The 24 Hours of Le Mans record is enriched by an unprecedented 88th winner: the N.1 prototype of Rebellion Williams Esport won Sunday the first virtual edition of the legendary race, postponed in real time to September because of the coronavirus pandemic . Headliners Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Fernando Alonso have had less success, overwhelmed by technical problems.
Yet among the favorites because of their experience of the real as the virtual, the Dutch Verstappen and the British Lando Norris, opponents in Formula 1 but associated during this race, must be content with 25th place. The same goes for Spanish veterans Alonso and Brazilian Rubens Barrichello, 17th, or Frenchman Simon Pagenaud (who had to change gear in the middle of a relay after a steering wheel problem) and Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya, 27th and penultimate in the LMP queen category.
VICTORY
What an experience for the REBELLION WILLIAMS Esports team.
Drivers & Sim Racers: Well done @ WilliamsEsports @ 24hoursoflemans # BecauseWeAreREBELLS # LEMANS24 # WEC # LeMans24Virtual # REBELLIONWILLIAMSESPORTS # WILLIAMSpic.twitter.com / 8Cvt2dTxPm
Another pair from F1, the Monegasque Charles Leclerc and the Italian Antonio Giovinazzi finish at the bottom of the lower GTE category. The Veloce Esports 1 crew, led by the French Pierre Gasly, Formula 1 driver, and Jean-Eric Vergne, double Formula E champion, ranks 5th. Also note the 9th place of the ex-British F1 driver Jenson Button.
Apart from two server problems which caused interruptions of a few tens of minutes, the virtual images, wide shot and on-board cameras, did not have much to envy to those of "real" races and the German driver André Lotterer confided " feel almost at Le Mans ”, an event he is used to.
This race has surpassed our greatest expectations and in the end @RebellionRacing x @WilliamsEsports # 1 has won the world premiere # LeMans24Virtual.
Congrats @LouisDeletraz, @Team_Rmarciello N.Wisniewski and @KubaBrzezinski! # WEC # LeMans24pic.twitter.com / vskwxjEg6B
On the initiative of major motorsport championships (F1, MotoGP, Formula E, IndyCar, WEC ...) and esports players, virtual races involving professional pilots, "sim racers" and personalities have experienced boom with the coronavirus pandemic, containment measures and the cancellation of real races. The esport version of the classic Le Mans took place on the dates when the actual 24 Hours of Le Mans was originally scheduled, postponed to September 19-20.
200 pilots from 37 countries
As claimed in the regulations, the winning team combines two professional drivers, the Swiss Louis Delétraz, who normally plays in Formula 2, the F1 antechamber, and the Italian Raffaele Marciello, with two virtual racing specialists ( or "sim racers"), the Poles Kuba Brzezinski and Nikodem Wisniewski, who had the privilege of crossing the finish line.
The second place at 17 seconds went to the "proto" N.4 of Bykolles - Burst Esport, with on board notably the French Tom Dillmann, pilot in the world endurance championship (WEC), and the third at 22 seconds at the Rebellion Williams Esport N.13, led among others by F2 resident Jack Aitken.
Propelled at the head of the night after having started from 8th position on the grid, the car N.1 controlled the second part of the race, while its next two had engaged in a bitter duel in the last hours.
In GTE, Porsche wins with the N.93 driven in particular by Briton Nick Tandy, 2015 winner of the event with the German manufacturer, who won Le Mans for the first time fifty years ago, in 1970 These first virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans brought together 200 professional drivers and "sim racers" from 37 countries and running on 170 different racing simulators around the world, according to figures given by the organizers.
Really hot and spicy! https://t.co/Gv5mPqEyLO
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