Title race wide open in 2022 Mobileye GT World Challenge Asia Esports Championship

The 2022 Mobileye GT World Challenge Asia Esports Championship kicks off today (13th April 2022) at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, and we know for sure a new champion will be crowned.

Dayne Warren, 2021 champion, has not returned to defend his crown for the crack VRS Coanda Simsport team, so the moniker of title favourite falls on last season’s runner-up, Andika Rama Maulana.

The Indonesian will drive an AMG GT3 for The Mercedes-AMG E-Sports Team LoR, but will face stiff competition from the likes of Dillan Tan, Ryan Hoolihan, Fadhli Rachmat and, of course, 2021 Round 5 race-winner Andrew Laurenson.

Laurenson’s achievement was even more impressive given he was using a VR headset to compete – especially considering Assetto Corsa Competizione’s less-than-stellar VR performance.

Other standout drivers include Ferris Stanley, given his prominent role in the eighth-place finishing Jota Sport LMP car at the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual earlier this year.

Stanley also drives for Jenson Button and Chris Buncombe’s Rocket Simsport outfit, taking part in the VCO Esports Racing World Cup.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual also saw ex-F1 driver Alex Yoong’s Esports team – Axle Sports – finish a creditable fourth overall. One of the drivers – Ar Muhammad Aleef – will be joining the series in a BMW M4 GT3 as part of Yoong’s Flash Axle team. Surely another driver to watch this season.

Major sim racing teams like R8G Esports and the aforementioned Mercedes-AMG E-Sports Team take part this season, giving the series extra prominence, although the BMW M4 GT3 appears to be the car of choice, as twelve of the Bavarian GT3 car are set to race.

Philippa Boquida, although a Silver class competitor, is also sure to feature at the front in her Porsche for Romain Grosjean’s R8G eSports outfit, and shows the depth of talent available in the Asian Esports Sprints Series this season.

Much like the European equivalent, the GT World Challenge Asia Esports Championship splits the field into Pro and Silver classes, based on points accrued last season plus hot lap qualifiers.

As well as the prestige of winning an SRO-approved Esports series, drivers will be competing for a share of products worth up to €12,500 for the Pro class and €5,000 for Silver drivers.

The live race stream begins at 1100 BST/1200 CET/1800 HKT/20:00 AEST, and can be watched on SRO Motorsports’ GT World YouTube channel.

Who do you think will follow on from Dayne Warren’s dominant 2021 display? Let us know in the comments below.

GT World Challenge Esports Sprint Series – Asia 2022 calendar

• Round 1 – Barcelona – 13th April
• Round 2 – Imola – 11th May
• Round 3 – Bathurst – 15th June
• Round 4 -Zolder – 13th July
• Round 5 – Suzuka – 24th August

ROUND 1 – BARCELONA – ENTRY LIST – PRO CLASS

• Sergey Mironenko Audi R8 LMS Evo II Laundry House
• Isaac Norman Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo Odyssey Racing eSports
• Luis Moreno AMR V8 Vantage MOTUL Racing
• Avila Bahar Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo JMX Phantom
• Thanathip Thanalapanan McLaren 720S GT3 Vattana Motorsport
• Presley Martono McLaren 720S GT3 JMX Phantom
• Ar Muhammad Aleef BMW M4 GT3 SEM9 Flash Axle
• Damon Woods Porsche 911 GT3 R (2019) Privateer
• Sean Maddison Honda NSX Evo HPD JAS Pro Asia
• Fadhli Rachmat Bentley Continental GT3 2018 Tarmac Works
• Nigel Chuah Bentley Continental GT3 2018 Tarmac Works
• Ferris Stanley Porsche 911 GT3 R (2019) #Soon
• Yugo Ohaski Honda NSX Evo HPD JAS Pro Asia
• KuiSheng Huang Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo LK Full Pace Racing
• Sky Lai Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo REVOLT PuiPuiRacing
• Dillan Tan Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Mercedes-AMG E-Sports Team LoR
• Moreno Pratama AMR V8 Vantage MOTUL Racing
• Ryan Duong Audi R8 LMS Evo II Baked Potato Racing
• Yat Lam Law BMW M4 GT3 Wako’s Fliptable Racing
• Jake Baldwin Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo Happy Laps
• Kin Long Li BMW M4 GT3 Privateer
• Andrew Laurenson Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo Laundry House
• Andika Rama Maulana Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Mercedes-AMG E-Sports Team LoR
• Ryan Hoolihan BMW M4 GT3 Mobileye x Laundry House

ROUND 1 – BARCELONA – ENTRY LIST – SILVER CLASS

• Daniel Hunter Honda NSX Evo Happy Laps
• Ho Long Au Yeung Porsche 911 GT3 R (2019) Z-Challenger Racing Junior
• Marco Wong BMW M4 GT3 Z-Challenger
• Fickry Segeir BMW M4 GT3 Gayatri Simracing
• Kobe Chan BMW M4 GT3 REVOLT PuiPuiRacing
• Davlish Singh Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo Gen-Z Racing
• Zachary Smith AMR V8 Vantage Alpha Venturi Racing
• Ilhamulkarim Shaquille McLaren 720S GT3 Gamasala Racing Esport
• Daffa Nabiel BMW M4 GT3 JMX Phantom
• Chris Tsang Bentley Continental GT3 2018 Z-Challenger Racing
• Yuki Shirakawa Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo SACCESS eSports
• Moosa Mahsoom Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo Rookie Monsters
• Andrew O’Hara Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Laundry House
• Javier Lai Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Blue Steel Racing
• Terry Rayton Audi R8 LMS Evo II Laundry House
• Mitch Hobbs Bentley Continental GT3 2018 Happy Laps
• William Sunjoto BMW M4 GT3 JMX Juniors
• Oscar Lou AMR V8 Vantage Macau e-Motorsports
• Russel Reyes Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo JMX Phantom
• Philippa Boquida Porsche 911 GT3 R (2019) R8G eSports
• Andreas Yudistira BMW M4 GT3 RFT Premix Motorsport
• Matthew Pignata Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Alpha Venturi Racing
• Ryan Chan BMW M4 GT3 Privateer
• Kejin Cao BMW M4 GT3 LK Full Pace Racing