until Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League
Lamborghini’s first official esports competition concluded on Thursday, with three of the 12 finalists winning a real-world drive in a Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo around Imola.
Earlier in the year five qualifying races were run, with the fastest drivers earning their place in the grand final for what Lamborghini called its The Real Race competition.
The 12 finalists then took part in two races on Assetto Corsa Competizione – a 30 minute long race at Barcelona followed by a 45 minute race at Mount Panorama.
The first two to qualify for the grand final, Arnaud Lacombe and Red Bull Racing Esports team manager Nils Naujoks, locked out the front row for the Barcelona race.
Lacombe had pole but it was Naujoks who got the better start and led into Turn 1.
As the race went on it started to rain more and more, catching out Lacombe who spun on the exit of the downhill Turn 5 left-hander to fall from second to third.
He ended up dropping more positions having sustained damage from hitting the barrier.
That put Arthur Kammerer and Jordan Sherratt into the final two podium positions, but a failed dive up the inside of the Turn 10 hairpin by Sherratt sent Kammerer spinning.
Sherratt sportingly decided to stay behind and wait for Kammerer to get going again, allowing Kamil Pawlowski to overtake them both for second place.
Naujoks won by three seconds and took the full 16 points for a victory, with Pawlowski and Sherratt in third as Kammerer dropped to fifth place before making a mistake on the final lap that meant he crossed the line in ninth.
The second and final race offered more points than the first, with 25 points going to the winner.
Naujoks and Lacombe once again were the two fastest in qualifying, with Naujoks turning the tables and taking pole position at Mount Panorama.
There was little to separate the top two for the majority of the race, but with only nine minutes remaining Naujoks made a minor mistake.
He went deep into the final corner which compromised his exit speed, meaning Lacombe was able to pull alongside into Turn 1.
The pair went side by side around the first corner with Lacombe forced to the outside but the better exit from the turn meant he took the lead of the race on the long run to the next corner.
At that same part of the circuit with a little over two minutes remaining, Naujoks was using the slipstream to close up to the back of Lacombe.
Naujoks got the front of his car alongside the rear of Lacombe’s, so when the Frenchman moved to take the racing line for the corner he was spun around and went straight on and into the barrier.
Lacombe retired, with only six of the 12 drivers making the chequered flag in the incident filled race.
In second place was Sherratt who had a comparatively quiet race, with former Ferrari F1 Esports driver Gianfranco Giglioli in third.
The unluckiest driver from the second race was Pawlowski, who was running in fourth place before Lacombe’s retirement.
A third place finish, in combination with the runner up spot in the first race, would’ve guaranteed Pawlowski one of the top three championship positions.
However he disconnected with only four and a half minutes remaining in the final race and consequently didn’t end the grand final as one of the top three points scorers.
Naujoks ended up on top with a full 41-point score, while Matthias Egger (who took two fourth places) and Sherratt scored 20 points each to pick up the other two prize drives.
In addition to the Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo run at Imola they will also get to visit Lamborghini’s HQ.
There they will get the opportunity to use Lamborghini’s own R&D simulator as well as meeting and training alongside official Lamborghini drivers.
As the winner Naujoks will also receive a diecast car with his in-game livery.
