eRace of Champions qualifying final line-up revealed

As the Race of Champions nears, taking place in Pite Havsbad from 24th to 29th of January, the entry list for the eROC virtual competition qualifying final has been unveiled.

16 drivers will fight it out on a modified Assetto Corsa, featuring rallycross vehicles and a snow-covered surface – aping the real-world Race of Champions event.

Last year, the final four were Autosport Esports Driver of the Year James Baldwin, F1 Esports Series Pro champion Lucas Blakeley, two-time F1 Esports champion Jarno Opmeer and Swedish finalist Martin Palm.

Opmeer would win the eROC title, with both him and Blakeley teaming up together in the ROC Nations Cup as part of the eROC ALL STARS squad. Blakeley then went on to beat four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel in one race. He returns to the competition this year.

There will be three Team Redline drivers involved. 2022 Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup champion Diogo Pinto, 2022 DTM Esports champion Kevin Siggy and 2022-23 Le Mans Virtual Series GTE champion Enzo Bonito – the latter eROC victor in 2018.

Four-time WRC Esports champion Lohan Blanc, aka Nexl, will participate, alongside real-world rallycross driver and 2022 Nitro RX NEXT Euro Champ Tommi Hallman plus 2021 DiRT Rally 2.0 World Series rallycross runner-up and iRacing Off-Road race winner Killian Dall’olmo.

They will be competing against RaceRoom Racing Experience expert Bence Bánki, following eWTCR race wins and the E1 Championship title. Former Ferrari Esports driver and 2021 Ferrari Esports champion Kamil Pawlowski and reigning Gran Turismo Nations Cup champion Coque López both feature in the line-up.

Rocket SimSport driver Jack McIntyre has also made the qualifying final, runner-up in both the 2021 British GT GT4 Esports championship and 2020 MINI CHALLENGE UK Series, he’s also a multiple Virtual Reality Racing Club champion – a series that uses a modified version of Assetto Corsa.

Autocross competitor Lucas Wollering, 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual entrant Arnaud Lacombe and GT World Challenge Europe Esports Aston Martin driver Manuel Biancolilla round out the entry list.

The winner of the qualifying final will then go on to the eROC event held in Sweden to compete against reigning champion Jarno Opmeer, this year’s Swedish champion and a special award participant for the best social media content creator.

Live coverage will be broadcast on the Race of Champions YouTube channel, 7 pm GMT / 8 pm CET, Wednesday 18th January.