W Series Esports League: Marta Garcia has the Final Say at Watkins Glen

July 16th, 2020 by W Series

Marta Garcia won the final race at a dramatic round six of the W Series Esports League to be the top scorer at Watkins Glen, where the League’s top three each tasted victory and disappointment.

Beitske Visser won race one and came from last to fourth in the reverse-grid race, but the League leader crashed when in front in race three. The 25-year-old recorded the fastest lap in every race for a total of 41 points, two more than her closest W Series Esports League challenger Irina Sidorkova who now trails the Dutch driver by 51 points with four rounds remaining.

The 17-year-old Russian won the reverse-grid race and was runner-up in race three, but Irina and Marta collided on the first lap of the opening race. Marta, 19, recovered well and improved her result in every race, finishing on the podium in the reverse-grid and winning the last race for a total of 42 points.

The Spaniard trails Irina by 17 points but has a 41-point lead over Caitlin Wood. The Australian regained fourth place in the W Series Esports League from Tasmin Pepper thanks to podium finishes in the first and third races.

The W Series Esports League table after round six is as follows:
Position No Driver Points
1 95 Beitske Visser 291
2 51 Irina Sidorkova 240
3 19 Marta Garcia 223
4 20 Caitlin Wood 182
5 31 Tasmin Pepper 171
6 32 Nerea Marti 166
7 27 Alice Powell 130
8 21 Jessica Hawkins 106
9 26 Sarah Moore 102
10 22 Belen Garcia 100
11 17 Ayla Agren 97
12 44 Abbie Eaton 92
13 5 Fabienne Wohlwend 90
14 7 Emma Kimilainen 81
15 99 Naomi Schiff 75
16 3 Gosia Rdest 68
17 37 Sabre Cook 47
18 97 Bruna Tomaselli 46
19 85 Miki Koyama 32
20 55 Jamie Chadwick 18
21 11 Vicky Piria 15
Race 1: Beitske beat Irina to pole position by two tenths of a second and made a great start to retain her lead after the long run to Turn One. Irina ran wide on the exit of the first corner, allowing the chasing pack to bunch up behind her. The fast-starting Marta was her chief pursuer and the pair collided at the first chicane before plummeting down the order. That forced those behind to take evasive action, allowing Beitske to build an unassailable lead of more than three seconds over Caitlin at the end of lap one. The midfield provided plenty of drama throughout the 15-minute race. Naomi Schiff spun following a scrap with Abbie Eaton and Nerea Marti over fourth place, while Ayla Agren pulled off a fine move on Sarah Moore in the closing stages to pinch sixth.
RACE 1
Pos No Driver Time/Retired Grid Points FL
1 95 Beitske Visser 15:58.320 1 20 1
2 20 Caitlin Wood -6.888 3 17
3 31 Tasmin Pepper -11.119 6 15
4 32 Nerea Marti -16.295 4 13
5 44 Abbie Eaton -17.558 7 11
6 17 Ayla Agren -24.456 8 10
7 26 Sarah Moore -25.408 9 9
8 97 Bruna Tomaselli -27.484 14 8
9 19 Marta Garcia -27.764 5 7
10 5 Fabienne Wohlwend -29.088 11 6
11 21 Jessica Hawkins -44.777 10 5
12 11 Vicky Piria -57.280 16 4
13 85 Miki Koyama -1:28.542 15 3
14 51 Ira Sidorkova -1:38.972 2 2
15 22 Belen Garcia -1 L 13 1
16 99 Naomi Schiff -5 L 12 0
Race 2: Naomi started the reverse-grid race from pole position but was quickly overtaken by Belen Garcia and Irina. Belen led the Russian by just under a second at the end of lap one, by which time Marta had progressed from eighth to fourth and Beitske from last on the grid to eighth. As the race approached the halfway stage, Irina passed Belen for the lead at the end of the back straight and a few corners later Marta took third from Naomi. Moves on Sarah and Bruna Tomaselli put Beitske up to sixth place, and that soon became fifth when an incident between Marta and Naomi relegated the latter and promoted Fabienne Wohlwend to third. Marta regained the final podium place along the back straight with four minutes left and Beitske quickly followed her past Fabienne to take fourth. Marta was under severe pressure from Beitske on the final lap culminating in a drag race to the chequered flag, but the Spaniard held on by one tenth of a second.
RACE 2
Pos No Driver Time/Retired Grid Points FL
1 51 Ira Sidorkova 16:07.545 3 20
2 22 Belen Garcia -4.466 2 17
3 19 Marta Garcia -8.519 8 15
4 95 Beitske Visser -8.634 16 13 1
5 5 Fabienne Wohlwend -11.969 7 11
6 97 Bruna Tomaselli -16.853 9 10
7 99 Naomi Schiff -24.599 1 9
8 32 Nerea Marti -37.943 13 8
9 26 Sarah Moore -39.225 10 7
10 17 Ayla Agren -40.069 11 6
11 44 Abbie Eaton -1:00.304 12 5
12 85 Miki Koyama -1:22.936 4 4
13 20 Caitlin Wood -1:36.638 15 3
14 31 Tasmin Pepper -1 L 14 2
15 21 Jessica Hawkins -1 L 6 1
16 11 Vicky Piria -1 L 5 0
Race 3: Beitske dominated qualifying, taking pole position by four tenths of a second from Caitlin who made a slow start and dropped to fourth behind Marta and Irina. Beitske got away well but was caught by Marta at the end of the back straight and lost the lead through the chicane. Four minutes later Beitske returned the favour by edging ahead at the end of the same straight, but she failed to make a move on Marta stick through the chicane where she went straight on and hit the wall. That left Marta a clear track to take a comfortable victory from Irina, who managed to keep the charging Caitlin behind her in the closing stages.
RACE 3
Pos No Driver Time/Retired Grid Points FL
1 19 Marta Garcia 21:16.958 3 20
2 51 Ira Sidorkova -4.034 4 17
3 20 Caitlin Wood -4.844 2 15
4 32 Nerea Marti -9.417 6 13
5 21 Jessica Hawkins -19.458 11 11
6 22 Belen Garcia -24.695 12 10
7 97 Bruna Tomaselli -32.915 14 9
8 26 Sarah Moore -37.422 13 8
9 31 Tasmin Pepper -59.816 5 7
10 5 Fabienne Wohlwend -1:15.798 9 6
11 95 Beitske Visser -1:16.432 1 5 1
12 17 Ayla Agren -1:28.112 7 4
13 85 Miki Koyama -1:49.933 15 3
14 99 Naomi Schiff -1 L 10 2
15 11 Vicky Piria -1 L 16 1
16 44 Abbie Eaton -2 L 8 0
Round seven is at Suzuka International Racing Course, Japan, next Thursday, 23 July at 19:00 BST. Watch all three races on BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button, BBC Sport website and W Series’ Twitch, YouTube and Facebook channels.
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