Mercedes-AMG eRacing – The Finalists
After nine exciting races, the online part of the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport eRacing competition has come to a close and everyone is looking forward to the grand final on October 13th at the Hockenheimring. If you want to catch up on all of the action, make sure to watch the playlist with all of the live broadcasts. In the following, we will present the six finalists. They have qualified after a tough season, and will be rewarded with a flight, hotel, tickets and VIP access for the DTM final at Hockenheim, and of course with a chance to battle against the entire Mercedes-AMG DTM team. Prizes will be provided for the top 3 – Mercedes-AMG Driving Experiences, the chance to drive a high-performance AMG sportscar in real life.
Jack Keithley – The dominator
The British driver is a prominent name across all racing games, and he returned to RaceRoom after a longer absence to fight for one of the most prestigious titles. In the beginning of the season, Jack made a few mistakes, and especially his performance at the Lausitzring earned him a slap on the wrist by the race direction. But Keithley gave the answer on track, with three flawless dominant victories in a row. Keithley’s preparation was meticulous for each round, his car looked impressively stable and strong out of the corners and he was always able to do fast, consistent laptimes throughout the entire race. Five victories and a 56 point gap to the second placed driver paint a clear picture: Jack Keithley has been the star of this season. But the big challenge his still ahead of him – performing in front of a crowd with unfamiliar equipment.
Julian Kunze – Sick of second places
Julian Kunze is one of the most experienced drivers on RaceRoom, and most definitely one of the fastest drivers too. You can see his name on top of several leaderboards, and he also managed to win the TCOne championship with WTCC cars and the KTM X-Bow eSport Trophy. But when it comes to the DTM cars, he has been always a bit overshadowed by Tim Heinemann. In the last AMG eRacing season, back when only hotlap qualifiers were used, Julian dominated the online part of the season and won every round except one. But when it came to the final, Tim Heinemann won once again, and Julian finished in 2nd place.
It was only fitting that Julian started this season with three second places in a row. Despite missing a few rounds, he remained safe inside the top 6 for the duration of the championship, and at the final online race, Julian finally managed to take his first win of the season. Maybe it’s a good omen for the Hockenheimring.
Kevin Siggy Rebernak – The fastest rookie
The Austrian driver may not be new to simracing, but he is still a rookie on RaceRoom. He only installed the game this year, and then he instantly managed to finish in the top three in one of the most competitive seasons. The season had a few ups and downs though. Kevin scored four podiums, but he couldn’t clinch a victory. He was punted off a few times, but it also seemed like he didn’t drive with the same aggression as his rivals in the door-to-door battles, which saw him often lose out. But nonetheless, it’s clear to see his talent and pace, and that could work in his favour when all of the finalists have to adapt to something new at the onsite final.
Jaroslav Honzik – Patience is key
The Czech driver, known in the simracing scene as YouTuber “Jardier”, made his competitive debut on RaceRoom and worked his way towards the front. A midfielder at the beginning of the season, he was clearly a contender for victories in the second half. Jaroslav proved several times during the season that he can pull off great overtakes, but his greatest success came through a display of patience. His victory in Spielberg was a masterclass performance. He waited for Heinemann and Keithley make mistakes whilst they were fighting. This patience, paired with his positive attitude, should help him when it comes to the onsite final in Hockenheim.
Tim Heinemann – The champion
When it comes to DTM cars on RaceRoom, there is simply no other name: Tim Heinemann has won everything in these cars, from the DTM Virtual Championship up to the first AMG eRacing season. His confidence is high, his car control is outstanding and his approach is to push the limits in every possible way. He may not top the popularity charts in the paddock, and he is a reoccuring visitor in the race stewards’ office, but his style certainly worked for him in the past. This season started off with a victory once again, but then it got a lot more difficult. Keithley’s pace and especially his superior tyrewear certainly put Tim under pressure, and several incidents eventually even led to a race ban. Tim still won two races and qualified comfortably, but the days where he went from win to win are seemingly in the past. But at the same time, it’s clear that Tim still has all the ingredients to win, and he should still be considered as one of the absolute favourites to win the title.
Florian Hasse – Mr. Consistency
When you watch the streams of the races, it’s easy to overlook Florian. He is not often seen in the big battles, where the Heinemanns, Keithleys and Siggys exchange positions and paint. But Florian’s performance was excellent nonetheless, cause he did exactly what he had to do: Drive consistently, make no mistakes and qualify for the top six. Whereas almost all the other drivers have been involved in some sorts of incidents, Florian stayed cool, calm and collected throughout all of the races, which makes him the dark horse for the final event.
The final event will take place at Friday, October 13th, in Hockenheim. These six finalists will battle the entire Mercedes-AMG DTM team, from Gary Paffett to Lucas Auer. In addition, six further drivers will participate for the Gamesworld Rookie Competition, in a separate class. The race will be streamed live on Mercedes-Benz Facebook and YouTube.