Lucas Blakeley and Jarno Opmeer made waves at the 2023 Race of Champions, knocking out F1 champion duo Mika Hakkinen and Valtteri Bottas!

Blakeley and Opmeer, who booked their place in the Nations Cup during Friday’s eROC event, defeated Bottas and Hakkinen over four heats of on-track driving, advancing to the next round of the competition.

Blakeley was first up, beating Bottas, before Opmeer faced off against Hakkinen. The Dutchman looked to have won his heat against fellow two-time champion Hakkinen, but a jump-start gave the point to the Finnish drivers instead, levelling the score 1-1.

Team eROC looked to be heading home, as Opmeer was beaten by Bottas in the third heat. However, the best-of-four format meant that Blakeley could still put the team through – if he beat Hakkinen by a big margin. As a tie-breaker, the cumulative lap times of all four heats are combined, and going into the final heat, Team eROC trailed by just half a second.

Blakeley duly blitzed the course, and crossed the line well ahead of Hakkinen to claim an unprecedented win for the Esports stars. The achievement saw them through to the quarter finals, where they encountered the formidable Team Germany, in a rematch of last year’s first round.

Back in 2022, Blakeley got the best possible start, unseating Sebastian Vettel in the first heat, before a spirited comeback for Germany saw them prevail. This year was to be different, with Vettel besting Blakeley, and Mick Schumacher beating Opmeer in their first head-to-head. This put Team eROC on the back foot, and they were knocked out – but losing to opponents of such high quality is not something to be sniffed at!

F1 Esports’ two most recent champions can take pride in their truly remarkable achievement, proving beyond doubt that sim racers can cut it on track.

On top of the world! 2022 F1 Esports Series Champion Lucas Blakeley kicked off his 2023 in stunning form on Friday morning, claiming the eROC title at the 2023 Race of Champions in Pite Havsbad, Sweden.

Blakeley defeated fellow F1 Esports contenders Jarno Opmeer and Michael Romanidis during the round-robin tournament, as well as sim racer Martin Palm. Romanidis shone in the sim racing segment, but dropped points in the physical aspect, and so Blakeley and Opmeer – who were judged to have performed perfect laps – made it through to the final.

It was here where Blakeley took control, besting Opmeer in the Polaris RZR on the snow and ice by more than four seconds. They then switched to the simulator, where two slender victories for the Scot gave him the overall title. Check out the full stream replay below!

The unique event sees megastars from sim racing compete against one another on simulator rigs, before each doing a flying lap on the snowy track – the very same one as used on the sims.

The flying laps are scored by a panel of experts, and these scores mix with their sim racing points tallies to form a final leaderboard. The top two drivers face one another in the final, with the third and fourth competing for best-of-the-rest honours.

It is this final and third-place playoff that really sees the event come to life, with the drivers fighting it out on the sims, before racing on-track just seconds later. It showcases that the gap from digital to physical racing is one that can be bridged, with the twin-ring circuit layout providing an intense showdown.

Top two drivers Blakeley and Opmeer also get the honour of representing Team eROC in the Nations Cup, where they will face off against the mighty Team Finland… made up of two-time World Champion Mika Hakkinen, and 10-time race-winner Valtteri Bottas!

It should be noted that Blakeley famously took a victory from Sebastian Vettel in the 2022 event, and both have proven themselves as F1 Esports champions, as well as capable on-track racers. Tune in on Sunday, January 29, to see how they get on!

Photo via Race of Champions.

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.

Reigning F1 Esports Series Champion Jarno Opmeer is no stranger to silverware, and on Friday he added another accolade to his growing trophy cabinet – eROC World Champion!

The Dutchman prevailed over F1 Esports rival Lucas Blakeley at the special event held in Sweden on Friday February 4, mixing simulator driving with real-world experience on the snow and ice track in Pite Havsbad.

Starting off driving the simulator, Opmeer, Blakeley, and fellow finalist James Baldwin and Martin Palm all faced off against one another, scoring points in a round-robin tournament. Each driver faced the other three once, in a best-of-three showdown around a digital incarnation of the snowy twin-ring circuit. Interspersing this was footage from Thursday, where all four drivers attacked the real circuit outside in a Polaris PRO XP.

Baldwin brushed the snow banks and was slowest with a 1:50.296, followed by Palm who clocked at 1:48.131. Opmeer was second, with a superb 1:47.452, but the star of the show was Blakeley, who, despite having hardly any physical track driving experience, went fastest of all with a 1:47.428.

That put the pair almost level going into the final round of sim driving, and it was a direct final between the two. Opmeer came out on top in two races by the merest of margins, pipping Blakeley by just 0.073s in the first heat, and just over a tenth in the second to become champion!

Check out the full replay of the event below.

MIXING WITH ROYALTY

As the top two eROC finalists, Opmeer and Blakeley both get a very, very special prize. They will be competing in Saturday’s ROC Nations Cup, and will face against Team Germany in their first fight. That’s right – none other than Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher!

Both Opmeer and Blakeley will have to use all their knowledge of the track to get up to speed and face off against these two giants of motorsport. One thing is for certain though – it’s an experience neither of them will ever forget!

Opmeer summed it up best, stating “It’s not gonna be easy, we’ll need a few practice laps for sure!”

Keep your eyes on social and tune in to see how the duo get on as they mix it on the world stage for the first time. For full broadcast details, check out the Race of Champions website. Good luck to our drivers!

Cover image via Race of Champions.