The ABB Formula E Race at Home Challenge in support of UNICEF is now past the mid-way point of the competition and the need for consistency is even more important in the Challenge Grid. Let’s take a look at who is on course to be fighting for the crown in the winner takes all Grand Final on June 7.
This Saturday sees the Race at Home Challenge land in the formidable Flughafen Tempelhof for round five of the eight-week initiative and the front-runners on the Challenge Grid are now starting to emerge.
Unlike the Driver Grid, where points will determine the final standings, the Challenge Grid is using a format much more familiar to gaming fans - winner takes all. Points throughout the previous seven races will determine the grid order for the Grand Final on June 7.
So, who is in the running to win the opportunity of getting behind the wheel of a Formula E Gen2 car at a future event, as well as an entry into the BMW SIM M2 CS Racing Cup Finals within the BMW SIM Live 2020 at BMW Welt Munich.
Kevin Siggy - 71 points
Always finishing on the podium to date, Siggy is showing his star potential in the Race at Home Challenge. His standout moment so far was in round three where he won in Monaco, after qualifying on Julius Baer pole position beating real-world racers such as Sophia Floersch and Alex Lynn.
The Slovenian is competing in the #28 car for BMW i Andretti Motorsport car, and could well be on his way to the BMW SIM M2 CS Racing Cup Finals in December.
Lucas Mueller - 58 points
The youngest competitor on the grid, Mueller took his first victory of the competition last week having finished second and third in the past two races. The German didn’t finish in the top-10 following the first event in Hong Kong but determined to come back to compete he went back to the open qualifying platform to finish 8th over the course of the window using rFactor 2 software and has never had to go back since.
Following his win in Hong Kong last time out, Mueller exclaimed: “I am a little bit speechless, I can’t quite believe what has just happened. I never expected to be fighting for the win!”
Peyo Peev - 54 points
Peev qualified in top spot for the opening round, beating over one hundred of the top sim racers in the world but unfortunately, like Lucas Mueller, he didn’t finish in the top-10 of the first race. But he put his nerves to bed when he dominated the Electric Docks circuit, leading from lights to flag as well as collecting Julius Baer pole position and TAG Heuer fastest lap.
Formula E commentator Jack Nicholls declared him the Juan Manuel Fangio of sim racing, with his very unique upright driving style, but that doesn’t seem to be hindering him in the competition.
Petar Brljak - 51 points
With nine years of sim racing experience using almost exclusively rFactor software, competitors should watch out for the Croatian sim superstar. A competitor in the Visa Vegas eRace in 2017, Brljak is now competing in the #20 car for Panasonic Jaguar Racing. Currently fourth in the driver standings, he will be looking to replicate his performance from the competition opener where he finished second.
Joshua Rogers - 45 points
At just 20 years old, Rogers stormed through the pro sim racing scene in 2019, winning the VRS GT iRacing World Championship, the Porsche SimRacing Trophy at Nürburgring and topping it off with the recent Porsche Esports Supercup (PESC) title.
Competing for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, Rogers snatched victory from under the nose of Petar Brljak with a late lunge on the penultimate lap in the first race in Hong Kong. The Australian couldn’t come back to defend his points haul for the following two weeks due to other commitments but made his anticipated return to the grid last week, again in Hong Kong. After taking Julius Baer pole position and TAG Heuer fastest lap, he was unable to replicate his first-round finish, being pipped to the post by Lucas Mueller.
Rogers is again not competing this week in Berlin. Will his lack of running prove to be the deciding factor in his chances to win the competition?
The Grand Final on June 7 will be the second race of a double-header weekend and will feature double points, meaning it really will be anyone’s for the taking. Could one of the wildcard entrants including Charlie Martin and Axel La Flamme make a last dash move up the standings? Both have competed in every race in the competition and have been showing flashes of speed throughout.
The only way to find out is by tuning in to watch the ABB Formula E Race at Home Challenge in support of UNICEF at 15:30 BST.