SCOTS race ace Dario Franchitti defeated a stellar field of Formula One, IndyCar and sportscar greats to win the Legends Trophy eSports simulator event at the weekend.
Staged on a virtual version of the Silverstone National circuit, three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Franchitti led home three-time Aston Martin Le Mans 24 Hour class winner Darren Turner and ex-IndyCar rival Adrian Fernandez to take the win.
The 16 racing legends competing in the Torque Esport’s The Race All-Star Esports Battle clash drove the rFactor 2 virtual version of the 1974 Brabham BT44 F1 car.
Formula One, IndyCar and sportscar winner Juan Pablo Montoya scored the pole in qualifying ahead of five-time Audi Le Mans 24 Hour winner Emanuele Pirro. However, the pair of front row starters tangled very early on, allowing Franchitti to take the lead.
Despite pressure from Turner, Bathgate’s Franchitti was able to lead the pack home to score victory on his eSports debut.
He said: “I was surprised when they started the race with a green flag instead of the lights and then everybody ran into each other in turn one. From there, it was a matter of not making any mistakes.
“I could see Darren Turner in my mirrors and, every time I made a slight mistake, he would get a little closer. I didn’t want to mess up but it was a lot of fun.”
The Race All-Star Esports Battle was launched less than a month ago by Torque Esports in response to the mass cancellation of real-world races in Formula One, IndyCar, NASCAR and more.
A fourth round of action will take place next weekend – streamed live on The-Race.com’s YouTube channel.
And the Scottish Motor Racing Club is also getting in on the gaming action, hosting its own eSports Spring Championship. There will be an event every Sunday in April, with cars and circuits changed for every round.
Anyone can take part in the competition, which is free to enter and full details can be found at www.smrc.co.uk/championships/esports. The races will be streamed on the SMRC Facebook page.
