Lord of the Nürburgring

Over the past weekend, the third iteration of the Seagate Gaming Solidarity e-Race came to its conclusion at the virtual rendition of the “Green Hell” or more commonly known as Nürburgring Nordschleife. Rising above the rest were Jordan Sherratt which demonstrated incredible versatility within the variety of prescribed vehicles around the treacherous German track. Professional karter and Formula 4 racing driver quickly displayed his dominance by securing the fastest lap time during the Hot Lap qualifying sessions, only to continue with this trend competing in the quarter- and semi-finals.

At the start of the Grand Final which saw all competitors racing in a fixed set-up McLaren P1 GTR, Sherratt set off from pole position and remained in that slot as the race concluded after six laps of the daunting 25km-long track, securing himself a flag-to-flag victory. Completing an error-free lap of the German track requires intense concentration, race craft, tyre and battery conservation and strategy and doing so for six laps consecutively is surely an achievement on its own.

Behind the race leader, Chris Langeveldt, Julian Fameliaris and Leslie Oliphant battled intensely for position which allowed Sherratt to accumulate a five-second lead within the first lap of the race. By lap 5 Oliphant and his McLaren, which had been put under pressure by Lorenzo Gualtieri for four laps, started to show signs of tyre fatigue and was unable to capitalise on the mistakes that were made by both Langeveldt and Fameliaris during the last lap.

Ultimately Langeveldt claimed second-place, 23 seconds behind Sherratt, remaining ahead of Fameliaris taking third and Oliphant fourth. Gualtieri which finished in fifth place managed to keep Robert Whiting at bay which had well-known race and rally driver, Charl Wilken, challenging him for his position. Sherratt was rewarded for the skill, discipline and temperament his showcased throughout the tournament in the form of an R12 000 cash prize and an Afrihost 1GB fibre line and router for 12 months in addition to the cash rewards he earned during the Hot Lap sessions and staggering performances in the quarter- and semi-final races.

It was not all lost for the second and third place drivers as they walked away with R7 000 and R3 500 in cash. Flag-to-flag Plate Final winner, Brandon Kruger, walked away with an R2 000 cash prize and a G-Force Sim Race Rig after narrowly escaping a last-lap incident with Mitchell Licen and Riaan Theunissen, who earned R1 000 and R500 for their second and third position results, close on his heels.

Not only did the Solidarity e-Race series provide for much desired racing action to motorsport enthusiasts, but it has also donated a large sum of much need money to the Solidarity Fund which aims to assist South Africans during these challenging times. Furthermore, the series has inspired a variety of initiatives running parallel to the races including the recent motorsport commentator search which cast light onto the talented Kyle Lawrence and George Smith which could result in one or both to find a career in motorsport commentating as a result.

In addition, the series has drawn the attention Volkswagen Motorsport Academy to Arno Visagie, the best-placed sim racer, which resulted in them rewarding the young man with a spot in their 2021 programme, where he will learn all the aspects of competitive driving. At the conclusion of this most recent online racing event, more than R70 000 worth of prizes have been awarded to the talented participants. This feat was only possible because of the support of the dedicated sponsors namely, Seagate Gaming, Afrihost, Data Sciences, Pure Storage, NEC and True Race.

If you are a simulation racing driver or just an enthusiast of motorsport in general, head over to www.solidarityerace.co.za or follow the Solidarity e-Race Facebook and YouTube pages to find out more about upcoming events and competitions.