It’s time for the most gruelling Virtual Le Mans Series race yet – the 8 Hours of Nürburgring. This isn’t on just the Grand Prix layout, either, but the hair-raising Nordschleife.
Following the 4 Hours of Monza and the 6 Hours of Spa, we’ve reached a whole new level, with GTE and LMP cars sharing the Green Hell for a racing esports event like no other.
Qualifying was completed yesterday, Friday 12th November, in a wet 40-minute session where both classes shared the track. It was filled with drama, but out of the clouds came the #4 Floyd ByKolles-Burst team to take pole position in LMP, and the #92 Porsche Esports Team atop the GTE class.
8 Hours of Nürburgring, LMP CLASS – TOP 5 QUALIFIERS
- 4 | Floyd ByKolles-Burst | 8:08.772 sec
- 22 | GPX Rebellion Williams | +0.286 sec
- 70 | Realteam Hydrogen Redline | +0.293 sec
- 8 | R8G Esports | +0.648 sec
- 123 | Team Redline | +0.256 sec
8 Hours of Nürburgring, GTE CLASS – TOP 5 QUALIFIERS
- 92 | Porsche Esports Team | Porsche 911 RSR | 8:50.452 sec
- 71 | BMW Team Redline | BMW M8 | +0.349 sec
- 91 | Porsche Esports Team | Porsche 911 RSR | +2.303 sec
- 77 | Proton Competition | Porsche 911 RSR | +0.481 sec
- 111 | Red Bull Racing Esports | Corvette C8 R | +0.282 sec
The entry list for the 8 Hours of Nürburgring includes Red Bull protégé and 2021 DTM runner-up Liam Lawson, ELMS driver Louis Delétraz, Williams F1 reserve driver Jack Aitken, talented GT-racing expert Alex Buncombe, former GP3, GP2 and Formula E competitor Tom Dillmann and 2021 Asian Le Mans Series podium finisher Franco Colapinto.
All will line up alongside the very best professional esports talent that includes Jack Keithley, Jan Von der Heyde, Bono Huis and Rudy van Buren.
“Le Mans Virtual Series is a big challenge, as teamwork is very important and the competition is incredibly high,” explained Red Bull Racing Esport’s Alex Siebel, who is teamed up for this round with the aforementioned Lawson and Dennis Jordan.
“I’m not quite sure how it will be to race an LMP around the Nordschleife, but it’s the same for everybody and it’s a bit of an unknown. But of course, I’m excited.”
The event starts at 12.30 pm BST (1.30 pm CET, 7.30 am ET) and can be watched on any of the channels listed in the image below. All of the action will be live on the Traxion.GG YouTube, Facebook and Twitch channels.
If you’d like the chance to win a brand new Thrustmaster T248 sim racing wheel, tune in to the Twitch stream! We’ll be asking questions via SportBuff throughout the broadcast, and the person with the most points wins. Simply watch via Twitch and the questions will appear on the stream.
LE MANS VIRTUAL SERIES 2021/22 CALENDAR
Round 1 – 4 Hours of Monza, Italy – 25th September 2021 (Qualifying 24th September)Round 2 – 6 Hours of Spa, Belgium – 16th October 2021 (Qualifying 15th October)- Round 3 – 8 Hours of Nürburgring Nordschleife, Germany – 13th November 2021
(Qualifying 12th November) - Round 4 – 6 Hours of Sebring, USA – 18th December 2021 (Qualifying 17th December)
- Round 5 – 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual – 15th/16th January 2022
