The tenth and final race event of the 2021 edition of The Real Race presented by Lamborghini Esports took place over the 28th November weekend. As it was in the first event of the season, all three of the regions were on display during the livestream broadcast on the Lamborghini Squadra Corse YouTube channel. The final venue of the season was the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, a 4.226-kilometer, 2.626-mile venue with 16 corners located in Italy.
For each region, qualifiers were open beforehand to get the 20 best entered into the event. After closed qualifying the day before, the dual races per region took place on Sunday. APAC ran first, the EMEA group second, and NALA would run later on in the day.
Both the APAC and EMEA regions championships were decided entering the day, but the NALA championship to close out the competition would come down to the final race and a single point of separation entering. Andrew O’Hara (APAC) and Jordan Sherratt (EMEA) were already confirmed, but it was Fidel Moreira with a comeback for the ages, defeating the season-long dominant William Hendrickson in the final race of the season.
CHAMPIONSHIPS DECIDED
Each regional champion will be invited to Lamborghini headquarters in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy. One will get the chance to be the official sim driver for the brand in 2022. The full results are available on The Real Race website. The series utilized the Assetto Corsa Competizione platform.
“We are very proud to have been able to carry out this international sim racing competition in the last six months and that it went so well”, said Federico Foschini, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer of Lamborghini. “This edition of The Real Race was very much a success with an average of more than 200 competitors in each event and a huge number of players in all three regional championships.
“The best sim drivers in the world have joined The Real Race and proved themselves once more. We can’t wait to welcome the winner for an out of this world experience at our headquarters in Italy and to provide one of them with the opportunity to start their Esports career by becoming Lamborghini’s first official sim driver.”
APAC MISANO ADRIATICO: Rayton takes double victory, O’Hara claims title from sideline
The APAC region finale only saw five of the seven qualified drivers take the grid on Sunday. With both Andrew O’Hara and Davlish Singh unable to make the show, Terry Rayton assumed the top spot and became the top driver for the day. O’Hara had power issues, per the broadcast. Thankfully, his title was secured entering the finale with nearly a 100-point gap over Rayton entering the finale.
Rayton managed to qualify for every APAC region event this season, collecting a Nurburgring Endurance race victory back in the sixth event. The gap in points was at 94 entering, and the most that Rayton could gain would be 78. He did just that, dominating both the 45-minute opening race and the hour-long feature to close out the season.
APAC Misano Adriatico Sprint Race Results
Pos | Driver | Laps | Best Time |
1 | Terry Rayton | 28 | 45:10.921 |
2 | Sergey Mironenko | 28 | 45:54.161 |
3 | Adrian Garnham | 28 | 46:26.226 |
4 | Tristan Carter | 28 | 46:30.523 |
5 | Paul Yeung | 27 | 45:52.927 |
DNS | Andrew O’Hara | 0 | 00:00.000 |
DNS | Davlish Singh | 0 | 00:00.000 |
APAC Misano Adriatico Feature Race Results
Pos | Driver | Laps | Best Time |
1 | Terry Rayton | 38 | 60:55.985 |
2 | Sergey Mironenko | 38 | 61:35.287 |
3 | Paul Yeung | 37 | 60:52.824 |
4 | Tristan Carter | 37 | 61:14.741 |
5 | Adrian Garnham | 37 | 62:15.201 |
DNS | Andrew O’Hara | 0 | 00:00.000 |
DNS | Davlish Singh | 0 | 00:00.000 |
O’Hara takes the title over Rayton by 16 points, despite not making the start in the finale. A strong day by Sergey Mironenko moves him up to round out the podium in the final standings. O’Hara will travel to Italy to go up against the other two region winners for a shot at becoming the Lamborghini sim driver for 2022.
EMEA MISANO ADRIATICO: Jordan Sherratt refuses to slow down, completes near-perfect season
The tenth and final race of the 2021 season, and absolutely nobody is surprised that it was Jordan Sherratt taking the dominating victory at Misano Adriatico. Sherratt took the pole and pulled away in both races. He already had the title wrapped up races ago after drivers like Martin Kadlečík and Kevin Siclari, two of his closest competitors, had dropped out.
Only two drivers were able to steal a win in the EMEA region from a near-perfect season that was had by Sherratt. At Laguna Seca, Kadlečík had Sherratt’s number, originally taking the pole, losing the shorter 45 minute race, but bouncing back to win the hour feature. At Catalunya, Sherratt was knocked off the road in the hour feature after a dominant performance to that point, and it was Marcello Bonaccorsi taking advantage.
