Six drivers qualified for this edition of the SimRacing Expo’s live tournament in Dortmund, three in each of the PRO and AM classes.
There was nothing unusual about the car/track selection, using the Mercedes GT3 at the Nurburgring GP layout, but Project Motor Racing as a choice for the sim was sure to shake things up.
The drivers had qualified using iRacing, and reportedly spent the early part of the week testing PMR on different displays at the event, as only one hour of testing was allowed on the Asetek rigs used for the event itself.
Events with little practice beforehand always have a little extra spice, and this one certainly didn’t disappoint.
Qualifying was very short, not even enough time to get tyres up to temperature, never mind getting acclimatised to the setup. It was a very late lap from Alessandro Porta, which took the pole, perhaps surprisingly, since in the online qualifying for the event, he’d picked up most of his points from solid reverse grid race finishes rather than pure pace.
His great start would immediately be undone, though, as Balazs Palla came firing down the inside at turn one on the opening lap. As Alessandro Porta had got such a good launch off the line, the Hungarian was coming from a long way back, and sent them both off the road.
This put Palla back to second, but Porta all the way down in fifth, with only Marcell Morocz, who seemed to have technical problems, behind him. AM driver Connor Franssen took the lead, but it only lasted a lap as Palla repeated his turn one dive, this time much more successfully, to take the lead.
It looked like Palla had already done enough, but Porta was busy undoing the damage further back, and with six minutes left, he’d passed Franssen for second and was on the charge. Palla was clearly feeling the pressure, and he got a snap of oversteer through turn six, allowing Porta to close in for a chance at an overtake at the hairpin.
While that wasn’t successful, the moment would eventually come with two laps to go, as Porta got alongside Palla before turn three, removing the Hungarian’s ability to defend the inside, therefore taking the place.
While Palla never lost more than a second, he also never really threatened to retake the place, and so Porta would come home as the winner of the Road to SimRacing Expo competition in 2025.
Behind, Franssen would be comfortable in holding onto his AM win to conclude the Saturday evening entertainment.
It was a short and sweet end to the series, providing lots of action for the time-limited slot it was given. And it was yet another showcase that, in terms of unpredictability and entertainment value, sim racing LAN events are the way forward.
Road to SimRacing Expo 2025 final results
- Alessandro Porta
- Balazs Palla
- Connor Franssen
- Leon Manin
- Tim Beilicke
- Marcell Morocz
Chat with the Community
Sign Up To CommentIt's completely Free