Renault Sport Acadamy driver Oscar Piastri starred in last night’s ARG eSport Cup. The 19-year-old Australian claimed a win in his maiden race before backing it up with a sublime drive from 20th to third in the second of two Formula 3 races contested on a virtual Barcelona.
Qualifying on front row for the 20-minute opener, Piastri dominated the event, eventually cruising home three seconds clear of Nathan Herne.
Having qualified on pole, Luca Giacomin spun at turn one only a handful of laps in while chasing down Piastri. From there, the race leader was unchallenged.
Last week’s headline act and current points leader Harley Haber come to blows with Ash Sutton on the opening lap, eventually finishing the race in 14th.
Toyota 86 regular Jaden Ransley was the first kiwi home, holding out fellow compatriot Tom Alexander for 10th.
The grid was ordered in a reverse-Top 20 for the night’s second race, and having had a dismal race one, Harley Haber snatched the lead on the opening lap before dominating the event to finish a unrivalled eight seconds clear of Thomas Randle.
Piastri charged from the mid-pack into podium contention with only a few minutes left on the clock.
But despite desperately searching for a way past Randle, the Super2 driver would hang-on, leading the race one winner home in second by 0.5seconds.
Tom Alexander held onto his tenth-place starting position at the chequered flag, finishing the race 42seconds off the lead in the lead Track Tec Racing car.
Round 6 sees the field return to Australia for a pair of races at Phillip Island. The race will be broadcasted live on the TCR Australia Facebook and YouTube channel, May 6 from 10 pm NZT.
Main Image: TCR Australia