- 46-car field returns for the second round of the American Esports season at COTA
- 22-car Pro class field ramps up the competition
- Stacked 24-car Silver class category prepares for the next challenge
- Entry List | Schedule
Circuit of the Americas will be welcoming a total of 46 cars for the second round of the 2023 Mobileye GT World Challenge America Esport Championship on Saturday, June 10th. As drivers prepare to tackle the 20-turn, 2.3 mile virtual track, they will not only be facing off in effort to secure more vital championship points, but they will also be giving it their all in order to inch closer to bringing home the cash prize.
Twenty two cars will make up the Pro Class, with the remaining 24 cars belonging to the Silver class. Last time out at Laguna Seca, viewers were treated to wheel-to-wheel action up and down the grid for the entirety of the event. This time around, the All-American circuit will be in the spotlight for a true Texas showdown before the The Mobileye GTWC Esports America Sprint Series grid jumps across the pond over to Silverstone in Great Britain for the following round.
Pro Class
Igor De Oliveira Rodrigues, the current championship leader and winner of the opening round at Laguna Seca, will be returning in his No. 124 Audi R8 LMS Evo II to battle it out for another chance to rise to the top step of the podium. He will be joined by his fellow Williams Esports teammate Fidel Moreira in the No. 41 Porsche 992 GT3 R, who finished third in the previous race. Second-place finisher Jyeed Hutchinson will be in the mix once more on board the No. 26 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 as the lone driver for Automobili Lamborghini Esport Team and will be commandeering the only Lamborghini in the field.
The additional Audi R8 LMS Evo II entries will be on the grid with the likes of Renan Negrini and Phelipe Roberto behind the wheel of the No. 2 and No. 44 cars for Asetek SimSports Visceral and FFS Racing. Meanwhile, the three additional Porsche 992 GT3 R entries will be occupied by the No. 28 SOP Esports Racing machine of Ed Kerstetter, the No. 56 FFS Racing car of Michael Kundakcioglu, and Angel Inostroza with YAS Heat Esports in the No. 262 challenger.
Honda proved to be the most popular manufacturer, with a total of five entries in the Pro Class, with the likes of Josh Staffin, Cardin Lu, Josh McKean, Karl Wittmer, and Nicolas Alvarado driving the Honda NSX GT3 Evo while representing HPD JAS Pro America.
Race Anywhere Simsport, Williams Esports Academy, and Asetek SimSports Visceral have all selected Aston Martin as their manufacturer of choice, with Renato Dornelles, Daniel De Oliveira and Vinny Oliveira opting for the Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3.
BMW and Ferrari will be featuring two entries apiece, with teammates Cameron Martineau and Chris Severt taking control of the BMW M4 GT3 for STR Esports. Philippe Simard will be at the helm of the No. 123 Ferrari 296 GT3 entry on behalf of FFS Racing, and Skyler Loverink will be manning the other No. 520 Ferrari for Brix Racing.
Aloo Gobi will be driving the No. 20 McLaren 720S GT3 for Griphax Engineering, with Gabriel Felipe in the No. 63 Oak Racing Team Esports Bentley Continental GT3 2018, both as the lone competitors for their respective manufacturers.
Silver Class
The Silver class was dominated by Ferrari during their time racing in Monterey, with the manufacturer taking a clean sweep of the podium. Mérick Lévêque established an early lead and never looked back, and the Canadian driver even began to challenge for an overall podium result against the Pro class in his No. 88 Ferrari 296 GT3. His teammate, Estefano Barrera, placed second in the No. 369 car, securing a 1-2 finish for the Asetek SimSports Visceral team. Third place was occupied by the No. 969 car of Joseph Kostovich and Nine 4 Nine Racing. The final Ferrari 296 GT3 entry belongs to the No. 22 of Cody Sherratt and Genesis Esports.
The largest tally of entries is accredited to Porsche, with seven cars in their roster. These include Nicholas DeSantis in the No. 12 ND Motorsports Porsche 992 GT3 R, Timothy Flammger in the No. 19 Alpha Simsport car, Koapono Patrick in the No. 59 Sim Racing Alliance machine, Diego Paul Fimbres Casas in the No. 95 Pillars Racing / Sim Racing Alliance beast, with Zach Doran, Jordan Johnson and Hayden Harter completing the lineup in the No. 110 Team Schumiskins, No. 116 Puresims esports, and No. 177 TSE Racing - Northstar entries.
Just like in the Pro class, Honda also features a large number of entries in the Silver class as well, with five Honda NSX GT3 Evo’s in total. Hamza Gulzar and HPD JAS Pro America will be fielding the No. 14 entry, Antonio Azpiri will be behind the wheel of the No. 69 Azpiri Racing car, Kenneth Portis II will be manning the No. 84 Roto Grip Racing machine, the No. 98 AFRT vehicle will be occupied by Ayrton Stuffano, and the final entry belongs to the No. 787 of Ricardo Rivera and Puerto Rico eRacing Club.
The two Aston Martin entries are tied to Arnage Competition, with Brazilian duo Lucas Werle and Leandro Werle equipped with the No. 4 and No. 40 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3.
Numerous manufacturers will be represented by one entry each, including Audi, Bentley, BMW, Mercedes, McLaren, and Lamborghini. These include three Canadians, with the likes of Marc-Antoine Landry in the No. 711 EGT Canada Audi R8 LMS Evo II, Adrien Bourdon in the No. 8 SOP Esports Racing Bentley Continental GT3 2018, and Pierre-Olivier Cloutier in the No. 36 EGT Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3. Hailing from Venezuela, Argenis Riera will be driving the No. 43 Geekz Energy Simracing BMW M4 GT3. Brazilian driver Bruno Yamamoto will be commanding the No. 10 BraClean e-Sports Racing Team Mercedes-AMG GT3, and American sim-racer Jonathan Clifford will be in the No. 999 Alpha Sim Sport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2.
Saturday’s race day action will kick off with two practice sessions at 13:30 ET and 14:15 ET, with qualifying following immediately after at 14:25 ET. Finally, the green flag will wave for the 60-minute race at 15:00 ET. The event will be streamed live via the SRO Motorsports Twitch channel and GT World YouTube channel.
Reports and results will be published on the SRO Esports website.