Sánchez, Mutch score wins after intense FIA SIMAGIC F4 eSports Global Championship Series Round 3 races at Willow Springs and Spa

Two new winners emerged during the third round of the 2024 FIA SIMAGIC F4 eSports Global Championship Series this past Saturday. 25 global competitors took to Willow Springs and Spa-Francorchamps, only having the time between when it was announced, 24 hours in advance, until the drop of each respective green flag to prepare for.

The first round of the day went in favor of Spain’s Alex Sánchez at Willow Springs, while the second of the two went to Great Britain’s Gordie Mutch in an instant classic finish at Spa. Sánchez, in particular, was in the conversation for both wins, but lost out late at Spa. Mutch, meanwhile, had his best combined efforts of the season, combining his victory with an earlier eighth place finish, to keep himself in the conversation, albeit just barely, for the overall title.

One thing is for certain after six races—there is no certainty when it comes to the points, as through each pair of races, a new name has sat atop. This time, entering the final two events in less than three weeks, Spain’s Aaron Vazquezz—despite not having a win to his name just yet—holds the advantage by three points over Sánchez, and by four points over the previous owner of the lead, Great Britain’s Luke McKeown. The maximum amount of points available per race is 25, with those finishing 16th or worse taking home nothing.

Mutch is 49 points behind Vazquezz, which makes him, in eighth overall, the last driver still with a shot entering the seventh and eighth races, which will be announced, as usual, 24 hours prior to the event. Those also with a shot include Scotland’s Graham Carroll, Australia’s Hugh Barter, and Czech Republic’s Martin Kadlečík. However, any drivers not within 25 points following the seventh race will be eliminated, essentially putting Vazquezz, Sánchez, and McKeown in a three-man contest for the title.

Sánchez pounced on earning his first win of the season at Willow Springs, starting second to McKeown, but taking control nearly right away. McKeown led the opening lap, but Sánchez passed for the lead entering Turn 1 at his next opportunity. Behind them, the field began to separate, with some incidents taking out players like both Brazil’s Victor Miranda and Australia’s Kody Deith. Kadlečík also found issues, dropping out of the important points positions, and by the final lap, only four cars remained in the front pack.

In the lead, Sánchez defended while the three behind—McKeown, Vazquezz, and the United States’ Elvis Rankin—fought for the catbird seat for the final lunge at the lead. Instead, their antics allowed Sánchez to pull enough of a gap that they couldn’t overcome, the trio behind finishing three-wide across the stripe. Sánchez, who lost both opening races after lead the majority of the laps, finally broke through and cemented his place in the championship fight.

“It feels very good, finally, after leading so many laps in this championship, I can come away with a win,” Sánchez said post-race. “I’m quite happy with that. It was a really tricky track, especially with the wind conditions, they were not what we were expecting, so the car was a lot more understeer-y than we anticipated. I think that changed the dynamics of the racing as well, and I got lucky enough to go to P1 early on, and managed to stay there, trying to defend from Luke for the whole 17 laps.”

FIA SIMAGIC F4 eSports Global Championship Series – Race #5 results from Willow Springs were as follows:

The field then took a quick trip from the Willow Springs server to the Spa-Francorchamps server, but nobody could have predicted how the nine-lap feature would play out at the famed Belgian circuit. Vazquezz took the pole, his first of the season, but the race quickly turned into something one might find at a NASCAR event, with two, sometimes three-wide action down the long straightaways. Vazquezz never got to lead any of those nine laps, instead losing out to Mutch, Barter, and Sánchez, who all split a share of them.

McKeown was in a position to put the championship in a hard-to-reach spot for the rest of the field, but after contact in the pack that also sent Kadlečík to the back, McKeown was instead left fighting for any points he could get by the end. Up front, the field came to the white flag, and a magical two minutes and 20 seconds of racing befell the field. Down the Kemmel Straight, they fanned out three-wide, three rows deep.

Mutch had the preferred line, with Barter in the middle and Sánchez on the outside. Behind them were Vazquezz, Brazil’s Jackson Rezende, Deith, Miranda, Carroll, Chile’s Nicolás Rubilar, and more. Somehow, they kept it clean through the majority of the lap, the only major incident involving Rubilar and Deith just before Blanchimont. Into the final chicane, Mutch led with Barter in tow. Mutch went deep to defend the lunge, and out of the corner, they were three wide, with Barter losing a spot to Vazquezz at the line behind Mutch, who scored the victory.

“Spa was always going to be really, really close,” Mutch said post-race with a smile. “The run, from La Source, down the Kemmel Straight and into Les Combes, there’s always a little bit of a lottery about who is going to come out on top on the last lap. On the last lap, I managed to back things up a little bit. Turn 1, I didn’t really care who it was but whoever it was, I wanted them to come out side-by-side. That allowed me essentially to dictate the positioning down Kemmel and I put myself in a position where someone would have to push me so I could keep the lead. That was my only hope, and it worked out perfectly.”

FIA SIMAGIC F4 eSports Global Championship Series – Race #6 results from Spa-Francorchamps were as follows:

FIA SIMAGIC F4 eSports Global Championship Series points through Round 3 are as follows:

1. Aaron Vazquezz, 90
2. Alejandro Sánchez, 87
3. Luke McKeown, 86
4. Graham Carroll, 64
5. Alex Dunne, 58
6. Hugh Barter, 52
7. Martin Kadlečík, 51
8. Gordon Mutch, 41
9. Nicolás Rubilar, 33
10. Elvis Rankin, 32

The final two tracks will be unveiled 24 hours before the seventh and eighth race of the season, scheduled for November 2nd. The final round of the 2024 FIA SIMAGIC F4 eSports Global Championship will be broadcasted on all of iRacing’s official channels. Coverage starts at 3:00 pm ET / 19:00 GMT / 05:00 AEST.

For more information on the FIA SIMAGIC F4 eSports Global Championship, visit www.iracing.com/fia-f4-esports/. For more information about iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com. To know more about the partnership and access an iRacing license via your local ASN, visit www.FIA.com/iracing.

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