Qualifying for the third round of the 2023 MotoGP™ eSport Global Series confirmed one name is intent on reeling in the current championship top two when racing kicks off this Friday 6th October at 16:00 (CET).
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jack Hammer4658 claimed pole position for two of the three races to be held this Friday, showing he is determined to reel in current Series leaders Trast73 (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and 26_adriaan (Repsol Honda Team) when racing starts on Friday.
The eagerly-awaited Round 3 will be one of three virtual events this year, before the fourth and final round of the Global Series will be held live at Ubeat Live Barcelona, a gaming conference with world renown, on 11th November.
The qualifying format was revised too, with gamers having just five minutes to qualify for the Sprint, – a change that will put their ability to handle pressure to the test, and could lead to some surprise results, too!
While former champions Adriaan_26 and Trast73 are among the favourites to add another crown to their tally, this year’s Global Series line up boasts six new faces that are keen to shake up the existing order. Six nationalities are represented, with the finalists hailing from the UK, Indonesia, Italy, Spain, Germany and Malaysia.
The Algarve International Circuit in Portugal is the venue for the third Sprint of the year, before Australia’s legendary Phillip Island and Thailand’s Chang International Circuit host race 1 and 2 respectively. And there will be an added challenge thrown in. Race 2 will be a Flag-to-Flag race, meaning riders must enter the pits and change bike – the first of its kind in MotoGP™ eSport history!
Qualifying for the Sprint was topped by Jack Hammer4658 with impressive rookie davideturrisi06 (Pramac Racing) second and Cristianmm17 (LCR Honda CASTROL eSports Team) third. Jack Hammer4658 pipped trast73 to pole by just 0.067s for Race 1 with another rookie danielealoè26 (Ducati Lenovo eSport Team) – third. and third. And in wet conditions for Race 2 qualifying, Cristianmm17 took a fine pole, ahead of 26_adriaan and Jack Hammer4658.
It’s all set up for a stunning show this Friday, when presenters Kiko Giles and Jack Gorst will host the first hour-long show of the year in which will begin with prerace build up before the 11 riders take on three race tracks that will pit the finalists’ skills to the test.
Fans can watch on motogp.com and esport.motogp.com, on selected TV broadcasters, and across social media platforms including YouTube (via the MotoGP™ and MotoGP™ eSport channels), MotoGP™ eSport Twitter, Instagram, Facebook (via MotoGP™ and MotoGP™ eSport pages) and Twitch via MotoGP™ and MotoGP™ eSport.
Who will gain the upper hand in the fight to be the 2023 MotoGP™ eSport Champion? Tune in on Friday the 6th October at 16.00 CET to find out!
QP POR SPRINT:
- Jack Hammer4658 | 01:34.734
- davideturrisi06 | +0.267
- Cristianmm17 | +0.300
- trast73 | +0.334
- 26_adriaan | +0.401
- kainsta28 | +0.601
- danielealoè26 | +0.801
- Sbadalongo | +0.935
- Eiky13 |+0.968
- MikiRaiko | +1.035
QP2 – AUS :
- Jack Hammer4658 | 01:23.280
- trast73 | +0.067
- danielealoè26 | +0.334
- 26_adriaan | +0.369
- davideturrisi06 | +0.401
- Cristianmm17 | +0.501
- kainsta28 | +0.701
- Eiky13 |+0.735
- Sbadalongo | +1.003
- MikiRaiko | +1.035
QP3 – TAI:
- Cristianmm17 | 01:33.899
- 26_adriaan | +0.102
- Jack Hammer4658 | +0.167
- trast73 | +0.300
- davideturrisi06 | +0.367
- danielealoè26 | +0.768
- kainsta28 | +1.035
- Eiky13|+1.202
- Sbadalongo | +1.203
- MikiRaiko | NC