Like Round 1, Aprilia Racing’s davideturrisi06 comes away with a healthy championship advantage after winning the second Tissot Sprint of the year and emerging triumphant from Race 1. But a slip up in Race 2 gave his opponents a glimmer of hope.
There were storylines aplenty as reigning MotoGP™ eSport Champion Jack Hammer4658 (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) pulled himself back into championship contention with spirited rides in Race 1 and 2, while danielealoè26 (Ducati Lenovo Team) bounced back from Race 1 disappointment to expertly win Race 2.
The highly-anticipated Round 2 was the second of two virtual events this year, before the finale will be live and in person at Milan Games Week at the end of November, where the the stunning Italian city will be the scene of the crowning of this year’s MotoGP™ eSport Champion!
Just like the previous two years, gamers competed in a Tissot Sprint, as well as two longer-length races in each round.
Round 2 offered up plenty of challenges to the 11 entrants. The Sprint took place at Indonesia’s spectacular Pertamina Mandalika Circuit before the Petronas Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia hosted Race 1 – and a dramatic flag-to-flag outing. And Portugal’s undulating Autódromo Internacional do Algarve is the scene of Race 2.
The 3-lap Tissot Sprint was a straightforward success for davideturrisi06 who led from the front while Global Series rookie JulitoCampeon15 (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) pushed him hardest with a superb second place. PieroRicciuti55 (LCR Honda) took a hard-fought third.
Race 1 was a classic. Originally a tight 5-way fight between davideturrisi06, 26_adriaan (Honda HRC Castrol), PieroRicciuti55, Cristianmm17(Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and JulitoCampeon15, the contest was turned on its head five laps in when the rain started falling. All of the lead group pitted to change to wet tyres, while Jack Hammer4658 risked the final two laps in worsening conditions on slicks. It appeared a masterstroke – until exiting the final corner, as davideturrisi06 caught and Cristianmm17 reeled him in before passing him on the run to the finish line!
Race 2 at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve saw the return of preseason favourite danielealoè26 (Ducati Lenovo Team) to form. A lowly 11th in Race 1, the Italian was on hand to capitalise on a rare mistake from davideturrisi06, who crashed out of the lead mid-race. From there, he led home Jack Hammer4658 and Cristianmm17 with davideturrisi06finishing fifth.
As a result of this early action davideturrisi06 (101 points) extends his advantage to 29 points, with Jack Hammer4658 (72) now second. danielealoè26 (67) remains third, 34 points back with PieroRicciuti55 (66) dropping to fourth, 35 points in arrears.
Fans can watch the action back on motogp.com and esport.motogp.com, on selected TV broadcasters, 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.
After today’s action, you won’t want to miss the season finale, which will decide this year’s MotoGP™ eSport Champ on 28th November!
