After the final four Challenges in the 2018 MotoGP™ eSport Championship we have the final 12 Semi-Finalists who’ll be playing in Madrid on Tuesday 30th October. That event will be broadcast live from 19.00 (GMT +1), so before the lights go out, let’s meet the first crop of this second wave of hopefuls!
The first three gamers moving through are RICK_MOTOGP_35, XXBOMBER_45XX and reigning champion TRASTEVERE73 – our graduates from Challenge #5 who set the best laps around Phillip Island on Jack Miller’s Alma Pramac Racing Ducati. RICK_MOTOGP_35 is British and hails from Derby, but his favourite rider? Dani Pedrosa. His favourite circuit is also Spanish – the modern classic MotorLand Aragon. The Spanish theme continues but with next graduate XXBOMBER_45XX, who is a native of Almeria, and his favourite rider is reigning MotoGP™ Champion Marc Marquez. Qualifying for Semi-Final 2 was around Phillip Island and that suited XXBOMBER_45XX, because it’s his favourite venue.
Reigning Champion TRASTEVERE73, meanwhile, prefers Mugello and Valentino Rossi. He’s a familiar name not only from last season but also from this: he competed in Semi-Final 1 but missed the cut for the Grand Final, so this is his final opportunity to progress and avoid a repeat of the drama that hit last time out!
The first qualifier from Challenge #6, DAVIDEGALLINA23, shares a few stats with our reigning champion. He’s Italian and a fan of Rossi and Mugello too – but adds a little love for Scott Redding, Franco Morbidelli, Andrea Dovizioso and Misano. He’s joined by RLLORCA26 and IVAN_AVELLA in Semi-Final 2 after the three took Rossi’s Yamaha fastest around the Autodromo del Mugello on their respective platforms.
RLLORCA26 is from Barcelona and his favourite rider is Dani Pedrosa, although his favourite bike is the Yamaha on which he qualified. His favourite track? The awesome Andalusian classic of the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto. IVAN_AVELLA is another who, like TRASTEVERE73, returns after making the cut a second time this season. The Italian also came third overall last year. His favourite riders are Valentino Rossi, Enea Bastianini and Adam Norrodin, and his favourite track is the very same Mugello he mastered to graduate for another shot at the Grand Final. In terms of bikes he also goes for the home choice as it’s Ducati all the way for the Naples native.
That’s the first half of the draw, now it’s time to gear up for Madrid and Semi-Final 2. Will the known names make it through this time? Or will there be another dramatic showdown? Find out from 19.00 (GMT +1) on the 30th October September when Semi-Final 2 is broadcast live from the Movistar eSports Center in Madrid.
