Five times a Racer League champion, and three times in a row, Michal Šmídl is now a Racing Unleashed legend.
The competition, which uses in-person motion simulators and Assetto Corsa at the outfit’s European lounges, offers the champion a CHF 10,000 (~€10,600) prize.
Heading into the eighth and final round of the 2024/25 season, Šmídl headed the standings, but three race wins by Coque López had brought him into contention, while Alejandro Sánchez clung on after a strong start to the season.
The Czech champion faced an uphill struggle as the season-deciding Red Bull Ring race began, as this was a reverse grid round – the top nine in the points standings pre-race reversed to determine the lineup.
López was in a determined mood, fending off Šmídl as they made side-to-side contact at Schlossgold on the opening lap and then again at the opening Niki Lauda Kurve a tour later.
The newly signed TC Esports driver – Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois’ team – avoided using the push-to-pass system early on to defend, saving extra allocations for later.
He would charge on from here, soon passing Bahrain race winner Enrique Maranon for sixth on the fifth lap, before a fierce battle with Angelo Michel for fifth, depleting the saved push-to-pass for the multi-lap encounter.
However, it was all in vain, as two five-second penalties for contact dropped the Spaniard to 10th in the final results.
Šmídl’s race was complex, watching López advance through the ranks at a quick rate, and unaware of his penalties, the reigning champion initially struggled to overtake Siro Zambra for eighth, before the Williams Academy driver finally made a mistake.
He had to wait until Lap 12 before making further significant progress. Angelo Michel made a mistake at the exit of the opening corner, losing momentum and momentarily impeding Maranon. Šmídl pounced, passing them both.
At the time, it was enough to clinch the title, double so once the post-race penalties had been applied to his closest challenger.
“To be honest, it was one of my toughest races; there were so many battles that I didn’t want to be in, so I had to manage that,” said Šmídl.
“I liked every moment on track this season, I’m getting a little emotional, this is a nice birthday present as I’m turning 30 tomorrow.”
A staggering achievement, considering he didn’t take a race win all season, but made the most of the reverse grid races and stayed out of trouble.
Somewhat under the radar, the third title contender, Alejandro Sánchez, needed to win and for trouble to befall the other two to claim a second Race league title.
Back on form after a turbulent few rounds, the two-time winner this season made excellent progress while the focus was on López and Šmídl. With eight laps remaining, a win looked possible, slicing by Sebastian Hirsch for second place.
However, Hirsch had plenty of push-to-pass left in reserve, retaking the position and holding on to claim second, behind Janik Pletscher, who took the lead on the first lap and never looked back.
Maroto wins final Challenger League race
In the supporting Challenger League for slow cars, and the change to be promoted into the Racer League for next season, Unai Maroto won, although Salva Talens claimed the title one race earlier last month.
The result did mean that Maroto could claim third overall behind Talens, with Mario Stanic in second.
Racing Unleashed Esports Series 2024/25, Racer League, Race 8 results
- Janik Pletscher
- Sebastian Hirsch
- Alejandro Sánchez
- Vojtech Polesny
- Enrique Maranon
- Michal Šmídl
- Siro Zambra
- Agustin Torlaschi
- Angelo Michel
- Coque López
Racing Unleashed Esports Series 2024/25, Challenger League, Race 8 results
- Unai Maroto
- Melvin Leuppi
- Adrian Gomez
- Mario Stanic
- Timothy Sperisen
- Tim Potzmader
- Salva Talens
- David Wuethrich
- Ivan Merino
- Roberto Miguez
Racing Unleashed Esports Series 2024/25, Racer League, Championship standings
- Michal Šmídl – 117 pts
- Alejandro Sánchez – 99 pts
- Coque López – 96 pts
- Enrique Maranon – 82 pts
- Siro Zambra – 79 pts
- Janik Pletscher – 77 pts
- Angelo Michel – 72 pts
- Vojtech Polesny – 71 pts
- Sebastian Hirsch – 60 pts
- Christoph Holstein – 30 pts
Racing Unleashed Esports Series 2024/25, Challenger League, Championship standings
- Salva Talens – 114 pts
- Mario Stanic – 83 pts
- Unai Maroto – 84 pts
- Guzman Miguelez – 76 pts
- Nikolaj Rogivue – 68 pts
- Adrian Gomez – 67 pts
- David Wüthrich – 65 pts
- Tim Potzmader – 60 pts
- Melvin Leuppi – 50 pts
- Timothy Sperisen – 49 pts
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