He couldn’t be stopped! Michal Smidl has won the second round of the Racer League of the Racing Unleashed Championship. The Czech takes 25 points and prize money of 3,500 Swiss francs (approx. 3,500 euros) with him for victory on the virtual Nürburgring. Enrique Marañon and Dominik Dedic complete the podium. The race is still available on Twitch.
The Championship of Racing Unleashed ( go to the homepage here ) – this is the racing series in which the pilots chase a virtual 2022 Formula 1 model around the racetracks in high-performance simulators. 46-inch screens with a panoramic view and carbon fiber cockpits with an integrated sound system make the races in the racing lounges at various locations in Germany, Switzerland and Spain an almost real Formula 1 experience. In total, the prize money is almost 200,000 Swiss francs.
Starting from fifth place, Smidl worked his way up to first place in just a few laps, after which he was able to control events and create a large gap. “I drove very aggressively, but I was always fair,” explains Smidl in the interview with the winner.
The racers were observed by Formula 1 driver Karl Wendlinger, who is part of the race management as sporting director. Smidl: “In the end I was able to manage it well from the front and get a lead. I could have driven two or three tenths of a second faster per lap.” With his victory, he also takes the lead in the championship.
Michal Smidl wins the Racing Unleashed Championship race at the virtual Nürburgring.
Amazing: Second-placed Enrique Marañon simply let Smidl pass instead of defending himself. “I didn’t defend myself much, he had better pace. Instead, I focused on the fight with Dedic,” analyzes the Spaniard, whose strategy paid off. After a mistake by Dedic in the Veedol chicane, he won the duel. “He drove a strong race and defended well. If it wasn’t for the mistake, I probably wouldn’t have gotten it.”
The Zurich resident is angry about his mistake. “It is frustrating. In the end, a small mistake cost me second place. The race was very difficult, the level in the field is very high,” sums up Dedic. “But it’s still a strong podium finish. Those are important points for the championship.” And 1,500 Swiss francs for your wallet.
The German Angelo Michel also took 350 Swiss francs with him. From 16th place he fought his way up to 8th place. Only last year’s champion Alejandro Sanchez managed to catch up even better, moving up from 21st to sixth place. His Spanish compatriot Javier Loro, who won the season opener at the Red Bull Ring, went away empty-handed after problems in the race.
On April 24th starts the third competition on the virtual circuit of Monza.
In the Challenger League (with driving aid support), which was already underway on Saturday, Marcos Valverde (Spain) secured victory ahead of David Cid (Spain) and Tyler Klausch (Germany). Cid leads the championship with 43 points ahead of Siro Zambra (28 points) and Valverde (25 points).
On 23./24.04. starts the third competition on the virtual circuit of Monza. If you want to be there, you can qualify for the next Challenger League race with a hotlap in one of the lounges (Munich, Kemptthal, Zurich, Cham or Madrid) and get involved in the fight for over 1,000 Swiss francs. The races will be broadcast on Twitch again.
A possible opponent could be Fabian Vettel. The brother of four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel wants to take part in one of the next competitions, but first has to qualify.
