McKeown, Kadlečík split FIA SIMAGIC F4 eSports Global Championship Series Round 2 races at Zolder and Algarve
The second round of the 2024 FIA SIMAGIC F4 eSports Global Championship Series had a much different feel than the first doubleheader two weeks ago. This time, the global warriors were tasked with racing at Circuit Zolder and Algarve International Circuit, and as always, the tracks were announced 24 hours in advance.
Great Britain’s Luke McKeown and the Czech Republic’s Martin Kadlečík split the victories, both leading the most laps after pulling away from the competition, in comparison to the first two races at Mugello and Okayama, which saw late race passes by the eventual winner, Ireland’s Alex Dunne.
McKeown started from the pole position at Zolder and led the entire way, pulling away early as the scrap was on for second. Dunne was poised for a three-peat, but early contact moved him down the order this time, eventually recovering to finish in fourth. Chile’s Nicolás Rubilar started in second, but by the end of the race, Spain’s Aaron Vazquezz was in the runner-up spot, both chasing down McKeown and defending against Rubilar behind. Kadlečík rounded out the top-five.
“It felt really easy, I guess,” McKeown said post-race. ” I didn’t have too much pressure from the start. Aaron closed up a bit, but yeah. I’m happy with the qually, I’m happy with the race. It was pretty chill, which is nice, and I’m sure it’s going to be a bit different in the next one (at Algarve).”
Portimão was, indeed, a bit different. Chile’s Felipe Cabrera took the pole position, but only led the opening two laps. Kadlečík, who started second, had a bit more pace, and on the third lap, he swung low and took the point. He disappeared from there, pulling out to nearly a five-second lead by the end of the 20-minute sprint. Just after halfway, Cabrera found himself in a three-wide battle with Rubilar and Australia’s Hugh Barter. Unfortunately, Cabrera couldn’t escape without contact, and fell down the order after spinning from third.
Vazquezz and Barter found themselves in a battle for the podium spots with McKeown and Spain’s Alejandro Sánchez. They would finish in that order, with the points leader, Dunne, scoring seventh behind Great Britain’s Graham Carroll.
“I didn’t expect that,” said Kadlečík post-race. “I had good qualifying, finally, I managed to pull a good lap. I’ve been struggling a bit, the last couple of races, with my qualifying. Thankfully I put it away this time. I was a bit lucky, of course, that the guys behind me were fighting. A bit of a lonely race, but I’m glad I managed to keep my concentration and finish first, which is beautiful.”
FIA SIMAGIC F4 eSports Global Championship Series – Race #3 results from Zolder were as follows:
Fin. |
St. |
No. |
Driver |
Laps |
Interval |
Led |
Region |
Pts. |
| 1 | 1 | 96 | Luke McKeown | 14 | 0.000 | 14 | Europe | 25 |
| 2 | 4 | 71 | Aaron Vazquezz | 14 | -1.827 | 0 | Europe | 20 |
| 3 | 2 | 7 | Nicolás Rubilar | 14 | -2.085 | 0 | Americas | 16 |
| 4 | 3 | 22 | Alex Dunne | 14 | -6.998 | 0 | Europe | 14 |
| 5 | 6 | 31 | Martin Kadlečík | 14 | -7.099 | 0 | Europe | 12 |
| 6 | 12 | 20 | Moritz Löhner | 14 | -10.840 | 0 | Europe | 10 |
| 7 | 13 | 56 | Damon Woods | 14 | -13.880 | 0 | Asia-Pac | 9 |
| 8 | 10 | 51 | Jackson Rezende | 14 | -14.989 | 0 | Americas | 8 |
| 9 | 15 | 99 | Jaidyn J Ladic | 14 | -15.027 | 0 | Asia-Pac | 7 |
| 10 | 9 | 35 | Leo Ovtcharov | 14 | -15.491 | 0 | Americas | 6 |
| 11 | 8 | 29 | Graham Carroll | 14 | -17.181 | 0 | Europe | 5 |
| 12 | 11 | 79 | Felipe Cabrera Loyola | 14 | -17.390 | 0 | Americas | 4 |
| 13 | 16 | 11 | Felipe Pujol Dantas | 14 | -17.852 | 0 | Americas | 3 |
| 14 | 17 | 73 | Alejandro Sendra | 14 | -18.230 | 0 | Asia-Pac | 2 |
| 15 | 14 | 74 | Benjamin Roberts | 14 | -18.941 | 0 | Asia-Pac | 1 |
