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BEITSKE VISSER STRIKES FIRST IN W SERIES ESPORTS LEAGUE

June 12, 2020admin0 Comments

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Beitske Visser holds the early advantage in the W Series Esports League after winning two of the three races in the opening round at Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Italy, to top the League table.

The 25-year-old Dutch driver – who finished runner-up to Jamie Chadwick in W Series’ maiden on-track season last year – won the first and third races from second on the grid and recorded the fastest lap on her way to both victories. In between her two wins, Beitske came from last to ninth in the reverse-grid race, won by Finland’s Emma Kimiläinen, to earn a total of 49 points. Points for each W Series Esports League race are awarded as follows:

20-17-15-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 (1st – 15th) & 1 point for fastest lap

Beitske has a three-point lead over Irina Sidorkova in the League table, the 16-year-old shining on her W Series debut. The young Russian recorded finishes of second, fourth and third, and set the fastest lap in the reverse-grid race, to go 10 points clear of Gosia Rdest. The 27-year-old Pole took the chequered flag in fifth, third and sixth places to score a total of 36 points, one point more than W Series rookie Nerea Martí. The Spaniard, 18, lies in fourth spot in the League table by finishing third, 13th and second.

The W Series Esports League table after round one is as follows:

Pos.

No.

Driver

Points

195Beitske Visser49
251Irina Sidorkova46
33Gosia Rdest36
432Nerea Marti35
531Tasmin Pepper30
619Marta Garcia23
77Emma Kimilainen23
820Caitlin Wood20
917Ayla Agren20
1027Alice Powell19
1126Sarah Moore19
125Fabienne Wohlwend18
1355Jamie Chadwick18
1444Abbie Eaton14
1521Jessica Hawkins9
1622Belen Garcia6
1797Bruna Tomaselli4
1837Sabre Cook4
1999Naomi Schiff2
2011Vicky Piria1
2185Miki Koyama0

 

Race 1: Caitlin Wood edged out Beitske by one-thousandth of a second to take pole position, but Beitske made the better start and led the Australian into Turn One. Irina also made early progress from fifth on the grid, overtaking Nerea for third at the second chicane. Irina passed Caitlin for second with nine of the 15 minutes remaining, and Caitlin’s mistake at Ascari let Nerea through into third. As the battle raged behind her, Beitske eased clear of Irina and Nerea, with Caitlin finishing sixth behind Tasmin Pepper and Gosia. Jessica Hawkins made up more places than any other driver, coming from 15th on the grid to finish seventh – two places ahead of fellow Briton and reigning W Series champion Jamie.

RACE 1

Pos

No

Driver

Time/Retired

Grid

Points

FL

195Beitske Visser15:08.1882201
251Irina Sidorkova-4.933517
332Nerea Marti-6.186315
431Tasmin Pepper-7.032713
53Gosia Rdest-13.866911
620Caitlin Wood-13.930110
721Jessica Hawkins-17.267159
819Marta Garcia-18.17968
955Jamie Chadwick-24.712117
1022Belen Garcia-32.457146
1117Ayla Agren-34.52545
1237Sabre Cook-1:02.034194
1344Abbie Eaton-1:03.117163
1427Alice Powell-1:07.923132
1526Sarah Moore-1:34.914121
1611Vicky Piria-1:48.448200
1799Naomi Schiff-1:52.70180
1897Bruna Tomaselli-2:00.872180
195Fabienne Wohlwend-1 LAP190
207Emma Kimilainen-1 LAP170
DNS85Miki Koyamax00
Race 2: The reverse-grid race got off to a chaotic start when several cars collided at the first corner. However, polesitter Emma avoided the trouble to retain the lead from fellow front-row starter Fabienne Wohlwend. Bruna Tomaselli and Naomi Schiff started on the second row, but were at the rear of the field after the early accident, which allowed those at the back of the grid to make significant progress after one lap – Gosia going from 16th to third, Irina from 19th to sixth and Beitske from last to 10th. A mistake from Sarah Moore promoted Irina to fifth with 11 minutes remaining and, five minutes later, the Russian took fourth place from Marta Garcia. Emma’s lead over Fabienne was never much more than a second, but she held on to take the win and Fabienne saw off a final-corner challenge from Gosia.

RACE 2

Pos

No

Driver

Time/Retired

Grid

Points

FL

17Emma Kimilainen15:17.671120
25Fabienne Wohlwend-1.797217
33Gosia Rdest-2.0491615
451Irina Sidorkova-3.10919131
555Jamie Chadwick-3.9631211
619Marta Garcia-7.2561310
726Sarah Moore-24.62369
817Ayla Agren-32.225108
995Beitske Visser-33.873207
1027Alice Powell-36.55276
1144Abbie Eaton-46.28985
1231Tasmin Pepper-1:00.053174
1332Nerea Marti-1:02.311183
1420Caitlin Wood-1:03.229152
1511Vicky Piria-1:23.31551
1637Sabre Cook-1:27.89690
1721Jessica Hawkins-1:40.366140
1822Belen Garcia-1:50.359110
1999Naomi Schiff-1 LAP40
2097Bruna Tomaselli-1 LAP30
DNS85Miki Koyamax00
Race 3: Caitlin pinched pole position from Beitske with her final qualifying lap, but the second-row pairing of Nerea and Ayla Agren made the better start and led into Turn One. A spin saw Ayla drop back through the field and promoted Beitske to second, and the winner of the opening race hit the front and never looked back once she passed Nerea at the second chicane with 13 of the 20 minutes remaining. Irina completed the podium and Tasmin went from seventh on the grid to fourth. Alice Powell beat Gosia to fifth place after a prolonged wheel-to-wheel battle.

RACE 3

Pos

No

Driver

Time/Retired

Grid

Points

FL

195Beitske Visser20:42.9932201
232Nerea Marti-5.073417
351Irina Sidorkova-7.660515
431Tasmin Pepper-12.186713
527Alice Powell-16.532611
63Gosia Rdest-22.679910
726Sarah Moore-25.764139
820Caitlin Wood-45.56518
917Ayla Agren-49.69837
1044Abbie Eaton-57.195126
1119Marta Garcia-1:08.64785
1297Bruna Tomaselli-1:13.926194
137Emma Kimilainen-1:27.136163
1499Naomi Schiff-1:38.853152
155Fabienne Wohlwend-2:04.454101
1655Jamie Chadwick-1 LAP200
1711Vicky Piria-1 LAP180
1837Sabre Cook-1 LAP170
1921Jessica Hawkins-1 LAP110
2022Belen Garcia-4 LAPS140
DNS85Miki Koyamax00
Round two is at Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas, USA, next Thursday, 18 June at 19:00 BST. Watch all three races on BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button, BBC Sport website and W Series’ Twitch, YouTube and Facebook channels.
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