Third race day of the DTM eSports Championship at the Lausitzring: Rietveld and Wisniewski take the wins
Three of the six race days of the DTM Esports Championship 2024 powered by raceroom have been completed and Tim Jarschel (Falken Simracing Team) goes into the second half of the season as championship leader. The Falken Simracing driver has been in the lead since the start of the season, surprising everyone. Third and fourth places at the Lausitzring last Friday at the end of the first half of the season were almost a disappointment for Jarschel.
The victories at the virtual Lausitzring on the third of six race days were secured by other drivers. Jeffrey Rietveld (Team Redline) won the sprint race ahead of Gianmarco Fiduci (Veloce Esports) and Enzo Bonito (Team Redline). In the main race, Nikodem Wisniewski (G2 Esports) celebrated his second win of the season. Rietveld finished second ahead of Jarschel
First win of the season for Rietveld
In qualifying, Rietveld secured pole position for the first time this season ahead of his team-mate Bonito. Rietveld won the subsequent flying start to the sprint race and came out of the first corner in the lead. Fiduci had chosen the inside lane from fifth place and was able to move into second place ahead of Bonito.
After a turbulent start phase, it was quiet at the front. Rietveld was able to celebrate his first win of the season. Fiduci finished second ahead of Bonito. Jarschel, who started from seventh on the grid, continued to collect important points with fourth place
Wisniewski – all or nothing
In the second qualifying session, the protogonists of the sprint race are back in the lead: Wisniewski secured pole position ahead of Jarschel. The Team Redline trio of Rietveld, Kevin Siggy and Bonito lined up behind the two Porsches. Wisniewski took the lead after the start, while Jarschel lost a position and was third behind Rietveld. Siggy followed in fourth place ahead of Löhner, who got off to a good start from tenth position.
After the pit stop window opened, the front runners came in for a tire change spread over three laps. However, the positions did not change and Wisniewski continued to lead the field ahead of Rietveld and Jarschel. He did not allow himself to be displaced from this position on the final laps and took the win ahead of Rietveld and Jarschel.
In addition to his second win of the season, Wisniewski also won the Fastest Lap Award with a lap time of 1:21.367 minutes. He also secured a place in the battle for the Pole Position Award together with Rietveld. Jarschel is currently in the lead there with three fastest laps in qualifying
Votes after the race
Jeffrey Rietveld: “The qualifying sessions and the races went well today. Unfortunately, I wasn’t fast enough to catch Nikodem in the second race. I think from race to race and try to be consistent. I’ll see where I stand at the end of the season. I’m looking forward to the Sachsenring. But to be successful there, I still have a lot of training ahead of me.”
Nikodem Wisniewski: “I have mixed feelings about this race day. There were problems and so I couldn’t take part in the first qualifying session. I was then able to show what I can do in the second race. To make matters worse, my steering wheel broke yesterday and I had to borrow one. But I’m happy at the moment and hope that my bad luck is now over.”
Tim Jarschel: “Things didn’t go according to plan in the first qualifying session. I was able to limit the damage with fourth place in the race. I completely missed the start of the second race. I then benefited from the contact between Siggy and Fiduci in the first corner and took third place.”
There is now a two-week Easter break until the fourth race day of the DTM Esports Championship 2024. Enough time for the participants to prepare for the fourth race day at the challenging Sachsenring on April 5, 2024 at 7.15 p.m.