MOTORSPORT: Verstappen stars in Holden Commodore

Formula 1 ace Max Verstappen has debuted successfully in V8 Supercars sim racing with three second places in the four races held last night.

Verstappen, a sim-racing ace as well as F1 superstar, joined the second round of the All Stars Eseries last night in a Red Bull Holden Commodore ZB, scoring one of his podiums at Silverstone and the other two at Barcelona.

The 23-year-old Dutch hot-shot certainly enjoyed himself and hinted he might rejoin the V8 virtual racing action in the future.

“Hopefully I can be back soon for some more action,” Verstappen posted to Facebook after the four sprint races were over.

The winners on the night were Anton De Pasquale (Erebus Holden) and Cam Waters (Tickford Ford Mustang) at Silverstone, while Red Bull Holden regular – and Max’s mate – Shane van Gisbergen won both races on the virtual Barcelona track.

The results emphasised the international nature of the Supercars sim series. Van Gisbergen was racing from Auckland in New Zealand, where he is lock down with his family, Verstappen was in Monaco and the rest of the drivers at home around Australia.

The All Stars Eseries has been devised to fill the gap in the real-world motorsport calendar triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. There are 10 rounds for all 25 V8 drivers plus wildcards scheduled to run weekly until June.

The real-world Supercars championship has been postponed until June at the earliest.

“It was a lot of fun, very hectic as well,” said Verstappen.

“Some good results in the end I didn’t expect that … two times a 1-2 for Red Bull with Shane, so very happy about that.”

Verstappen’s other finish was 18th in the reverse-grid second race at Silverstone.

Even that result would have probably sounded good to Red Bull Holden regular Jamie Whincup, whose tough initiation to sim racing continued last night. The seven-times Supercars champ qualified down the back and found himself caught up in plenty of incidents.

Overall though, the tone of the event was noticeably more focussed on results than last week’s opener at Phillip Island and Monza, where there were plenty of wrecks.

No doubt the decent ratings numbers on television and via streaming last week would have ensured the full attention of all drivers. Those numbers would have been boosted last night by Verstappen’s massive international following.

After two rounds of the Eseries, DJR Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin (Ford Mustang) still leads the pointscore with van Gisbergen and De Pasquale back in contention.

Next week, drivers head to Bathurst for racing at Australia’s most iconic circuit, Mount Panorama.

“It was an up and down night for me,” said McLaughlin.

“But so much fun coming through the field. Got some good points and I’m looking forward to Bathurst next week! That was hard work, I can’t imagine what Bathurst will be like.”

Supercars All Stars Eseries points:
1 Scott McLaughlin DJR Team Penske 958
2 Shane van Gisbergen Triple Eight 953 -5
3 Cameron Waters Tickford Racing 928 -30
4 Anton De Pasquale Erebus Racing 782 -176
5 Andre Heimgartner Kelly Racing 766 -192
6 Jake Kostecki Matt Stone Racing 738 -220
7 Will Davison 23 Red Racing 662 -296
8 Max Verstappen Red Bull F1 Team 659 -299
9 Fabian Coulthard DJR Team Penske 656 -302
10 Chaz Mostert Walkinshaw Racing 648 -310
11 Nick Percat Brad Jones Racing 613 -345
12 Garry Jacobson Matt Stone Racing 590 -368
13 Zane Goddard Matt Stone Racing 578 -380
14 Jack Le Brocq Tickford Racing 555 -403
15 Will Brown Erebus Racing 553 -405
16 Mark Winterbottom Team 18 548 -410
17 Bryce Fullwood Walkinshaw Racing 541 -417
18 Lee Holdsworth Tickford Racing 488 -470
19 Todd Hazelwood Brad Jones Racing 465 -493
20 Alex Davison Team Sydney 433 -525
21 Rick Kelly Kelly Racing 425 -533
22 Scott Pye Team 18 402 -556
23 Chris Pither Team Sydney 359 -599
24 Jamie Whincup Triple Eight 358 -600
25 Jack Smith Brad Jones Racing 302 -656
26 Macauley Jones Brad Jones Racing 299 -659
27 David Reynolds Erebus Racing 126 -832

Triple 8 Images: Getty - Clive Rose