It’s been nearly a month since the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual, and it’s fair to say the event was very popular. One of the stand-out battles during the early part of the race was between reigning Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen and eROC 2019 winner James Baldwin.
Through the early stints, the Redline vs Veloce battle was thrilling. Qualifying was also exceptionally close, with Jeffrey Rietveld taking pole position by a scant 0.002 seconds from Verstappen. Baldwin was close too, lining up fourth just two tenths further back.
In his latest video, which you can watch above on his YouTube channel, Baldwin compares his lap in minute detail with Verstappen’s, so you can see how small differences in car setup and corner entry angles can result in two positions further up the grid.
It’s a fascinating watch, that highlights just how competitive professional racing esports has become. The top 16 LMP cars were covered by less than one second.
The #28 Veloce Esports entry shared with Mike Epps, Isaac Gillissen Image and Eamonn Murphy was in contention throughout the race, but retired in the latter stages, while the #123 Redline entry also fell by the wayside after contact with the barriers. The race was ultimately won by Realteam Hydrogen Redline.
