On the week following the Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin, Texas, America was triumphant in the first Rising Stars Series Regional Final as nurb deservedly won the Americas heat!
An initiative first introduced in 2020, the Rising Stars Series is a talent-spotting programme which required young hopefuls from around the world to tackle four Online Challenges in which Gamers are divided into three categories, depending on their location. These three are the Americas, Europe and Africa, and finally Asia and Oceania.
Ten of the fastest young gamers from the Americas faced off for an eight-lap thriller around the ultra-demanding Circuit of the Americas for the first of the three regional finals.
nurb, riding for LCR Honda, started the final as the favourite, courtesy of his qualifying performance, which resulted in pole position. What followed was an exhibition of high-quality close control, as the American dominated proceedings, winning the event by a colossal 16s in one of the most convincing performances in MotoGP™ eSport history. A future star is born.
With nurb, dominating out front, it was left to the two KTM entries to scrap it out for second. In the end, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Macargo1 took the runner up spot, with Red Bull KTM Tech 3’s TwoPlainJane an excellent third around the tough 20-turn circuit.
Ecstar Suzuki’s MrHitStick05 was fourth with XxBastoner92xX of Pramac Ducati in fifth. Flanker-SNS aka [BRR]S.Nunes was an early crasher but brilliantly fought his way back into the podium fight. Yet a late Long Lap Penalty and subsequent fall saw him come home a frustrating sixth.
Click here to view the Race Results and the General Standings
The stakes in the Regional Finals couldn’t be higher, with the winner in each category (Americas, Europe and Africa) receiving a guaranteed place in the MotoGP™ eSport Draft Selection in 2022.
The next regional final is on Wednesday 13th October at 18.00 (GMT +7), 13.00 (GMT +2/BCN) where the eleven fastest young hopefuls from Asia and Oceania will contest their final.