| 16 | 21 | 92 | Calieb Hydes | 14 | -19.392 | 0 | Asia-Pac | 0 |
| 17 | 22 | 63 | Hayata Asaga | 14 | -19.885 | 0 | Asia-Pac | 0 |
| 18 | 26 | 43 | Ralph Benitez | 14 | -20.502 | 0 | Americas | 0 |
| 19 | 18 | 12 | Felipe Juliato | 14 | -25.148 | 0 | Americas | 0 |
| 20 | 5 | 47 | Alejandro Sánchez | 11 | -3L | 0 | Europe | 0 |
| 21 | 20 | 32 | Kazuki Fujita | 7 | -7L | 0 | Asia-Pac | 0 |
| 22 | 24 | 61 | Gordon Mutch | 6 | -8L | 0 | Europe | 0 |
| 23 | 7 | 17 | Victor Miranda | 5 | -9L | 0 | Americas | 0 |
| 24 | 23 | 3 | Kody Deith | 1 | -13L | 0 | Asia-Pac | 0 |
| 25 | 19 | 55 | Shoma Shintani | 1 | -13L | 0 | Asia-Pac | 0 |
| 26 | 25 | 68 | Hugh Barter | 1 | -13L | 0 | Europe | 0 |
FIA SIMAGIC F4 eSports Global Championship Series – Race #4 results from Algarve were as follows:
Fin. |
St. |
No. |
Driver |
Laps |
Interval |
Led |
Region |
Pts. |
| 1 | 2 | 31 | Martin Kadlečík | 12 | 0.000 | 10 | Europe | 25 |
| 2 | 15 | 71 | Aaron Vazquezz | 12 | -4.854 | 0 | Europe | 20 |
| 3 | 6 | 68 | Hugh Barter | 12 | -5.240 | 0 | Europe | 16 |
| 4 | 4 | 47 | Alejandro Sánchez | 12 | -5.266 | 0 | Europe | 14 |
| 5 | 8 | 96 | Luke McKeown | 12 | -5.531 | 0 | Europe | 12 |
| 6 | 9 | 29 | Graham Carroll | 12 | -8.214 | 0 | Europe | 10 |
| 7 | 10 | 22 | Alex Dunne | 12 | -8.329 | 0 | Europe | 9 |
| 8 | 3 | 7 | Nicolás Rubilar | 12 | -8.504 | 0 | Americas | 8 |
| 9 | 17 | 11 | Felipe Pujol Dantas | 12 | -8.785 | 0 | Americas | 7 |
| 10 | 5 | 35 | Leo Ovtcharov | 12 | -9.017 | 0 | Americas | 6 |
| 11 | 21 | 73 | Alejandro Sendra | 12 | -13.956 | 0 | Asia-Pac | 5 |
| 12 | 7 | 56 | Damon Woods | 12 | -17.084 | 0 | Asia-Pac | 4 |
| 13 | 19 | 51 | Jackson Rezende | 12 | -17.427 | 0 | Americas | 3 |
| 14 | 11 | 20 | Moritz Löhner | 12 | -19.031 | 0 | Europe | 2 |
| 15 | 23 | 12 | Felipe Juliato | 12 | -19.776 | 0 | Americas | 1 |
| 16 | 26 | 63 | Hayata Asaga | 12 | -25.582 | 0 | Asia-Pac | 0 |
| 17 | 12 | 17 | Victor Miranda | 12 | -31.153 | 0 | Americas | 0 |
| 18 | 1 | 79 | Felipe Cabrera Loyola | 12 | -41.286 | 2 | Americas | 0 |
| 19 | 20 | 3 | Kody Deith | 12 | -47.880 | 0 | Asia-Pac | 0 |
| 20 | 16 | 99 | Jaidyn J Ladic | 11 | -1L | 0 | Asia-Pac | 0 |
| 21 | 24 | 92 | Calieb Hydes | 8 | -4L | 0 | Asia-Pac | 0 |
| 22 | 25 | 55 | Shoma Shintani | 5 | -7L | 0 | Asia-Pac | 0 |
| 23 | 18 | 74 | Benjamin Roberts | 1 | -11L | 0 | Asia-Pac | 0 |
| 24 | 14 | 43 | Ralph Benitez | 1 | -11L | 0 | Americas | 0 |
| 25 | 22 | 32 | Kazuki Fujita | 1 | -11L | 0 | Asia-Pac | 0 |
| 26 | 13 | 61 | Gordon Mutch | 0 | -12L | 0 | Europe | 0 |
FIA SIMAGIC F4 eSports Global Championship Series points through Round 2 are as follows:
- Alex Dunne, 73
- Luke McKeown, 63
- Aaron Vazquezz. 54
- Alejandro Sánchez, 50
- Martin Kadlečík, 49
- Graham Carroll, 45
- Nicolás Rubilar, 33
- Hugh Barter, 24
- Felipe Pujol Dantas, 21
- Moritz Löhner, 19
Dunne maintains the points lead at the halfway point of the season, but McKeown has closed the gap to 10 points leaving Algarve. Sánchez falls from second to fourth, while Vazquezz jumps up to third following his double podium. With a fifth at Zolder and the victory at Portimão, Kadlečík jumps up to fifth, and sits within a race of the lead with half the season still remaining.
The next two tracks will be unveiled before the fifth and sixth race of the season, scheduled for October 12th. Every round of the 2024 FIA SIMAGIC F4 eSports Global Championship will be broadcasted on all of iRacing’s official channels. Coverage starts at 3:00 pm ET / 19:00 GMT / 05:00 AEST.
For more information on the FIA SIMAGIC F4 eSports Global Championship, visit www.iracing.com/fia-f4-esports/. For more information about iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com. To know more about the partnership and access an iRacing license via your local ASN, visit www.FIA.com/iracing.
