It was the second consecutive success for the Belgian squad in the esports racing series which is promoting climate protection following Braune’s maiden victory in the virtual streets of Maastricht in July.
The game developer from Germany used the increasing grip of the Sepang track to beat Williams Esports’ Jack Keithley in the final moments of Qualifying. NIANCO esports’ Miklas Born qualified third as the fastest PRO driver.
Braune won the Quarter Final of the ESPORTS racers from pole position and kept Jack Keithley at bay in the Semi Final. Despite a slow start he was able to pass Miklas Born in the 2-lap Final securing his second consecutive eX Prix victory.
“I messed up the start in every race and I messed it up even harder in the Final,“ said the WRT driver. “In the breaking zone of Turn 1 I just took a risk and it paid off. But also compliments to Miklas Born who showed a strong performance.”
The 20-year-old Swiss racer, who is currently competing in ADAC GT4 Germany with an AMG Mercedes, impressed on his debut in the World eX Championship securing NIANCO esports a ticket for the Super Final on December 13 – a nice present for Team Principal Nico Müller who got married between the eX Prixs in Maastricht and Sepang.
Starting from the front row, Born led the Quarter Final of the PRO racers before finishing second after some fierce battles. He was the best PRO driver in the Semi Final in P3 which allowed him to reach the Final in his first World eX race.
Jack Keithley completed the Top 3 securing Williams Esports the first podium of the season. The 19-year-old esports racer from Ipswitch tried to put pressure on Devin Braune in the Semi Final but just could not match the pace of the German.
Alen Terzic and Beitske Visser finished 4th and 5th, producing a strong results fo BS+COMPETITION after their nightmare in Maastricht.
16-year-old Oskar Kristensen achieved his best result in the World eX Championship for TK9 E-SPeeD in 6th position.
Thomas Schmid finished 7th adding to the strong showing of NIANCO esports.
GT racer Will Tregurtha was 8th for Williams Esports ahead of Andreas Jochimsen (TK9 E-SPeeD) and Nicolas Hillebrand with the sole eX ZERO of Biela Racing Team EURONICS.
Patrick Long Esports and Host Team Absolute Racing saw all their drivers eliminated in the Quarter Finals, while two-time eX Prix winner Jiri Toman (ACER VERO R8G) was also immediately out of contention after contact and a subsequent penalty in Quarter Final 1.
Toman’s low-key result and the first absence of TK9 E-SPeeD’s lead PRO driver Lasse Sørensen helped WRT to take the World Championship lead with their #31 PRO entry nicknamed “Walter”. And next on the agenda is their home event, the Belgian eX Prix at Spa-Francorchamps on September 20.
