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Motorsport

Sport

Thomas Harrison-Lord

Siggy and Redline win Formula Pro Series titles

Redline Kevin Siggy Marcell Csincsik Jeffrey Rietveld Oracle Team Redline R8G Laguna Seca MercedesAMG Rocket

Coming into the championship final fourth in the standings, Siggy’s evening got off to an ideal start by claiming pole position, while championship leader and team-mate Jeffrey Rietveld struggled comparatively – down in 10th thanks in part to carrying the maximum success ballast of 10kg.

Fellow title contenders Bono Huis and Jernej Simončič lined-up fourth and sixth respectively, while the two Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports cars of Alex Siebel and Dennis Jordan were seventh and eighth. They formed the only outfit with a chance of beating Redline to the prize-money-paying teams’ title.

At the other end of the table, the bottom two teams after this race were set to fight for a spot on the grid next season in a relegation event, against the top two teams in the related Formula Challenge Series.

Heading into Laguna Seca, Team Fordzilla, Rocket Simsport, Williams Esports and Wolves GR Esports were all fighting for survival.

As the 60-minute race began, Huis tried to take the initiative around the outside of Marcell Csincsik and Adam Maguire – who had qualified in second and third positions – at the Andretti Hairpin. Slight contact with Csincsik, however, sent the Mercedes-AMG driver back to where he started and under pressure from Simončič.

With eight minutes completed, Maguire ran wide at Turn 6, losing momentum up the Rahal Straight and gifting Siggy a nearly four-second lead.

Then, a pivotal incident in the championship fight. Simončič lined up Huis for a move at The Corkscrew but locked up when diving left to avoid his rival, skimmed over the gravel on the inside of the corner before his front wing departed company against the barrier.

This meant a visit to the pitlane and any hope of championship glory vanishing.

The first of the scheduled pitstops happened with 20 minutes completed when Maguire visited from second for the first of two tyre changes. Siebel followed just a lap later, with colleague Jordan visiting soon after.

With the earlier visitors resigned to a two-stop strategy, Rietveld and Mercedes-AMG driver Marko Pejic both pitted at the halfway mark, the first of the one-stopper crowd to complete the mandatory requirement.

If it wasn’t for an unfortunate crash at Circuit d’Azur, Csincsik would have been in title contention. As it was, it seems as if the R8G Esports driver’s luck had departed him, spinning here on the exit of Turn 4 while in a comfortable podium position. Thankfully, there was no damage and the time loss was minimal.

As the race neared its conclusion, Maguire made his way back up the order, with a decisive move past Pejic for fifth around the outside of Turn 3. Next to try and overtake the Mercedes was Csincsik, but Pejic placed his car on the ideal defensive lines.

This meant Siebel and Jordan started closing in, having completed their second pitstops. The positions would remain static until the end, however, stifling the two Red Bull Racing Esports driver’s championship hopes.

Up front, Siggy had led from start to finish, with Huis coming home in second. The dominant performance securing his second major sim racing title of the season, by just one point, following the DTM Esports championship earlier in the year. Huis did not defend his Formula Pro Series crown, but he came very close.

“It was a pretty calm race,” said Siggy.

“I used push-to-pass to hold on [at the start]. As soon as I figured out Maguire was on a two-stopper I knew if I did six laps I would keep him behind. My set-up was absolutely insane for this race.”

Team Redline took home the team laurels, and therefore the majority of the prize money. Sadly for Team Fordzilla and Rocket Simsport, they ended the season at the bottom of the standings – Daniel Kiss having a particularly tumultuous final race for Rocket – and that meant they were placed into the Relegation Event against NeedRacing and Predator R8G Esports.

In the end, after three heat races, Fordzilla kept its sport on the grid, while Rocket was relegated. NeedRacing was promoted from Formula Challenge to Formula Pro for 2023.