Job takes four in a row, Webster scores first Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup feature win at Le Mans
February 19th, 2024 by Justin Melillo
It’s been an incredible start to the 2024 Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup season for Sebastian Job.
On Saturday, he maintained his points gap over the field after winning his third straight TAG Heuer Pole Award and his fourth straight victory in the Sprint race at the Circuit des 24 Heuers du Mans. He followed that up with a seventh place effort in the Feature as his Oracle Red Bull Sim Racing teammate, Cooper Webster, collected his first career win.
Job scored 63 points in total, which was one less than Diogo Pinto (Team Redline), and three less than Chris Lulham (Verstappen.com Racing) were able to score. Heading into the Mid-Season Tournament in two weeks, Job holds a 50-point lead over Pinto and 79-point lead over Lulham.
SPRINT RACE: After continuing his perfect streak of winning TAG Heuer Pole Awards to start 2024, Job led the field off the line under the customary jets with trailing red, white, and blue smoke. Through the first few corners, the trio of Job, Pinto, and Lulham were able to gap the field and pull away.
With only a three lap Sprint, the leaders all opted to stay in line and work together. The battle for eighth, however, was intense as a half-dozen drivers battled for the right to start on pole position for the Feature. Alejandro Sánchez (Stormforce Racing) and Yohann Harth (Apex Racing Team) were in seventh and eighth, respectively, but Webster was able to get enough of a run to get alongside Harth entering the Indianapolis corner. There was slight contact between the two, and it sent Harth back to 10th.
Webster held off Gustavo Ariel (Team Redline) to take the eighth spot and transfer to the Feature pole. Job, meanwhile, took the checkers ahead of Pinto and Lulham for his fourth straight win, dating back to the Daytona Feature race.
Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup Sprint top 10 results from Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans were as follows:
- Sebastian Job
- Diogo C. Pinto
- Chris Lulham
- Moreno Sirica
- Alessandro Bico
- Jordan Caruso
- Alejandro Sánchez
- Cooper Webster
- Gustavo Ariel
- Yohann Harth
FEATURE RACE: The other Oracle Red Bull Sim Racing driver, Webster, led the field off of the line for the Feature finale. Unlike the Sprint, this Feature kept many of the players in the pack early on, despite how hard it seemed to make passes.
Webster stayed fully in control, with Jordan Caruso (Altus Esports) and Sánchez in tow. As the laps went on, the lead pack dwindled down to five that still had a fighting chance. In sixth was Job, just far enough behind to be out of contention.
Up front, as the white flag flew, Sánchez made a move on Caruso with help from Lulham. The two cleared, allowing Sánchez to have a shot at winning. Webster, however, held strong to take his first career win in his 42nd race.
Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup Feature results from Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans were as follows:
Fin. |
St. |
No. |
Driver |
Laps |
Interval |
Led |
Best |
Pts. |
1 | 1 | 37 | Cooper Webster | 6 | 0.000 | 6 | 3:56.335 | 63 |
2 | 2 | 47 | Alejandro Sánchez | 6 | -0.554 | 0 | 3:56.100 | 59 |
3 | 6 | 20 | Chris Lulham | 6 | -0.789 | 0 | 3:56.095 | 66 |
4 | 3 | 1 | Jordan Caruso | 6 | -1.193 | 0 | 3:56.157 | 54 |
5 | 7 | 44 | Diogo C. Pinto | 6 | -1.650 | 0 | 3:55.976 | 64 |
6 | 11 | 96 | Luke McKeown | 6 | -1.951 | 0 | 3:55.673 | 41 |
7 | 8 | 22 | Sebastian Job | 6 | -2.193 | 0 | 3:55.711 | 63 |
8 | 4 | 77 | Alessandro Bico | 6 | -3.321 | 0 | 3:56.227 | 42 |
9 | 12 | 43 | Josh Thompson | 6 | -3.663 | 0 | 3:55.875 | 33 |
10 | 9 | 12 | Gustavo Ariel | 6 | -6.887 | 0 | 3:55.705 | 34 |
11 | 10 | 90 | Yohann Harth | 6 | -12.655 | 0 | 3:56.434 | 31 |
12 | 16 | 28 | Sam Kuitert | 6 | -13.073 | 0 | 3:56.495 | 23 |
13 | 19 | 40 | Julien Soenen | 6 | -13.364 | 0 | 3:57.640 | 18 |
14 | 5 | 69 | Moreno Sirica | 6 | -13.672 | 0 | 3:56.310 | 36 |
15 | 21 | 54 | Oscar Py | 6 | -14.110 | 0 | 3:57.352 | 12 |
