Esports Series Shifts to America for Penultimate Round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca

Esports Series Shifts to America for Penultimate Round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
  • 44 Sim Racers take on the FCP Euro GTWC America Esports Championship live this Sunday at 3pm EST 
  • Kundakcioglu leads GT3 championship by narrow margin heading into Round 4 
  • Cavillon holds commanding lead in GT4 championship 

As the FCP Euro GT World Challenge America Esports Championship heads into the final stretch, 44 esports racers look to maximize their championship points in the penultimate round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca presented by Corteco. 

The 2.238-mile California circuit is currently the only North American track in Assetto Corsa Competizione, home of the former Intercontinental GT Challenge California 8 Hour. WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca was built in 1957 and features the world-famous Corkscrew, a downhill plunging esses that starts your descent nearly 60 feet in elevation change. With 11 turns, this will be a relatively short and quick paced race compared to the European circuits we’ve visited this season. 

Round 4 airs this Sunday, December 20th at 3PM EST across SRO’s GTWorld YouTube channel, SRO Motorsports Twitch channel, and GT World Challenge America powered by AWS Facebook page.

Kundakcioglu Holds Narrow Lead in GT3 

Following a disastrous Monza race for our two championship leaders, Michael Kundakcioglu managed to rebound to earn enough points to keep his place at the head of the GT3 championship driving the #96 SideMax Motorworks Mercedes-AMG. 

Lukas Müller had a similar fate, spinning early in Round 3 from contact with another competitor. The Haupt Racing Team driver managed to claw his way back up into fifth and take over the second position in the championship. His teammate Lucas Müller went on to win at Monza and has moved himself into the Top 10 in the standings. 

Racing Line Motorsports Troy Barman had a race ending incident in the last round, earning no points and dropping him third in the championship hunt. 

Philippe Simard crossed the line ahead of Müller, but a late race time penalty regulated him to second. With that finish, he’s moved into fourth in the standings in his EGG Motorsports Ferrari 488 GT3. 

Cody Blanton enjoyed a race-long battle with several competitors. The Mercedes driver now sits fifth in the championship and looking to close out the season strong. 

Champion Motorsports once again brings an onslaught of sim racers to Laguna Seca. Led by Matthew Santiago (Bentley) who sits sixth in the championship, he’ll be joined by fellow Pro team members Chris Bruno (Lamborghini), Collin Johnson (Bentley), Drake Burgoon (Bentley), and Matthew Marlow (Lamborghini). 

CMS will also feature entries for Hamza Gulzar, who led early at Monza in his Mercedes-AMG. Jonathan Lee will pilot the LIQUI MOLY Porsche, Josh Staffin returns in a Lexus RC-F GT3, Dirk Groeneveld in the Corteco BMW M6 GT3, and Branden Ouellet in a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo. 

FCP Euro returns with TC America champion Michael Hurcyzn and vice-champion Nate Vincent. They’ll be behind the wheel of the LIQUI MOLY and Corteco backed FCP Euro Mercedes-AMG GT3. 

Bryan Heitkotter, coming off an impressive podium finish at Monza, will lead the Forsberg Racing team in the #04 Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3. He’ll be joined by team principal Chris Forsberg in the #64 Nissan. 

Fellow GT Academy winner Nick McMillen returns in the Mercedes-AMG GT3, fresh off another solid race. SideMax Motorworks Sam Cairns will pilot his Bentley Continental GT3 with NGP Motorsports Vinnie Lima back in action in an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo. 

Acura will be represented by HPD GT3 Driving Academy driver Karl Wittmer along with TC America racer Sally McNulty. The two will drive the Acura NSX GT3 Evo that has seen great success in North American competition. 

Classic BMW Four Corners Brewing Company returns with a two-car outfit for Ben Green and Toby Grahovic. They’ll pilot the mint green BMW M6 GT3 machines. 

Porsche will feature two additional entries with Pirelli GT4 America driver Jason Alexandridis in the #222 Rebounderz/Fastlife.TV entry and Nelson Mason for maseRace Esports with Racers360. 

Dylan Archer is back and will once again pilot the only McLaren 720S GT3 in the field. Archer enjoyed battles in the Top 10 at Monza, showing great pace and has experience racing at Laguna Seca in various series. 

Cavillon Continues Perfect Championship Run 

The Jean Alesi Esports Academy driver, Aenore Cavillon, continues to impress in dominant fashion taking three wins in three rounds to date. Another strong finish would mean clinching the title in the penultimate round. 

Closest rival Caleb John Lavender has shown the pace, losing track position in traffic at the past round. He looks to close out the season strong in his Archer Brothers Esports Audi R8 LMS GT4. 

Cameron Sansano and the Mercedes-AMG GT4 has been on a charge, stringing together strong finishes in the last two events to put him third in the championship. He sits just ahead of Simon Fisher’s Porsche 718 Cayman GT4. 

A trio of BMWs are on the grid with podium finisher Tadas Liutkus leading the charge. Also driving M4 GT4 racers are Takis Weekes and Brian Szabelski. 

Juan Reinoso and JT Tami look to place the Maserati MC GT4 on the podium. AndieTheLabYT will pilot her Strix Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4, back in action at Laguna Seca. 

Joining Cavillon and Fisher, Porsche will also feature three more entrants. Canadian Maryn Edwards will pilot the #587 MFR Team Edison machine with Verena Mei in the #335 Star Girl Racing entry. 

Recently crowned GT World Challenge Asia Esports Sim-Am Champion Mia Rose joins the GT4 fun in the #956 Jean Alesi Esports Academy Porsche. 

With 44 entries at a fast paced WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the mixed-class racing is sure to be action packed. Don’t miss out and tune in this Sunday. 

How To Watch Live 

The FCP Euro GT World Challenge America Esports action will be live on SRO’s network including YouTube (GT World), Twitch (SRO Motorsports), and Facebook. Tune in at 3pm ET for the start of qualifying, followed directly with the feature race. 

youtube.com/gtworld
twitch.tv/sromotorsports
facebook.com/gtworldchallengeamerica
twitter.com/gtworldcham

Follow Live Timing & Scoring 

Follow all the action from PitWall featuring live timing & scoring, stint overviews, trackmap with car positioning, and more. Create an account and search for the GT World Challenge America Esports page.  

Series Partners

FCP Euro, Liqui Moly, Corteco, ASUS Republic of Gamers, ASUS TUF Gaming, Fanatec, Champion Motorsports, AWS, CrowdStrike Racing, Pirelli, Rebellion Timepieces, and Total