Munich. Maximilian Günther (GER) from BMW i Andretti Motorsport and BMW Team RLL driver Colton Herta (USA) went up against some of the world’s best professional racing drivers and sim racers at Sunday’s sim racing event “The Race All-Star Esports Battle”. Both drivers confirmed their talent for sim racing in the event, which was organised on the virtual Nürburgring within just a few days by the online motorsport magazine “The Race”. Günther claimed second place in the qualifying race for professional racing drivers, behind Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen (NED). Herta finished in third position. Günther retired from the main race, while Herta secured tenth place.
“Although the event was arranged at such short notice, it was really well organised and was just so much fun. Many thanks to ‘The Race’ and rFactor 2”, said Günther. “In the current situation, where it is impossible for real racing events to take place, sim racing is a fantastic opportunity for all of us to stay involved and compete in more races. It is great to compete against other drivers who I would otherwise never meet on the racetrack, and to go up against such unbelievably fast sim racers, who I have a lot of respect for, in this way. I think that we all put on a great show for the fans. I can see myself taking part in more events like this in the future.”
Like the other professional racing drivers, the BMW driving duo had made the decision to take part in “The Race All-Star Esports Battle” at short notice. The Nürburgring Grand Prix circuit was the setting for the three qualification races and the decisive final race on the rFactor2 platform – which also hosts the BMW SIM M2 CS Racing Cup.
Günther recorded a great second-place finish in the first qualification race, which was reserved exclusively for professional racing drivers. Only Verstappen was faster. Third place went to Herta, who had won the 24 Hours of Daytona (USA) in the BMW M8 GTE in 2019 with the BMW Team RLL. Other professionals taking part included António Félix da Costa (POR), currently heading the Formula E drivers’ standings, former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya (COL), as well as IndyCar drivers Felix Rosenqvist (SWE) and Simon Pagenaud (FRA).
In the main race, the two BMW drivers Günther and Herta put on another strong performance as they battled for top ten positions. Günther had to retire from the race but Herta finished in tenth place. This made him the second-best professional racing driver, behind Rosenqvist. Victory and prize money of 4,000 US dollars were claimed by sim racer Jernej Simoncic (SLO).
