Lucas Blakeley Beats Sebastian Vettel in ROC Nations Cup

Lucas Blakeley Beats Sebastian Vettel in ROC Nations Cup

February 5, 2022

Lucas Blakeley pulled off a stunning achievement in Saturday’s Race of Nations Cup, besting four-time F1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel in their head-to-head race!

Facing off in the first heat at the snow and ice circuit in Pire Havsbad, Sweden, Blakeley crossed the line 0.080s ahead of Vettel in the closest finish of the day. Driving the all-electric World RX2e car on the special double-looped circuit, Blakeley clocked a time of in 1:02.281, less than a tenth ahead of Vettel.

Blakeley and team mate Jarno Opmeer formed Team eROC All Stars, and were drawn against the fearsome Team Germany line-up of Vettel and Schumacher. They qualified for the special event by taking the top two spots in Friday’s eROC World Final, which you can learn all about here.

Vettel and Schumacher would go on to win the next two heats and progress to the next round, but it was nonetheless an incredible achievement, and proof if it need be that sim racers are just that – racers!

The achievement is all the more impressive when you consider Blakeley’s background in racing, or lack thereof. Before the event, he had just 20 minutes of experience, owing to a Porsche driving experience at Silverstone. You’d never know it though, judging by the way he expertly flicked the car around on the tricky surface. Check out the lap below:

It’s reminiscent of Enzo Bonito’s excellent performance at the 2019 Race of Champions in Mexico, where he beat Lucas di Grassi and Ryan Hunter-Reay on consecutive days.

Blakeley recently announced his departure from Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Esports Team, but with a performance like this, the queue to sign him up in 2022 is sure to be a long one.



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