Nicoló Ardizzone can now add a second Jersey eRally victory alongside his DiRT Rally 2.0 World Series qualification to his impressive rally esports CV, after a superlative drive through stages on Sunday evening (28th November).
Driving the Ford Fiesta R5 Mk2, the QLASH Team driver blasted through the 12 German-based asphalt stages – that included a mix of day, night, wet and dry conditions – just 0.7 seconds ahead of Solberg World Cup podium finisher Jonathan Schaeffer.
There were multiple classes open to entry in the 2021 edition of the Channel Island esports event, and Schaeffer also managed to win the Kit Car and Ford Escort Mk2 classes. Jeremi Campos, meanwhile, won the Mitsubishi Evo Challenge and Jerseyman Jack Clayden took victory in the Trophy Rally for drivers who retired from the main event in two or more classes.
The event proved dramatic for some, as Ardizzone’s fellow DiRT Rally 2.0 World Series finalist Kazuho Iwata, unfortunately, retired on the second stage, while triple British Rally Champion Matt Edwards and Swedish Championship front runner Mattias Adielsson both crashed out during the eighth stage.
“I can’t believe I won it after such an incredible battle with Jonathan, congratulations to him on an amazing drive and pushing me all the way. I would like to give a special mention to my Italian compatriot Lorenzo Bartolo who got a good fourth-place finish on the rally,” said the overall victor, Ardizzone.
Several Traxion.GG team members also took part. John Munro entered in the Formula 2 Kit Car class, putting together a stirring drive broadcast live on our Twitch channel, until a night-stage puncture. A similar fate befell Thomas Harrison-Lord too, both trading stage times and ultimately incurring a similar time loss.
Event director and Traxion.GG social media guru Ben Buesnel beat them both in the Kit Car category and finished ahead of Thomas in the Escort class, winning the inaugural Traxion.GG cup and the coveted KitKat Chunky.
“I would like to say a massive thank you to all competitors who hopefully enjoyed challenging themselves on some tough stages in the day, night and wet conditions and well done to everyone who made the finish. Thank you also to everyone who donated towards the two charities – an incredible weekend all around,” explained Ben.
The event used DiRT Rally 2.0, and the 245 entrants raised funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust Jersey Appeal and RNLI Jersey. So far, it has raised over £1,000 and donations are still welcome via JustGiving. Several images and videos have been shared with the official Facebook Group, and if you want to keep in the loop about future potential events, this is the place to find out more.
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