In a chaotic, controversial round one, Ritchie Stanaway from New Zealand has claimed Supercars victory. The opening round of the Cash Converters Supercars All Star Eseries brings physical Supercars drivers into the virtual world, via iRacing. Richie Stanaway, driving in the wildcard seat, stole the victory from Shell V-Power Racing Team’s Anton De Pasquale. Here’s how the Eseries works, and what else went down in round one.
How do the teams work?
In the All Star series, physical-world racing teams enter their drivers into the Eseries to compete. These teams and drivers race on real-world tracks, in digital versions of their team cars. The majority of the Supercars teams have entered their drivers into the competition. Here is the team lineup:
| Team | Driver/s | Car Number | Car type |
| Mobil 1 Walkinshaw Andretti United | Chaz Mostert | 25 | Holden |
| Brad Jones Racing | Todd Hazelwood (Dunlop) Macauley Jones (Coca-Cola) | 14 96 | Holden Holden |
| Tickford Racing | Cam Waters (Monster Energy) Jack Le Brocq (Truck Assist) | 6 5 | Mustang Mustang |
| Shell V Power Dick Johnson Racing | Anton De Pasquale | 11 | Mustang |
| PremiAir Hire Team Sydney | Dylan O’Keeffe | 22 | Holden |
| Yellow Cover/UNIT Matt Stone Racing | Jake Kostecki | 35 | Holden |
| NED Whisky Kelly Grove Racing | Andre Heimgartner | 7 | Mustang |
| DEWALT Team 18 | Scott Pye | 20 | Holden |
| Erebus Boost Mobile Racing | Brodie Kostecki | 99 | Holden |
| CoolDrive Blanchard Racing Team | Matthew Payne | 3 | Mustang |
| BP Ultimate Racing | Thomas Randle | 55 | Mustang |
| Repco Racing | Sam Brabham | 10 | Mustang |
| Cash Converters Racing | Justin Ruggier | 88 | Mustang |
| Jands | Matt Mclean (Shure) James Golding (Pioneer DJ) | 54 131 | Holden Mustang |
| Swyftx Racing | Jayden Ojeda | 31 | Holden |
| Logitech G Racing Team | Tony Dalberto | 923 | Mustang |
| Team Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland | Wildcard | Mustang | |
| Shannons Racing | Matt Chahda | 18 | Mustang |
| Wildcard | Wildcard |
Wildcards and favourites
Each week, Team Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland will showcase some of the best New Zealand Supercars racing talent. They’ll enter a different driver each week into the series. This week, Ritchie Stanaway, driving the number 62, was their entry. There will also be a wildcard each week from various motorsport categories. For round one, Oscar Piastri, the Aussie-born Formula 1 driver, takes the wheel.
Fan favorites, and drivers to keep an eye on over the weeks, include Brodie Kostecki, Anton De Pasquale, Cam Waters and Chaz Mostert. These drivers proved themselves in last year’s 2020 Supercars series. Scott Pye is another fan favorite. Although not the greatest sim racing driver after coming sixteenth last year, he still gained a massive fan following in 2020.
Ritchie Stanaway is known in the community as one of the best sim racing drivers out there currently. It’s no surprise that he took home the victory in round one.
Round one results
Anton De Pasquale looked in a very comfortable position to take the Supercars Eseries round one victory. After a final-lap accident however, his Mustang was flung into the air and he crashed out. Another favourite, Chaz Mostert, also crashed out in the closing stages of the race. Round one was full of carnage as drivers Jake Kostecki and Matt Chahda also crashed towards the end of the race.
Finally, Oscar Piastri started 12th and finished fourth, and with that, fans are now eager to hear who will be the wildcards next week. The Cash Converters All Star Supercars Eseries is on every Wednesday night (AEST) live on Fox Sports 506, Kayo, 7Plus, Sky NZ and Supercars’ social media channels, including Twitch.
Published: Aug 26, 2021 08:22 am