Maximilian Benecke took victory in the first of the Porsche Pro Qualifying races to lead the way in the nine-round series that will see the top 20 drivers enter in to the Porsche iRacing World Championship Series.
The opening race of the season was closely fought affair with plenty of action throughout.
Benecke dominated the race from the start, leading from pole position in to the first corner, chased closely by Jarrad Filsell and Alexander Thiebe.
While the first corner of the opening lap saw no issues it wasn’t long before the race claimed its first victim as Ricardo Castro Ledo ended up on their roof after a collision with another competitor.
While the race was largely a clean affair, there was controversy in the closing stages of the race as Williams eSports driver Moritz Löhner collided with the wall before cutting in front of a fellow competitor.
The competition is tough with over 800 drivers already trying their hand at the series with anyone holding an iRacing C level road racing license eligible to enter.
Twenty drivers have already been selected for the series with the final twenty qualifying over the nine rounds.
Each round is 30 minutes and will feature Tsukuba Circuit, Twin Ring Motegi, Watkins Glen International, Imola, Mount Panorama, Suzuka Circuit, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, and the final race at the legendary Sebring International Raceway.
Drivers already qualified for the series that is due to launch in a couple of months time are: Martin Krönke, Mitchell deJong, Mack Bakkum, Greger Huttu, Peter Berryman, Kevin Ellis Jr, Joshua K Rogers, Marcus Jensen, Jamie Fluke, Antoine Higelin, João Vaz, Tommy Ostgaard, Ilkka Haapala, Pashalis Gergis, Stephen Michaels, Kazuki Oomishima, Dion Vergers, Martti Pietilä, Ricardo Orozco, and Michael Partington.
The second race of the season gets underway on 13 January and will be streamed live on the iRacing eSports Network.
