- Reigning champion Dillan Tan leads the way for Legion of Racers in Pro
- Genisus Esports on top in Silver thanks to Luke Addison
- Full 49-car field includes 25-strong Pro entry and 24 Silver runners
- ENTRY LIST: Mobileye GT World Challenge Esports Asia Sprint Series, Donington Park
If the opening round at Imola was anything to go by, reigning Mobileye GT World Challenge Esports Asia Sprint Series champion Dillan Tan will take some stopping as the field heads to Donington Park for round two tomorrow (Wednesday, June 28).
Having won four of the five rounds on his way to the title last season, Tan picked up where he left off, guiding his Legion of Racers Mercedes-AMG to both pole position and victory to get his championship defence off to the best possible start.
However, Tan’s margin of victory wasn’t a crushing one, and there’s a highly talented pack of racers queueing up to try and overthrow him.
In Silver, Luke Addison made a flying start to lead the way in his Genisus Esports BMW M4, but with the class so wide open, trying to pick a winner ahead of round two is quite the challenge.
All races take place on the Assetto Corsa Competizione platform, with each class boasting a bumper prize fund. A total of €4000 is on offer for the Pro runners, with the Silver drivers fighting for a further €2000.
Who can stop Tan at Donington Park?
Having walked to the 2022 title, Dillan Tan again looks the driver to beat after he made a flying start his title defence with a perfect performance at Imola.
The Legion of Racers Mercedes-AMG GT3 ace scored pole position in Italy by a mere 0.007s, but then stamped his authority on the race, leading every lap to secure his first win of the season and with it an early championship lead.
His charge was perhaps made a bit easier by the only other driver to have won a race last season, Andika Rama Maulana, enduring a tough opening round after a tricky qualifying and resulting battle to eighth place aboard the sister LoR Mercedes-AMG.
Rama Maulana needs to come out fighting for round two, as he’s already 24 points down on his team-mate. However, his troubles at Imola opened the door for Ferris Stanley to emerge as the early challenger to Tan, securing a superb second place in the BMW M Team BS+Competition M4, and as such he sits just five points back in the championship, well within striking distance.
Sota Muto runs third in the Williams Esports Mercedes-AMG, with last year’s Silver champion Philippa Boquida making an impressive start to life in the Pro category by taking fourth at Imola in her BMW M Team BS+Competition M4 GT3. Naquib Azlan sits fifth in the McLaren Axle Sports 720S GT3 Evo, with Chris Tsang in sixth for Z-Challenger Racing BMW.
Others to watch include Fadhli Rachmat (Tarmac Works Honda NSX GT3 Evo), Yat Lam Law (Wako’s Fliptable Racing BMW M4) and Moreno Pratama (Tarmac Works Honda NSX GT3 Evo), all of whom enjoyed strong finishes to last year’s championship but suffered sluggish starts at Imola and will be keen to make up for some lost ground.
Addison looking to defend early Silver lead
There was a truly dominant winner at Imola, and for once it wasn’t Tan, as Luke Addison struck the first blow in the Silver class in emphatic fashion.
Tan won the Pro contest by just over three seconds, but Addison ran clear of his Silver rivals by over nine, marking him out as the early frontrunner in the Genisus Esports BMW M4. New to the championship this year, that result marked the ideal start for Addison, but he will have to be on his toes to keep up the momentum in a field packed with talent.
KuiSheng Huang sits second in the championship in the Full Pace Racing Porsche 992 GT3 R after a strong start at Imola, with Russel Reyes’ JMX Phantom BMW M4 in third. One driver who should probably feature higher in the ranking is Daffa Boediharjo, who put his SOLOX BMW M4 on class pole at Imola, but early troubles led to a collision and two pit stops that combined to set him back to a disappointed ninth. Still, he has the speed to turn things around at Donington and beyond.
Shuning Gong (DriveJustBoyz Racing Team Audi R8 LMS Evo II) is an early fourth in the points, ahead of the twin MPRGP BMWs of Rialto Ristofani and Damario Haznam.
Also keep an eye out for the likes of Ali Khairudin (GSR Esports Mercedes-AMG), Bruno Gallo (Laundry House Porsche 992 GT3 R) and Matthew Pignata (Alpha Venturi Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR).
Action for round two of the Mobileye GT World Challenge Esports Asia Sprint Series gets underway with practice and qualifying from 16:30 HKT (10:30 CEST), with the race scheduled for 18:00 HKT (12:00 CEST). The race will be streamed live via the GT World YouTube channel.