Not for the first time in 2020 Williams_Adrian proved to be the class of the field as the Spaniard rode to another double victory in a drama-packed third round of the MotoGP™ eSport Championship Global Series.
Eleven gamers from around the world have earned the right to represent one of the eleven current MotoGP™ teams for the four-round Global Series, an eight-race event that will determine the wearer of the 2020 MotoGP™ eSport crown.
With the world still feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic the eleven finalists competed against one another while communicating via a communal video call in their homes.
In an hour-long programme, motogp.com’s Jack Appleyard and Jack Gorst were on presenting and commentary duties, while there were appearances from MotoGP™ Championship contender Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT), race winner Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) and recent rookie rostrum finisher Alex Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) to deliver some all-important pointers for mastering the circuits. Santi Hernandez, crew chief of Marc Marquez at Repsol Honda, delivered some set-up advice to the eleven hopefuls.
Yet as we saw at round two, no one could touch the Montenegro brothers – Williams_Adrian and Williams_Cristian. The pair dominated proceedings last time out and they were at it again here in the double header that saw the eleven finalists race at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli and then Australia’s awesome Phillip Island.
There was drama from the very first turn of the Misano bout as a collision between trastevere73 for Monster Energy Yamaha and Ducati Team’s AndrewZH – the winners of the past three MotoGP eSport Championships – led to the former falling. The latter then crashed at turn eight in a chaotic opening, in which four men fell on the first lap.
At the front we were treated to a display of controlled aggression from Red Bull KTM’s Williams_Adrian, who got the jump, led from lap one and maintained an unerring consistency in light of constant pressure from Williams_Cristian, competing for Suzuki Ecstar. He maintained his pace all the way to the flag to win by 1.7 seconds.
EleGhosT555, riding for Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, backed up his excellent form from round two with a stunning podium. Juan_nh16 (Red Bull KTM Tech 3), Sanshoqueen (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and Davidegallina23 (Pramac Racing) completed the top six while trastevere73 was a disastrous ninth, AndrewZH tenth.