For Kevin Siggy, winning the title in the DTM Esports Championship powered by MediaMarkt is within reach. After another gala performance by Siggy on the virtual Red Bull Ring and an intense duel with defending champion Moritz Löhner, the two shared victories and points in the fifth and penultimate race.
With a lavish cushion of 54 points, the Ferrari driver enters the grand finale, which will be held on Thursday, April 28 at the virtual Grand Prix circuit in Portimão in Portugal. Reigning DTM Esports champion Moritz Löhner knows all too well that a minor miracle will have to happen in order to take the title from the Slovenian.
But the DTM Esports Championship powered by MediaMarkt is about much more than just the title. Not only the champion, but the first five in the final standings receive the same prize: participation in a licensing course in real motorsport. This course on the Lausitzring will be exciting as the best can look forward to a full season in the DTM Trophy, the talent factory on the DTM platform – a unique opportunity to win in virtual motorsport, in sim racing. Next to Kevin Siggy (Ferrari, Team Redline), who leads the table with 380 points, and Löhner (BMW, Dörr Esports) with 326 points, Florian Hasse (BMW, Dörr Esports) with 234 and Gianmarco Fiduci (Ferrari, Team Fordzilla ) are Also in the lead 222 and Alessandro Ottaviani (Ferrari, R8G eSports) with 202 points took the coveted first five places. Sixth-seeded Leonard Krippner (BMW, Dörr Esports) still has a good chance of beating this quintet by 197 points, while Jack Keithley (Mercedes-AMG, 172) of Formula 1 offshoot Williams Esports should have little chance.
The unique mountain and valley track in Styria produced a first-class DTM esports race. It wasn’t just Siggy and Löhner who showed their skills as sim racers, but also Fiduci, Hasse, Krippner and Max Pfeifer (Mercedes-AMG, Tailoredrig G2 Esports). The duel between Siggy and Löhner was already in full swing in free practice when Siggy defeated Löhner. When points were at stake for the first time in qualifying for the sprint race, Löhner was wide awake and secured his third pole position of the season ahead of Siggy and his team-mate Hasse. “I worked intensively on the set-up. That was also badly needed. In any case, I have found one or two tenths,” said a visibly relieved defending champion, who could once again count on the support of his teammates Hasse and Krippner.
At the start of the 15-minute sprint race, the trio of Dörr Esports managed to make a real feat. On the flank, the Dörr-Zug with Löhner, Hasse and Krippner started from position one, three and five, passed everyone, including Siggy, and took the first three places. A perfect maneuver and ideal for Löhner. But Siggy showed his strength, fought bravely and also visible at the limit. As wide as the Dörr-BMW made itself, Siggy eventually overcame the resistance of Krippner and Hasse, finishing second behind Löhner, who celebrated his fourth win of the season, ahead of Hasse. Krippner, Isaac Price (BMW, BMW M2 Esports), Fiduci, Pfeifer, Keithley, Ottaviani and Michael Rächl (Mercedes-AMG, Dörr Esports) rounded out the top 10.
In qualifying for the endurance race, the increasingly strong Fiduci surprised brand colleague Siggy with pole position, Löhner scored a point in third place. In the 60-minute feature race, which, like the sprint, was tough but very fair, 23-year-old Löhner got off to an excellent start and immediately squeezed between Fudici and Siggy in the first corner. A team of six formed up front with Pfeifer, Hasse and Krippner in positions four, five and six. It was only a matter of time before Siggy Löhner would attack, but Löhner fended off the initial attacks or Siggy tripped himself and went sideways several times exiting long corners. But Löhner also had to use all his skills to keep the blue-black BMW on the track at all times.
Simultaneously, the lead trio made their way to the pit lane for their mandatory stop after 25 minutes of racing, and the trio returned in super close succession to the beautifully situated racetrack in Styria. Finally, at the end of the uphill section in the Remus corner, Löhner launched an attack on Fiduci, which failed completely as he couldn’t get past Fiduci and even Siggy slipped through. Nine minutes before the end of the race, the possibly championship-defining scene happened when Fiduci lost first place to Siggy. Löhner’s chances diminished, mainly as he struggled to keep up with the pace of the Ferrari duo, which had the advantage especially out of tight corners. Then came the last lap and Fiduci wanted to get back into the sun, but the Italian made a huge braking error in the Remus corner, which allowed Löhner to pass and take second place, behind Siggy and ahead of Fiduci. Pfeifer finished fourth ahead of Hasse, Price, Krippner, Keithley, Ottaviani and Marc Gassner (BMW, Tailoredrig Esports).
In the sprint race Alex Mosin (Ferrari, Ballas Esports) was the 19th best placed qualifier of the DTM Esports Cup powered by MediaMarkt, in the feature race Julien Fox (BMW/TR powered by Greekz Energy) was 17th.
images © DTM