EMEA Misano Adriatico Sprint Race Results
Pos | Driver | Laps | Best Time |
1 | Jordan Sherratt | 29 | 46:26.472 |
2 | Marcello Bonaccorsi | 29 | 46:36.092 |
3 | Beniamin Baumann | 29 | 46:46.348 |
4 | Artur Kucharczak | 29 | 46:49.446 |
5 | Fabio Calandrino | 29 | 46:50.572 |
6 | Gábor Sárosi | 29 | 46:56.222 |
7 | Cristian Berindea | 29 | 47:13.545 |
8 | Dario Barzaghi | 29 | 47:16.528 |
9 | Niko Kumpu | 29 | 47:23.929 |
10 | Heikki Hytönen | 29 | 47:24.916 |
11 | Vincenzo Senatore | 29 | 47:25.340 |
12 | Mike Orant | 29 | 47:29.172 |
13 | Dimcescu Cristian | 29 | 47:31.066 |
14 | Robin Hörig | 29 | 47:45.373 |
15 | Tommy Razeyre | 29 | 47:49.789 |
16 | Rafael Alves | 28 | 46:55.154 |
17 | Carlo Barberi | 28 | 47:31.564 |
18 | Kristóf Levente Pápai | 17 | 31:35.931 |
DNS | Mathys Leitao | 0 | 00:00.000 |
DNS | Romain Lippens | 0 | 00:00.000 |
EMEA Misano Adriatico Feature Race Results
Pos | Driver | Laps | Best Time |
1 | Jordan Sherratt | 38 | 60:37.794 |
2 | Marcello Bonaccorsi | 38 | 60:52.986 |
3 | Artur Kucharczak | 38 | 61:04.606 |
4 | Tommy Razeyre | 38 | 61:05.072 |
5 | Fabio Calandrino | 38 | 61:14.821 |
6 | Carlo Barberi | 38 | 61:21.895 |
7 | Gábor Sárosi | 38 | 61:35.515 |
8 | Vincenzo Senatore | 38 | 61:37.325 |
9 | Robin Hörig | 38 | 61:50.466 |
10 | Beniamin Baumann | 38 | 61:55.821 |
11 | Dario Barzaghi | 37 | 60:43.666 |
12 | Rafael Alves | 37 | 60:44.363 |
13 | Cristian Berindea | 37 | 60:56.999 |
14 | Dimcescu Cristian | 37 | 61:01.551 |
15 | Kristóf Levente Pápai | 37 | 61:28.072 |
16 | Niko Kumpu | 37 | 61:39.788 |
17 | Mike Orant | 37 | 61:44.791 |
DNS | Heikki Hytönen | 0 | 00:00.000 |
DNS | Mathys Leitao | 0 | 00:00.000 |
DNS | Romain Lippens | 0 | 00:00.000 |
At the end of 10 events, Sherratt managed to score 542 points, more than 100 points over the NALA region champion scored and nearly 200 points more than the APAC region champion. Tommy Razeyre stuck it out and took the runner-up spot at 210 points, 332 points behind. Sherratt also managed to score most of the fastest laps throughout the season among all three regions.
NALA MISANO ADRIATICO: Moreira takes title with double victory
After nine events and an incredible comeback, the fight for the title came down to the final two events at Misano Adriatico for the NALA region. Fidel Moreira started off the season ahead after Monza. William Hendrickson followed that up with a string of victories, taking the lead over for the majority of the season. Moreira closed back in with wins at Zandvoort and Spa-Francorchamps. Had Hendrickson won at Spa, he would have had it clinched.
Instead, the back and forth continued into the final moments of the season. Moreira came in with the upper hand, starting on the pole position with Hendrickson alongside. Hendrickson got the advantage and led early and often. Moreira kept the pressure on, attempting the undercut during the pit stop during the sprint. Hendrickson came in the next lap, but ended up with a drivethrough penalty, relegating him down the order.
After the sprint race, the gap was only a single point with Moreira winning and Hendrickson finishing fourth. That’s where they would start in the final race, and essentially the winner would be the champion. Hendrickson managed to get up to second, but Moreira held true and took the win and title by 11 points.
NALA Misano Adriatico Sprint Race Results
Pos | Driver | Laps | Best Time |
1 | Fidel Moreira | 28 | 45:09.797 |
2 | Vinny Oliveira Leão | 28 | 45:16.829 |
3 | Daniel de Oliveira | 28 | 45:18.098 |
4 | William Hendrickson | 28 | 45:30.229 |
5 | Brian Kannappan | 28 | 45:33.823 |
6 | Eric DeBon | 28 | 45:35.175 |
7 | Jonthan Clifford | 28 | 45:55.771 |
8 | Ryan Woodrow | 28 | 46:26.866 |
9 | Timothy Flammger | 27 | 45:10.797 |
10 | Federico Pagliardini | 20 | 35:00.264 |
NALA Misano Adriatico Feature Race Results
Pos | Driver | Laps | Best Time |
1 | Fidel Moreira | 38 | 60:43.162 |
2 | William Hendrickson | 38 | 60:48.679 |
3 | Vinny Oliveira Leão | 38 | 60:55.063 |
4 | Brian Kannappan | 38 | 61:08.256 |
5 | Daniel de Oliveira | 38 | 61:19.783 |
6 | Ryan Woodrow | 38 | 61:21.339 |
7 | Timothy Flammger | 38 | 61:22.729 |
8 | Eric DeBon | 38 | 61:24.616 |
9 | Jonthan Clifford | 38 | 61:59.887 |
DNS | Federico Pagliardini | 0 | 00:00.000 |
There was never any point where one seemed to have a clear advantage over the other throughout the entire season. Hendrickson had more wins, but Moreira had more consistency throughout the season. Moreira will join Sherratt and O’Hara in Italy for the chance to become the next Lamborghini sim driver for 2022.
Check out the full broadcast below where not only were all three regions on display, but also the new Lamborghini Secretlab chair was announced. Congratulations go out to all the champions. We’ll be staying tuned to see which of the three becomes the next sim driver for the manufacturer, as well as any details on the 2022 season.
Images thanks to The Real Race.