar12 is the 2023 Rising Stars Series Champion after producing a dominant display in the Online Final, winning by over five seconds.
Competing for Felo Gresini MotoE™, the Indonesian showed unerring consistency on this biggest stage of all to head K7nnyyy (Tech3 E-Racing) at the chequered flag, with sky_hadif (RNF MotoE™ Team) a fine third.
The prize for victory in Friday’s finale is a guaranteed a slot in the 2024 MotoGP™ eSport Pro Draft, the phase where the current MotoGP™ teams select the gamer to represent them in the Global Series. A path to future MotoGP™ eSport glory is now awaiting DipoAkbar12!
The big change for the Rising Stars Series in 2023 is all Online Challenges and the Online Final were disputed using MotoE™ machines. After the 2023 MotoE™ World Championship concluded in dramatic fashion in September at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, there was a similarly dramatic encounter here at the San Marino venue.
As is the case in the MotoGP™ eSport Global Series, each finalist competed for one of the nine teams that competed in this year’s MotoE™ World Championship, adding extra prestige to the event.
And after a dramatic early exchange, when there were a host of names competing at the front, DipoAkbar12 got out front and began to set a fearsome rhythm. No one could keep up as he gradually extended his lead to 5.043s on the final lap!
If the victory fight was straightforward, the scrap for second was anything but. German entrant K7nnyyy was locked in a fierce battle with Malaysian sky_hadif throughout, once the pair had broken clear of Italian Flavio Baldacci (HP Pons Los40). In the end K7nnyyy kept his cool on the final lap to take second from sky_hadif by just 0.6s!
Flavio Baldacci was a spirited fourth, with fellow Italian Davidegallina23 (Prettl Pramac MotoE™) fifth. Malaysian Khairi Haziq (LCR E-Team) was sixth.
Aimed at finding and fostering fresh eSport talent around the world, the Rising Stars Series mirrors Road to MotoGP™ initiatives out on track such as the Red Bull MotoGP™ Rookies Cup, the Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup and more, as it aims to promote young talent towards the very top of the MotoGP™ eSport Championship.
Online Final Results:
- DipoAkbar12: 13:13.307
- K7nnyyy: +5.043
- sky_hadif: +5.711
- Flavio Baldacci : +9.517
- Davidegallina23: +18.056
- Khairi Haziq: +22.742
- Nanchy: +33.691
- XxBastoner92xX: DNF
- BrunoA93:DNF
