Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup Race Preview: Watkins Glen

For the first and only time in the 2023 Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup season, the series competes on back-to-back weeks with Saturday’s return to Watkins Glen International. Live streaming of the iRacing series for top esports pros will kick off on Saturday at 19:00 GMT (3PM ET) via Porsche’s channels on YouTube and Twitch, while the All-Star series will directly precede it at 18:00 GMT (2PM ET).

Last Race: The series’ traditional halfway point at Red Bull Ring produced a pair of first-time race winners last Saturday. Points leader Jordan Caruso of Logitech G Altus Esports was the first, passing polesitter Alejandro Sanchez of Stormforce to take the sprint race victory, while Tony Kanaan Esports driver Gustavo Ariel took the feature and the first PESC win for the open-wheel racing legend’s new team. Ariel was the victor of a close fight between multiple drivers late in the race, including both Sanchez and defending series champion Diogo Pinto of Team Redline.

But despite Caruso’s sprint win, a 13^th place feature finish for the Australian reshaped the point standings. While Coanda Esports driver Charlie Collins, his biggest challenger to date, was unable to take advantage with more than a seventh place in the feature, Pinto took podiums in both the sprint and feature. Caruso’s lead remains more than 30 points over each, but Pinto made up 38 points on Collins alone in the Austrian event.

Last Season: It’s been quite some time since Watkins Glen has hosted iRacing’s premier road racing series—all the way back to the inaugural season in 2019, in fact. That year, it was Red Bull Racing Esports driver Sebastian Job qualifying on pole, and Kevin Ellis Jr. and Jarrad Filsell sweeping the sprint and feature races for Apex Racing Team. Of the current field, Job and MOUZ driver Maximilian Benecke had the best results in that event, scoring top fives in both races.

Track Facts: From its two decades as host of the United States Grand Prix to its current feature events for NASCAR and IMSA, Watkins Glen International has seen it all. After nearly a decade of competition on public roads starting in the late 1940s, the permanent track was opened in 1956, and its current shape began to take form in 1971 with a reconfiguration of the frontstretch and Turn 1. After a few dormant years in the early 1980s, IMSA returned in 1984, NASCAR came back in 1986, and the track has been a mainstay for both series ever since.

Next Up: Following Watkins Glen, the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup begins a four-race stretch of European rounds to close out the season with a trip to Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Coverage will kick off on Saturday, April 22 at 18:00 GMT (2PM ET) with the All-Star action, before the pros do battle at 19:00 GMT (3PM ET).

For more information on the 2023 Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup season, visit www.iracing.com/pesc. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.

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