> Qualifying result: GT3 | GT4
> Provisional race result: GT3 | GT4
> Championship standings: GT3 | GT4
> Register here for Round 5 – Donington Hot Lap Qualifying opens Monday 08:00 BST
James Baldwin has won the 2021 British GT3 Esports Championship with a race to spare by claiming a dominant victory – his third in a row – at Silverstone this evening. Alex Buncombe made it a Team Rocket RJN 1-2, albeit 22.5s behind his team-mate, and Angus Fender completed the overall podium aboard Century’s BMW.
But the wait to crown this year’s GT4 champion will continue for another fortnight thanks to Jack McIntyre who reduced Nils Naujoks’ advantage to 10 points with a long-overdue victory. His Zansho Rocket Simsport team-mate Tariq Gamil battled back from a slow start to finish second after surviving a late-race collision with Florian Hasse, while EGT Motorsports’ Pierre-Olivier Cloutier completed the class podium ahead of Naujoks.
GT3: BALDWIN WINNING IN THE RAIN
Come rain or shine James Baldwin has, predictably, been the GT3 driver to beat this season. And the World’s Fastest Gamer once again underlined his pedigree by converting pole position into a comfortable victory and the 2021 Drivers’ Championship.
Indeed, Team Rocket RJN’s #23 McLaren led every second of every lap by pitting late in the window after building a sizeable advantage over title rival Angus Fender, Sandy Mitchell (Barwell Motorsport, Lamborghini), Alex Buncombe (Team Rocket RJN, McLaren) and Bobby Trundley who swapped places throughout the opening stint.
Buncombe also started on the front row but was immediately relegated to second at Copse by Fender who needed to beat Baldwin to have any chance of taking the title fight to Donington. Instead, Century’s BMW warded off several attacks by Mitchell who – along with Trundley – took advantage of Buncombe’s mistake after 13 minutes.
The McLaren was back ahead of Team BRIT’s Aston Martin before the pitstops and duly re-took second through a combination of Mitchell’s drive-through penalty and undercutting Fender.
Tom Canning also jumped Trundley through the pit cycle and withstood the Aston Martin driver’s pressure immediately after re-joining to record his and TF Sport’s best result of the season in fourth. Ben Green couldn’t match Fender’s pace in the second of Century’s BMWs en route to a lonely sixth, while Mitchell’s drive-through for earlier contact with a GT4 car once again put paid to the real-world reigning champion’s promising performance. Fox’s Liam McNeilly completed the top-eight.
But there was no denying Baldwin who will now sit out the season finale at Donington in two weeks due to other esports commitments.
GT4 TO FOLLOW.
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