The ADAC GT Masters Esports Championship isn’t just your ordinary mouthful. It’s a thrilling championship with phenomenal racing. But one man currently dominates the series through unyielding consistency. That man is Moritz Löhner and he, along with the rest of the top five from the 2021 season, didn’t have to run the gauntlet of competition we’re about to review.
Similarly to DTM Esports, the majority of the 2022 season’s grid was to be made up of preseason shootout qualifiers. The only exceptions to this were the aforementioned top five of 2021, and the top three of the GT4 competition from last year. The makeup of the first shootout would mirror the new for 2022 event format, with two qualifying sessions preceding a Sprint and Endurance race. The second of the qualifying sessions would only allow one flying lap to be taken by all competitors.
At the end of the evening, the top ten drivers with the most points accrued gained entry to the full season, while everyone else would be told to come back for a second try. Unless it was the second shootout of course, in which case that’s your lot.
Fresh off the back of qualifying for the DTM Esports 2022 season, Jack Keithley secured the opening pole position of ADAC GT Masters Esports shootout at Spa-Francorchamps. The Brit no doubt had a chip on his shoulder after missing out on the 2021 top five by three points. Gianmarco Fiduci actually achieved this feat in DTM Esports though he would surely settle for a front row start ahead of Julian Kunze.
All things considered, it was a wonderfully clean start for most involved, with only Manuel Rodríguez finding major grief. It wouldn’t be until just over eight minutes to go of the Sprint that the next game-changing incident would take place as Dornieden found himself facing the wrong way. He had been on the cusp of the top ten in 13th. Tenth is where Kevin Siggy found himself, after picking up a slow-down penalty just a few corners on from the scene of the accident.
The battle for the final podium place spiced up in the dying embers, with Leonard Krippner beating Kunze to the punch, though no one involved could lay a finger on Keithley and Fiduci out front.
Not that this deterred the German, who stormed to Superpole for the Endurance race. Fiduci once again lined up second, although Marc Gassner sprung a surprise to head up the second row of the grid. Keithley could only manage sixth, although his efforts in the first race had already done a lot of leg work toward full season acceptance.
This is simracing, however, and things are rarely that simple. Just seconds into the second contest, Gassner found himself leading after a mega launch, while Keithley was facing the wrong way at the back of the field. Barring a stupendous recovery drive, the Brit needed results to go his way, and his prayers were immediately answered as Krippner was pulled into the pitlane for a jump start penalty
Conservatism was on full display from Fiduci, who hounded Gassner over the entire first stint, but refused to make a lunge. This potentially cost him second overall, as after the pitstop phase he found himself behind Michael Rächl. Ultimately, there were still huge points in the bag for not just himself but plenty inside the top ten.
With Gassner winning, and with points gained through sheer grit and determination, Keithley could breathe a sigh of relief with his fate now decided for the full season. Plenty of expected names would join him, with Martin Barna the last of those to qualify through Shootout 1.
*Jarschel later received a post-event penalty relegating him from the top ten and instead seeing Krippner progress
From Belgium to Germany. Hockenheim held the second and final shootout of the preseason. After a miserable time at Spa-Francorchamps, Marko Pejic looked back on form at a track he adores. Taking the first pole position of the day, the German led his compatriot Tim Jarschel, who was forced into the second shootout after a little too much enthusiasm in his previous outing. Jeffrey Rietveld hadn’t taken part in Shootout 1 but returned to the championship with third position in Race 1.
Much like in Shootout 1, Hockenheim’s track limits weren’t tested too much on the opening lap. Everyone got away well, with Kunze gaining the most places of those in the top ten. Erhan Jajovski, after a tumultuous back half to 2021 in simracing, also looked good on his first appearance of 2022.
The scramble for tenth was fierce, with established veterans David Nagy and Luciano Witvoet at the heart of the action. Meanwhile, Alexander Dornieden was having a strong drive repassing Kunze, before threatening Jajovski in sixth. No battling was required for Pejic though, as the pole-sitter found himself strolling comfortably to a first place finish.
For Shootout 2, Qualifying for the second race was changed to a regular ten-minute session, in contrast to Shootout 1’s Superpole format – which will be utilised in the full season. This helped Pejic grab his second pole of the evening, just ahead of Jarschel and Rietveld once again. Worryingly for the likes of Kunze and Nagy, there was no appearance in the top ten.
It was a much tougher event for Pejic in the Endurance race, as both Jarschel and Rietveld found a way past the German on the opening lap. With a 2022 grid place on the line, the Porsche wasn’t making any sudden, reactionary moves. Unsurprisingly, neither did anyone else, with not even the pitstop phase making an impact on the top ten order.
In fact, the most intrigue came from Nagy, whose poor Qualifying had left him in a perilous point-scoring position. His struggle up to 13th provided great entertainment, but unfortunately for the Hungarian, it wasn’t enough.
All ADAC GT Masters Esports Championship races will be live on the Traxion.gg YouTube channel in 2022.
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