16 | 22 | 5 | Oskari Rinne | 6 | -14.636 | 0 | 3:57.052 | 10 |
17 | 18 | 16 | Luca Kita | 6 | -14.913 | 0 | 3:56.631 | 12 |
18 | 13 | 95 | Parker White | 6 | -15.374 | 0 | 3:57.266 | 16 |
19 | 29 | 57 | Mathias Stokbæk Jensen | 6 | -15.419 | 0 | 3:57.290 | 7 |
20 | 15 | 3 | Kevin Nielsen | 6 | -15.699 | 0 | 3:57.338 | 12 |
21 | 17 | 13 | Dino Lombardi | 6 | -16.310 | 0 | 3:56.946 | 9 |
22 | 26 | 15 | Zac Campbell | 6 | -19.419 | 0 | 3:57.314 | 4 |
23 | 27 | 81 | Quentiin Vialatte | 6 | -20.069 | 0 | 3:58.449 | 3 |
24 | 30 | 27 | Simone Maria Marcenò | 6 | -33.613 | 0 | 4:00.100 | 2 |
25 | 14 | 8 | Bryn Collins | 4 | -2L | 0 | ——— | 8 |
26 | 28 | 24 | Lasse Bak | 3 | -3L | 0 | ——— | 0 |
27 | 24 | 92 | Michael Janney | 2 | DNF | 0 | ——— | 0 |
28 | 25 | 29 | Jakub Maciejewski | 1 | -5L | 0 | ——— | 0 |
29 | 23 | 11 | Matti Sipilä | 1 | DNF | 0 | ——— | 0 |
30 | 20 | 4 | Salva Talens | 0 | DNF | 0 | ——— | 1 |
*Post-race points penalties have not yet been applied
With nearly half of the season in the rear-view, Job maintains a 50-point advantage over Pinto entering the Mid-Season Tournament in two weeks. More drivers will have a chance at earning more points through the multiple heat races, up to five in total. However, only half the field will make the Main Event, which could be costly points-wise to those who miss.
Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup points through Round 3 are as follows:
- Sebastian Job, 230
- Diogo C. Pinto, 180
- Luke McKeown, 151
- Yohann Harth, 137
- Chris Lulham, 128
- Cooper Webster, 118
- Alejandro Sánchez, 117
- Jordan Caruso, 112
- Gustavo Ariel, 109
- Zac Campbell, 89
ALL-STARS: Heading to Le Mans in the All-Stars series, the top two drivers in points (Casey Kirwan and Suellio Almeida) both had other obligations. Drivers such as The Pulpo Lopez and Basic Ollie, who entered third and fourth, respectively, could capitalize on the day and close the huge gap created by the 2022 eNASCAR and 2023 PESC All-Stars champion.
Lopez took the pole position for the Sprint alongside Ollie, and the pair took off from Grizzle and the rest of the field from third on back. A second pack formed with Grizzle, Dan Suzuki, and Emree fighting for the third position behind, while the rest of the pack fought for sixth and beyond. On the final lap of the Sprint, Ollie took a look on Lopez and the two tangled, allowing for Grizzle to scoot by and score his first career win.
Taking the invert to the front for the Feature was Stormalina alongside one of the voices of the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup, Arjuna Kankipati. Arjuna got the jump on the start and led just up until the Mulsanne, where he gave way to Matt Malone and more in serving a slow down.
Malone, LoveFortySix, and Stradi battled for the top spot while Quirkitized and Tony Kanaan worked to catch them. Stradi and LoveFortySix got together, allowing for Quirk to get on Malone’s bumper. Quirk made quick work and pulled out to an insurmountable lead. Basic Ollie and The Pulpo Lopez rounded out the podium spots.
Porsche TAG Heuer Esports All-Stars Sprint results from Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans were as follows:
- Grizzle
- Emree
- The Pulpo Lopez
- Dan Suzuki
- Basic Ollie
Porsche TAG Heuer Esports All-Stars Feature results from Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans were as follows:
- Quirkitized
- Basic Ollie
- The Pulpo Lopez
- Dan Suzuki
- Tony Kanaan
Porsche TAG Heuer Esports All-Stars points through Round 3 are as follows:
- Casey Kirwan, 91
- The Pulpo Lopez, 89
- Basic Ollie, 79
- Emree, 72
- Dan Suzuki, 67
The Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup series takes an off week before returning for the Mid-Season Tournament at Watkins Glen International on March 2nd. Coverage begins that Saturday at 18:00 GMT (1PM ET) with the Porsche All-Stars kicking off the show, for the first time competing in the Porsche 992 Cup GT3. After the All-Stars, the Supercup begins at 19:00 GMT (2PM ET).
For more information on the 2024 Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup season, visit www.iracing.com/pesc. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.