Erhan Jajovski (ROKiT Venturi Racing) hit the ground running in Formula E: Accelerate to pinch the early advantage among a grid of 24 of elite sim racers as the North Macedonian streaked to wins in Rounds 1 and 2.
The "rFactor 2 GOAT", as his peers have named him, seemed to nail the additions of energy management and ATTACK MODE to the sim almost immediately and at the same time, Jajovski's avoided making any mistakes of note through the opening five rounds - key with even a tenth of-a-second lost costing drivers 10 or more places on any given grid.
READ MORE: Head here for the full Formula E: Accelerate line-up
That victory around the virtual streets of Hong Kong's harbourfront made it two lights-to-flag victories in two for Jajovski right out of the gate and ever since, he's finished on the podium while others around him have tripped up.
'Top five was the aim, I wasn't so confident'
Despite his moniker, Jajovski headed into the competition unsure. The quality of the grid was high and his expectations were measured - top five the aim, he thought.
"The opening rounds opened my perspective a lot," says Jajovski. "I was probably aiming for top five coming into this and I wasn’t too confident. Luckily, I got put into the last group which had the quickest track in qualifying for the opener and I somehow put it right up there.
"Then for Round 2, I had the confidence and the base and consistency has been the key from there. This is one of the toughest grids – if not the toughest – I have been a part of. Having top guys from all over and F1 Esports is no joke.
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"Last year, something just clicked with me and I was performing pretty well in every event I participated in – in Formula E too," adds Jajovski. "It wasn’t too difficult for me to get the energy management right and I didn’t find it so complicated.
"Lifting before the corner and managing that was a bit tricky as the car gets more oversteer as the race progresses. I work hard by myself behind the scenes. In the race I do my own thing – I don’t have an engineer or anything I just estimate when the best time to lift off is and it’s worked pretty well."
'I'll try my best and give it my all'
Leading the charge for a share of a €100,000 prize pool and a real-world Gen2 test drive could understandably weigh heavy on Jajovski but the Venturi racer is playing his own game, and all focus is on himself.
"My aim is always the same – to try and do my best. I don’t have a plan or any tactics different to any other round so I will just try to the best of my abilities and give it my all. Rome has a lot of elevation changes and it’s the bumpiest track so far – and all of the bumps are in the braking zones, so it’s very tricky.
"I don’t think about the consequences of my results, I just want to focus on doing the best job possible. My main goal is always to race in the real stuff. Who knows, there are a lot of factors involved but the prize is huge. Getting the chance to experience driving the car is out of this world – it would mean the world to me."