The results of this round have been adjusted following evidence of cheating being ruled against a participating team. Please scroll to the bottom of the article for full details.
The weekend of April 29 saw the NVIDIA Challenger Series cross the pond to the USA for Round 2 of the 2016 season at California’s iconic Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
This time around, our Project CARS Esports drivers took to the track in the unmistakable yellow livery of the Corvette C7.R GTE, in sync with the latest round of the real-world IMSA SportsCar Championship. Whilst America’s flagship GT racing series was on track at the real Laguna Seca, our drivers tackled the virtual circuit in the same machinery in Project CARS.
The Project CARS Esports sim-racers set record laps of 1:21.335 on PC, and 1:21.453 on console. Once again, the lines between virtual racing and motorsport were blurred with the Esports drivers putting in times which were remarkably similar to the IMSA drivers.
Round 2 of the NVIDIA Challenger Series was a chance for the early leaders from Round 1 to repeat their great weekend and stake a claim to be the ones to watch this season. It was also an opportunity for drivers who were penalised last time around to redeem themselves and put their first points on the board for the new season.
It proved to be a controversial weekend in the Console Division though. PS4 driver, Fab of team PSF Racing, was found to have severely exploited track limits at the start of his lap in order to gain extra momentum on the start-finish straight. Fab would have been one of our fastest drivers without this misdemeanor, but unfortunately the SMS staff were forced to exclude him from Round 2’s results.
Fab has actually contacted SMS to apologise for his mistake. He admitted that he did go off track and also promised to stick to the rules in the future. This honest apology was hugely appreciated all of us in the SMS staff.
Although there was discussion in the forums about other drivers doing the same thing, SMS staff cannot say with certainty that the additional accused drivers broke the rules. Whereas in Fab’s case, the evidence brought forward very clearly shows him exploiting track limits and he was therefore penalised appropriately and he has also apologised for his actions.
All drivers in Project CARS Esports events are innocent until proven guilty in cases of disputes like this one.
Drivers: please continue to be vigilant about exploits and inform SMS staff of any suspicious activity that you see in future Rounds. Any driver found to be using an exploit in future will be excluded from the current Round. Multiple offences will result in multi-race bans. If several members of the same team are proven to have used exploits, then the entire team in question will receive a multi-race ban.
With the shenanigans out of the way, on with the results of Round 2!
The Project CARS Esports sim-racers set record laps of 1:21.335 on PC, and 1:21.453 on console. Once again, the lines between virtual racing and motorsport were blurred with the Esports drivers putting in times which were remarkably similar to the IMSA drivers.
Round 2 of the NVIDIA Challenger Series was a chance for the early leaders from Round 1 to repeat their great weekend and stake a claim to be the ones to watch this season. It was also an opportunity for drivers who were penalised last time around to redeem themselves and put their first points on the board for the new season.
It proved to be a controversial weekend in the Console Division though. PS4 driver, Fab of team PSF Racing, was found to have severely exploited track limits at the start of his lap in order to gain extra momentum on the start-finish straight. Fab would have been one of our fastest drivers without this misdemeanor, but unfortunately the SMS staff were forced to exclude him from Round 2’s results.
Fab has actually contacted SMS to apologise for his mistake. He admitted that he did go off track and also promised to stick to the rules in the future. This honest apology was hugely appreciated all of us in the SMS staff.
Although there was discussion in the forums about other drivers doing the same thing, SMS staff cannot say with certainty that the additional accused drivers broke the rules. Whereas in Fab’s case, the evidence brought forward very clearly shows him exploiting track limits and he was therefore penalised appropriately and he has also apologised for his actions.
All drivers in Project CARS Esports events are innocent until proven guilty in cases of disputes like this one.
Drivers: please continue to be vigilant about exploits and inform SMS staff of any suspicious activity that you see in future Rounds. Any driver found to be using an exploit in future will be excluded from the current Round. Multiple offences will result in multi-race bans. If several members of the same team are proven to have used exploits, then the entire team in question will receive a multi-race ban.
With the shenanigans out of the way, on with the results of Round 2!
CONSOLE DIVISION
    | On console it was the first victory of the season for SDL Motorsport by Logitech Blue, with their man, Rotax taking the win thanks to his time of 1:21.453. Not only that, but it was an all-SDL, all-Xbox One podium this time, with team leader SoniK in second and Mihalo third. This was a big show of strength for SDL after it was beaten handily by bitter rivals Team Shark Racing in Round 1. Team Shark is never far behind though and filled positions four, five and six with Silex95, Yinato and Atho. This result gives SDL a tiny 5 point lead in the team standings on Console. However, Team Shark’s Yinato remains in the lead of the drivers standings. SDL’s SoniK is 5 points behind in second, with Atho third. Elsewhere, it was a massive week for Team Psynchro with three of its drivers in the points, establishing the team as the best of the rest so far. It’s great to see one of the many new teams doing so well early on and we look forward to seeing if Psynchro can keep up this pace throughout the season. Team TBA also had a good week with kie25 scoring some solid points once again in eighth place. That puts the team in fourth place in the standings so far, with a decent platform to push ahead in the next few rounds. |
PC DIVISION
| It was a double victory for SDL Motorsport teams in Round 2. While Rotax won in the Console Division, Masa made it back-to-back victories on PC, extending his awesome start to the season. BAM Racing’s Khaki followed Masa in second for the second week in a row, looking to establish a rivalry with his SDL rivals and take the fight to them in 2016. If these guys remain this quick throughout the year, we could be looking at a titanic, season-long battle for victories. Khaki found himself in an SDL sandwich again in Round 2, as Mangator finished behind him in third once more. As much as Khaki will want to win, he may also need to keep an eye on his mirrors. One thing’s for sure. SDL will push hard for its first one-two finish of the season on PC in Round 3. This result means that SDL Motorsport by Logitech G maintains its early lead in the NCS PC team standings over BAM Racing. These two are comfortably ahead of 5aces eSport, which is being carried along nicely by IJJauTaH for the time being, although he definitely needs some more points finishes from his teammates to keep up the fight. Elsewhere in the PC Division this week, privateer FinPro took another fifth place finish, our highest finishing lone driver once again. Magictap pulled out a great performance for CQR Club eSports in sixth, which will give the team plenty of confidence for the Rounds ahead. Starlux scored its first points of the season at the hands of Wielder, and RevolutionSimRacing Alpha had a very strong Round, with three drivers in the points, putting them seventh in the team standings. |     |
10TH MAY UPDATE
Since the initial adjudication and publication of these results, evidence was further brought forward indicating that members of Team Shark Racing knowingly and openly used the same track exploit used by PSF Racing driver, Fab.
In light of this, Challenger Points earned by all Team Shark Racing members during NCS Round 2 have been removed in accordance with Section 4) Conduct of the NCS Regulations and the official Driver and Team Standings have been updated accordingly.
We hope this sends a clear message to all participants that cheating of any kind in official Project CARS Esports events will not be tolerated and will be subject to penalties.
Since the initial adjudication and publication of these results, evidence was further brought forward indicating that members of Team Shark Racing knowingly and openly used the same track exploit used by PSF Racing driver, Fab.
In light of this, Challenger Points earned by all Team Shark Racing members during NCS Round 2 have been removed in accordance with Section 4) Conduct of the NCS Regulations and the official Driver and Team Standings have been updated accordingly.
We hope this sends a clear message to all participants that cheating of any kind in official Project CARS Esports events will not be tolerated and will be subject to penalties.
