For the majority of the 2023 Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup season, the sophomore driver from Altus Esports, Jordan Caruso, has been a model of consistency, picking up both his first Sprint and Feature wins, collecting a total of 10 Top 5 finishes in 18 race events to date.
The last two races, at the Nürburgring and Le Mans, have not been ideal. The final lap of the previous race sealed the fact that we would have a championship battle on our hands this weekend. In the Porsche Curves, Caruso went around hard into the barrier, and was unable to finish.
An approximated loss of 25 points at Le Mans, compounded with the points loss from an uncharacteristic day at the Nürburgring, and had those both just been a little better, Caruso would be walking into Monza on Saturday (3rd June) as an already clinched champion.
Instead, he will need to contend with both VRS Coanda Esports’ Zac Campbell (-37) and the 2020 PESC champion from Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports, Sebastian Job (-41) who both have legitimate shots at snatching the crown.
A points breakdown
A total of 85 points are up for grabs in the finale—10 points to a pole win, 25 points to a Sprint win, and 50 points for a Feature win. Caruso only needs to score 49 points to clinch his title, no matter what Campbell or Job are able to accomplish.
In the past two races, he’s managed a total of 52 points—37 at the Nürburgring and only 15 at Le Mans. His Spa Feature win, on the other hand, was worth 64 points from the qualifying and Sprint race points combined.
It hasn’t been the easiest roads for the other drivers either. Campbell and Job have had their own share of misery, but it’s been clear all season who have been the favorites.
The driver that’s come closest to a perfect event would be Stormforce Racing ART’s Alejandro Sánchez, who mind you, also has an outside chance at a title, mathematically in it being 73 points behind Caruso. Of course, if Caruso scores 13 points, or Campbell and Job have great runs, it won’t matter for Sánchez.
At Circuit of the Americas, Sánchez scored a season-high 75 points after winning the pole, winning the Sprint and finishing third in the Feature. A spot higher would have gained 80 total points, and, as mentioned, the clean sweep would have been worth 85 points.
The last time anyone had a perfect sweep? That would be Joshua Rogers, who managed the feat at Le Mans in 2021. Not saying that anyone needs it, but it’s definitely something that Campbell, Job and Sánchez will be vying for on Saturday when it comes down to it.
PESC: Top 10 in Driver’s Standings after Event #9 – Le Mans
| POS | CAR # | DRIVER | TEAM | SP. WINS | FT. WINS | T5s | TOTAL PTS |
| 1 | 12 | Jordan Caruso | Altus Esports | 1 | 1 | 10 | 464* |
| 2 | 15 | Zac Campbell | VRS Coanda Esports | 1 | 2 | 11 | 427 |
| 3 | 22 | Sebastian Job | Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports | 1 | 1 | 9 | 423* |
| 4 | 47 | Alejandro Sánchez | Stormforce Racing ART | 2 | 0 | 10 | 391* |
| 5 | 93 | Charlie Collins | VRS Coanda Esports | 0 | 1 | 8 | 358* |
| 5 | 1 | Diogo C. Pinto | Team Redline | 1 | 1 | 8 | 358* |
| 7 | 77 | Alessandro Bico | Williams Esports | 1 | 1 | 5 | 325* |
| 8 | 90 | Yohann Harth | Stormforce Racing ART | 0 | 1 | 5 | 320* |
| 9 | 37 | Cooper Webster | Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports | 0 | 0 | 4 | 248 |
| 10 | 69 | Moreno Sirica | Williams Esports | 0 | 0 | 0 | 227* |
Relegation Line outlook
That won’t be the only battle to keep our eyes on come Saturday afternoon. The battle for the Top 15, also known as the battle to avoid Relegation, is perhaps a bit more spicy than usual.
Mathematically locked into the 2024 season are the Top 8 in the points standings. That includes the four with a shot at the title, Caruso, Campbell, Job, Sánchez, as well as VRS Coanda Esports’ Charlie Collins, the defending PESC champion Diogo Pinto from Team Redline, Williams Esports’ Alessandro Bico and the most recent Feature winner from Le Mans, Stormforce Racing ART’s Yohann Harth.
Oracle Red Bull Racing Esport’s Cooper Webster is 70 points ahead, so he’s looking to have a great shot to advance, as does the other Williams Esports competitor Moreno Sirica, being 49 points ahead of the line. After that, it gets a bit tricky.
In 11th is Salva Talens (Stormforce Racing ART), only 35 points above the cut. Behind Talens is rookie Luca Kita from URANO eSports, 29 points ahead of 16th place. I think they are both ok, and that’s because they potentially have a 15 point buffer as they’ll be worried about 17th place instead. More on that in a second.
The vise tightens from 13th on down. Oskari Rinne, the rookie from BS+COMPETITION, sits only three points ahead of 16th place. Tied for 14th is another rookie in Lasse Bak of FYRA SimSport, only one single point ahead of Jamie Fluke, the Apex Racing Team veteran who is the first man out.
Possible crossover implications
Maximilian Benecke is in Munich, Germany this weekend competing for MOUZ in the inaugural ESL R1 Spring Championship. He’s been playing double duty for MOUZ, excelling in the new platform while also staying competitive at his roots on iRacing.
Whether Benecke is able to race or not remains to be seen. If he does, he will need a solid run at Monza to stay above the cut line. If he is unable to, Fluke just needs to score two points to pass him.
With the potential for Benecke to miss the PESC finale to compete in that other finale, that essentially moves the TXC Racing by TK rookie Gustavo Ariel right below the cutoff, needing to score 16 points over Fluke and 17 over either Benecke or Bak in the finale, despite his two victories in the middle of the season.
Outside to no chance
Below Ariel, both Julien Soenen of R8G Esports and Oscar Mangan of Altus Esports have an outside shot. Soenen is 30 points below the cut while Mangan is 40. Bobby Zalenski from VRS Coanda Esports is even further down than that, 63 points below that cut line. All three would need incredible performances to advance.
After that, you’ve got Bryn Collins (VRS Coanda Esports), Sam Kuitert (URANO eSports), Quentiin Vialatte (R8G Esports), Kevin Nielsen (FYRA SimSport), Tuomas Tähtelä (Heroic) and Mathias Stokbæk Jensen all with a mathematical chance, but it’s highly unlikely.
Drivers that are confirmed to be relegated out of the series includes Long Beach Sprint winner Simone Maria Marcenò (Altus Esports), Christopher Dambietz (FYRA SimSport), Alexey Nesov (URANO eSports) and Team Redline’s Gianni Vecchio, who hasn’t raced since the fourth event.
Where and when to watch
The epic finale to the 2023 Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup season will end with another finale battle at Autodromo Nazionale Monza. The Temple of Speed will host the championship where Caruso, Campbell, Job or Sánchez could be crowned.
The broadcast will be primarily advertised for the Porsche Motorsports social channels, although like eNASCAR, it will also find itself on the iRacing social channels. The broadcast kicks off around 2:00 pm ET / 6:00 pm GMT / 7:00 pm BST for the All-Stars while the World Championship goes off an hour later.
Don’t forget to watch All-Stars! While Casey Kirwan clinched the title early, there are still four more spots to decide in the Top 5 for the season-long prize of a TAG Heuer watch. Tune in!
