Esports News | Maciej Malinowski wins in GT World Challenge

The opening stages of the race looked like it would be the same three drivers on the podium too for the second successive race as they broke away from Malinowski behind. That was helped by Malinowski driving in his mirror to fend off the Williams cars of Daire McCormack and Denis Shoeniger. Boothby’s pace though was falling off approaching the pit window. First, he’d fall behind Tonizza, courtesy of a neat move through Beausset, then van der Velde at the end of the Mistral straight. McCormack then dropped out of contention in a bizarre incident on the straight. Having fallen behind Mikhail Statsenko, McCormack went for the overtake in the gap between the Audi and the barrier but seemed to get airborne over the kerbs and cones at the absent Montreal chicane and span across the track.

Tonizza opted for a later stop than van der Velde and Boothby, and it cost him the lead as both cars closed up and van der Velde’s Ferrari came past as the trio headed into Signes once more. That was the status quo for much of the second half of the race, though van der Velde couldn’t pull clear of Tonizza, but Malinowski was now closing in on the front three. With ten minutes remaining, he’d climb up onto the podium as team-mate Boothby allowed him by on the straight.

It wasn’t long after that the pivotal moment of the race happened. Tonizza made a play for the lead, making the same move at Beausset as he had on Boothby earlier in the race. However, van der Velde kept his foot in and he came back across the track right into the Lamborghini’s rear three-quarter – sending Tonizza spinning off. The collision also slowed van der Velde, and Malinowski jumped him into the final turn to take the lead with seven minutes remaining. Unsurprisingly, the stewards demoted van der Velde further with a 30-second penalty.

Malinowski was untroubled at the front though, cruising to victory by over a second from – once that penalty was applied – his team-mate Boothby. Statsenko claimed the final podium spot, with Tonizza recovering to take fourth. Boothby now leads the championship after two rounds, courtesy of two second-place finishes, by 15 points from Tonizza. In the Silver class, it was Valentin Barrier with a second successive victory, after fighting through the field from a fifth-place start to take the class lead from pole-sitter Daniil Tylyk just after the pit stops. Tylyk would also pick up a 30-second post-race penalty, giving Vojtech Fiala second place. Danila Cherepenin would inherit third after Dario Iemmulo caught a five-second penalty.

GT World Challenge Esports Europe Sprint Round 2 results

1. Maciej Malinowski (Veloce – McLaren 720S GT3) – 32 laps
2. George Boothby (Veloce – Ferrari 296 GT3) +1.775
3. Mikhail Statsenko (ITB Sainteloc – Audi R8 GT3 Evo) +3.071

Dennis Schoeniger took the Alpine Esports Series championship in style, claiming a win in the final race of the season to earn himself a real-world Alpine A110 GT4 test. Realistically, only Tinko van der Velde could deny Schoeniger the title, but defending champion James Baldwin had an outside chance too. That was enhanced when Baldwin took pole position in sprint qualifying at the Valencia circuit, but it was the championship leader alongside him on the grid.

With van der Velde qualifying in fifth, he needed to make up places but found Lukas Mateja in fine form. Even when van der Velde managed to finally pass on the penultimate lap at Bernat Martinez, Mateja was able to sneak back past at turn 11 on the next pass. Schoeniger for his part seemed content to sit behind Baldwin, who’d take his second sprint race win in a row, with Vojtech Fiala in third.

Alpine Esports Series Round 3 Sprint Race results

1. James Baldwin – 10 laps
2. Dennis Schoeniger +0.449
3. Vojtech Fiala +0.852

That meant Schoeniger effectively needed to only finish third in the feature race, regardless of where van der Velde or Baldwin would finish. Clearly not intending to play it safe, Schoeniger would take pole position in qualifying, with Baldwin third behind Mercedes-AMG team-mate Marko Pejic and van der Velde down in seventh.

After a sterling defence from Pejic in the opening laps, Schoeniger started to pull away from the chasing pack by a couple of tenths a lap. Baldwin briefly took up the chase after a Pejic error, but with the gap eventually drawing out to over four seconds, he’d cede the place back to enhance Pejic’s championship standings (and prize money). Although van der Velde was able to climb up to fourth by the flag to secure second in the championship, Schoeniger deservedly claimed the crown with his third race win of the season.

Alpine Esports Series Round 3 Feature Race results

1. Dennis Schoeniger – 16 laps
2. Marko Pejic +4.443
3. James Baldwin +4.830