Christopher Högfeldt wins the 2022 ADAC GT Masters eSports title

The winner of this year’s ADAC GT Masters eSports Championship powered by EnBW mobility+ has been crowned. After two thrilling races in virtual Monza, Sweden’s Christopher Högfeldt of Virtualdrivers by TX3 secured the title in the eSports series, which boasts a prize purse of € 70,000. He succeeds last year’s champion Moritz Löhner (Dörr Esports), who had won the title for the last three seasons in a row. 

Högfeldt, in a BMW M6 GT3, ended the season just one point clear of Dörr Esports driver Bence Bánki in the overall standings. Bánki did manage to win both races in Monza, but came up just short of winning the title. In contrast, a mistake in race two almost cost Högfeldt the championship: He crossed the white line while exiting the pit lane during the main race. In the subsequent driver briefing, this potentially costly mistake was punished with a time penalty. As more time penalties were issued after the race evening, the Swede kept his nose just in front in the championship. Third place in the overall standings went to Jack Keithley (Williams Esports). Bánki won the Team competition alongside Leonard Krippner (Dörr Esports – Ascher Racing), for which they picked up a cheque for € 5,500.

Bánki started the 15-minute sprint race from pole position. His Dörr Esports team-mates Moritz Löhner and Leonard Krippner lined up alongside him on the front row. Högfeldt tried to go on the offensive from fourth place on the grid, and put the Dörr Esports drivers under pressure. At the end of an exciting race and some thrilling overtaking manoeuvres, Bánki came home just ahead of Högfeldt to take victory. They were followed over the line in third place by Williams Esports driver Nikodem Wisniewski.

Bánki also lined up in pole position for the main race. In the final race of the season, he was separated on the grid from fourth-placed Högfeldt by Krippner and Leon Rüdinger (Arnage Competition). Högfeldt again wasted little time in attacking the drivers ahead of him in the first half of the race. However, despite several attempts, he was unable to make any progress and decided to come in for an early pit stop. Having crossed the white line when exiting the pit lane, he was subsequently handed a time penalty after the race, having provisionally crossed the finish line in third place. Emre Cihan (Team Fordzilla) was runner-up behind winner Bánki. 

The stewards in the ADAC GT Masters eSports Championship and the RaceRoom officials had to work their way through many investigations after the race. Due to the various different protests, the title race was initially a pending case. The data and incidents were analysed and processed with great care. In the end, Högfeldt (353 points) won the championship, just one point ahead of Bánki (352 points). Williams Esports driver Jack Keithley finished third overall with 244 points.