Aston Martin Cognizant Esports Team can now focus on the playoffs and battle for the title after ending the regular season with a match against Team Redline.
The two teams went head-to-head in the round selector and combined to select Monza as our favoured track while Team Redline opted for Spa-Francorchamps.
Aston Martin Cognizant Esports Team has competed at both venues already this season, meaning it was a return to familiar territory.
The round kicked off with the Relay Race at Spa as Daniele Haddad began the event from pole against Redline and F1 Esports Pro Series racer Enzo Bonito.
Daniele put in the legwork for the race, and defended superbly from his rival at the first corner, despite some wheel-banging, to pull clear after Blanchimont before handing over the V10-powered car to team-mate Lucas Blakeley.
Lucas took the joker lap for the team and finished with a sizeable buffer before Shanaka Clay jumped in and sealed victory in the opener after crucially breaking the tow on the Kemmel Straight. The Team Race at Spa followed the usual pattern, as wheel-to-wheel and on-the-limit racing took place at the opening corner, where the sprints can often be decided.
Aston Martin Cognizant Esports Team’s chances of victory took a sizeable hit when Lucas was bumped from second to fifth at the start due to contact caused by Jeffrey Rietveld.
While Rietveld was penalised, the damage had already been done. Daniele would finish third, and Lucas took fifth, following a three-second time penalty, as Shanaka rounded off the team’s efforts in sixth.
With the scores now level, the round was decided at Monza, beginning with the Relay Race.
Lucas made a stunning start from second on the grid to fight Bonito into the opening corner, going around the outside as the Redline driver outbraked himself and forced the former wide and onto the grass.
Lucas would re-join ahead of his rival, and continued onto his joker lap but later incurred a five-second penalty for gaining an advantage at Turn One.
He would then hand the car over to Daniele with a decent margin, although a minor error in the pitlane meant the gap to Redline was reduced.
At the second chicane, Michal Šmídl collided with Daniele at entry and went straight across the run-off, earning the Redline driver a five-second time penalty of his own after illegally gaining several seconds.
Shanaka would fight hard in the final stint to reduce the gap, but Redline held on to take a 2-1 lead into the deciding Team Race.
The final head-to-head would end in a draw after a large coming together at the first corner. Shanaka made contact with a Redline machine, and the domino effect caught out the field.
Lucas emerged from the chaos to lead and take the victory, but both Shanaka and Daniele, who had a clash with Bonito on the opening lap, were penalised.
The pair ended up fifth and sixth, meaning the decider was a draw, and neither team scored points, giving Redline the 2-1 win.
Having already secured a playoff place due to results elsewhere, the Aston Martin Cognizant Esports Team is gearing up for the next phase, taking place the week commencing May 17.
Like the Aston Martin Cognizant Esports Team’s V10-R League machine? You can win one of 20 copies of our car. Head to our official Esports channels on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to find out how.
