After failing to even make the final in the Esports World Cup last year, Porsche Coanda has bounced back one year later to win the latest season of Rennsport R1 competition.
It beat Verstappen Sim Racing in a head-to-head Finalist Mode battle at Daytona, where Josh Rogers finally came good with, remarkably, his first win of the season.
It started with a Hero Stage, where each team had to select two races each for their two drivers to score double points throughout, and teams came with different approaches to the format. Four teams used their hero on a #2 driver throughout the two reverse grid races, while VSR and Porsche Coanda went based on track.
VSR came into the day ahead of the rest on points, but persistence from BS+ Competition, and especially a magnificent performance in race three, brought them to just one point behind when points were adjusted for the second phase. Porsche Coanda caught up with the final Hero race at Daytona, putting them just seven points back.
It was just 160 points to reach Finalist Mode, and given how close it was, each of those three teams could reach it after just two races, at Spa, followed by Monza. At Spa, Porsche Coanda qualified first and second, allowing them to control the race and take a maximum of 36 points.
With Caique Oliveira getting a penalty for BS+, it was up to VSR to stay close. And they were doing a decent job until Kevin Siggy got into a crash with David Sobreiro, and suddenly, Porsche Coanda were in the driver’s seat.
This was confirmed when they locked out the front row of race two, defended their positions unusually but successfully on lap one, and then followed one another home for another 36 points. This put them in Finalist Mode for Laguna Seca, famously difficult for making overtakes.
VSR’s drivers set the benchmark early in the session, with two of the best laps they could muster, and with Rogers’ lap cancelled due to track limits, it was down to the qualifier of the season, Charlie Collins. He used every inch of tarmac in the final sector, but couldn’t quite do it, and VSR had an all-important front row lockout.
Collins knew he had to do something to get in between the teammates at turn one, otherwise the chance would pass them by, and so he dove down the inside. But in diving in deep, he’d make contact with a BMW, and spin, effectively ensuring another race with VSR also now in Finalist Mode.
This time, it would be Porsche Coanda locking out the front row again, and Josh Rogers finding some vintage form to take pole. Knowing it was their last chance, Siggy made an aggressive move at turn one of Daytona, hitting the pit wall in the process.
Collins and Enzo Bonito came out the other side door-to-door, with the Italian getting through but losing time. With the gap just over a second, a phenomenal time trial between Bonito and Rogers ensued, with the gap closing to six tenths at its closest.
In the end, though, despite a difficult season at times, Josh Rogers had enough to take the victory and crown Porsche Coanda as the Rennsport R1 Spring Season champions for 2026. Verstappen Sim Racing would end up coming close, but finishing second, while BS+ Competition finished a solid third.
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