ADAC SimRacing Expo Asetek SimSports Community Trophy: Harhoff seizes advantage

Leon Harhoff’s stranglehold over the ADAC SimRacing Expo Asetek Simsports Community Trophy came to an end during Round 3 at the Lausitzring, as Leonardo Passoni took pole position and a double victory to move into contention for the overall championship win.

Qualifying for Round 4 at the Sachsenring highlighted how close the front two were, with Passoni snatching pole position from Harhoff by just three-hundredths of a second, with Mats Windhausen barely two-tenths in arrears.

Race 1

Off the line, Harhoff outdragged Passoni into Turn 1 with Windhausen slotting in behind. What followed was 20 minutes of tense battling between the leading pair, with Harthoff able to keep his Italian rival at arm’s length throughout the race.

Harhoff impressively held off Passoni until the chequered flag with Windhausen some distance back taking the final step on the podium.

Race 2

For the second round in a row, Harhoff came to strife on the opening lap of the partially reversed grid race, dropping right to the tail of the field after a gravelly moment. Passoni, on the other hand, made his way up to fourth on the first tour.

However, Passoni soon had his own issues after being collected by leader Alex Forel, which dropped him to eighth. Passoni would soon be on the tail of Harhoff, though, but the German would again go off-track and drop behind his rival.

In an amusing set of circumstances, Passoni made another unforced error and ceded position to Harhoff, with both championship contenders seemingly unwilling to drive conservatively.

Out front, Joe Viglion made a last-lap pass on Forel to take the win, with Gilles Samoey snatching third. Harhoff recovered to fourth, just ahead of Passoni, giving him a huge championship advantage heading to the final round, where Asetek SimSports prizes are available for the championship’s podium finishers:

• 1st place: Forte S Series pedal set 
• 2nd place:  250EUR voucher for the Asetek Simsports Shop
• 3rd place: 100EUR voucher for the Asetek Simsports Shop

Round 4 of the ADAC SimRacing Expo Asetek SimSports Community Trophy will take place on the 18th of October from an undisclosed track, with live coverage on the ADAC SimRacing Expo YouTube channel. 

Championship standings after Round 3 can be found via Grid Finder.

Asetek SimSports Community Trophy 2024 schedule

• Round 1 – 21-July – Norisring
• Round 2 – 11-August – Nurburgring Sprint
• Round 3 – 01-September – Lausitzring DTM
• Round 4 – 15-September – Sachsenring 2022
• Round 5 – 18-October – Track TBC