Now in the back half of the Ferrari Esports Series’ third phase, we have a clear picture regarding the championship protagonists come the Grand Final in December. Though many others will join them, Isaac Price and Kamil Pawlowski had both taken strong victories in Group A. Over in Group B, Arnaud Lacombe sat pretty on two race wins.
As Round 3 at Silverstone approached with the FXX K to be the car of choice, the stage was set for others to put their name into the spotlight as contenders for the FDA Esports contract.
Group A Qualifying
There hasn’t been a more iconic duo in Group A than Kamil Pawlowski and sitting second on the grid. For a third consecutive round, this was the case as Isaac Price claimed pole position at his home event by quite some margin.
Danilo Santoro had finished on the podium in both races but was yet to find a win. He started third ahead of Luca Vernole.
Group A Race
It was a nightmare start for Price who dropped position immediately to Pawlowski and was fortunate not to lose out to Santoro also. At least the Brit wasn’t poor Vernole who spun out down to 12th from fourth. Despite a squirmy moment through Chapel, Santoro survived and joined the front three in breaking away from the chasing pack.
Pawlowski’s early overtake was fundamental in creating a fantastic race narrative. Price’s inherent pace was evident simply by going on board with him but the Polish pilot’s straight-line speed was an advantage difficult to look past.
In fact, it would take a mistake before Price was offered a true opportunity to take the lead back. Into the Vale Chicane, Pawlowski went deep under the immense pressure of Price. Heading around the outside of Club, the pole sitter sensationally retook first, albeit through a bit of contact which set up the domino effect of Santoro slipping through into second.
It was one of the battles of the season and over so quickly. The gaps between the trio began to extend and the podium finished as it was 15 minutes prior.
- Isaac Price – 31:06.596
- Danilo Santoro – +7.480
- Kamil Pawlowski – +11.289
- Adrian Kot – +14.057
- Umberto Principi – +20.135
- Kamil Filipek – +24.150
- Josh Martin – +25.922
- Bastien Marti – +28.294
- Daniele Passardi – +36.547
- Luca Tavernari – +36.870
Group B Qualifying
Group B had been the Lacombe show until Tuesday evening but one driver had other ideas regarding his dominance. After back-to-back third places, Maxime Batifoulier sat on pole position for the Silverstone event ahead of the points leader.
Joni Katila returned to form sitting on the second row of the grid ahead of Leonardo Pagano, a driver whose consistent top-five finishes were aiding his cause greatly.
Group B Race
Unlike Price, Batifoulier’s launch was significantly less stressful despite the arguably heightened pressure of a dominant driver behind him. Leonardo D’Alcamo had a good start passing Pagano for fourth. The Italian featured on the podium in Monza last time out. Alessandro Miraglia secured the most dramatic overtake of the race with a four-wheel slide into Davide Adami through Brooklands.
This midfield duo’s scrap would continue onto the second lap with rather more robust manoeuvres. All over the back of Miraglia, Adami would end up clumsily T-boning his countryman into The Loop. The result of this would be an off-track excursion for the victim as well as another place lost to Maichel Tonizza. Sadly, this would be indicative of his race trajectory.
The rest of the race would be focused on two battles of huge importance; first vs. second and 10th vs. 11th. In the duel for the final point, Miraglia would defend hard from a punchy Maurice Strijker. Considering his early woes, the Italian’s efforts were admirable and earned him the final scoring position by the chequered flag.
Meanwhile, Batifoulier’s resistance was also rewarded as he fully broke Lacombe’s clutch on Group B with 25 points heading his way. Katila’s late-race charge simply confirmed his first podium on the phase.
- Maxime Batifoulier – 31:06.095
- Arnaud Lacombe – +1.540
- Joni Katila – +2.648
- Leonardo D’Alcamo – +7.373
- Leonardo Pagano – +17.998
- Davide Adami* – +20.139
- Maichol Tonizza – +22.030
- Ege Atinel – +25.315
- Haroldas Jotautas – +26.019
- Alessandro Miraglia – +38.056
*Before time penalty applied
Championship Overview
Without a doubt, the likes of Price, Lacombe, Pawlowski, Batifoulier and Santoro have all cemented their claims to the coveted FDA Esports contract. There is one more round in this phase of the Ferrari Esports Series to complete before the Grand Final field is confirmed. At Traxion.GG we’ll all be watching twitch.tv/FerrariEsports with interest when the championship arrives at Spa-Francorchamps on 30th November.
