What you need to know: Round 6 Supercars Eseries
29 Sep 2021
This year’s Cash Converters Supercars Eseries will feature a hybrid format of the competition, with two championships within the series.
The All Stars consists of main game Supercars and Dunlop Super2 drivers, while the Pro Series features elite gamers representing Supercars teams.
The final week of virtual-world racing will see some new circuits enter the fray.
This Wednesday, the All Stars drivers will tackle Watkins Glen, with the Pro Series heading to the Hungaroring.
A bumper 31-car grid will compete in the All Star race, with 11 wildcards set to feature at Watkins Glen.
FAVOURITES
Brodie Kostecki is the likely favourite to take out the All Stars title, claiming his third consecutive win in last Wednesday’s Bathurst enduro.
The Erebus Motorsport driver has been a dominant performer throughout the six-round series and will be hard to beat at Watkins Glen.
New Zealand racer Richie Stanaway is closest title contender, 129 points behind Kostecki in the standings.
The fast Kiwi will need to top Kostecki in both sessions on Wednesday to have any chance of overthrowing the Holden driver’s title charge.
Strong performances from Pioneer DJ Racing’s James Golding in the past three rounds have seen him climb to third in the points.
The Team 18 Bathurst 1000 co-driver will need to stay hot on the heels of Kostecki and Stanaway to deny Cameron Waters third overall, with only 12 points between the two.
Defending Pro Series champion Dayne Warren's perfect run came to an end at Mount Panorama last Wednesday, with Jarrad Filsell denying the Walkinshaw Andretti United gamer his fifth consecutive win.
Expect the pro gamers to go toe-to-toe at the Hungaroring, with Filsell sitting third in the points.
Jake Burton is Warren’s closest title contender, just 120 points behind.
A consistent top three finisher, the Dunlop Racing gamer will be hoping to claim his first race win.
THE WILDCARDS
Williams Racing F1 reserve driver Jack Aitken will join the All Stars grid for Tickford Racing, which has added a third Ford Mustang to its squad.
Reality television star Lachlan Mansell will make his Eseries debut, lining up against his Supercars heroes when they take to Watkins Glen.
Team 18 will make the final round a family affair, with Tom Schwerkolt - son of team owner Charlie Schwerkolt - set to steer a wildcard entry.
Winner of the Auckland Supercars Eseries Wildcard Tournament Kyle George will line up for Team Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland after topping the live final on September 23.
Matt Stone Racing’s Dunlop Super2 Series driver Aaron Seton will make his first appearance of the series, with MSR teammate Zane Goddard also competing.
Logitech G Racing Team will see Daniel Hall join as a wildcard at Watkins Glen, while Super2 Series driver Zak Best will line-up for Shannons Racing.
Erebus Motorsport’s Will Brown will join his series-leading teammate Kostecki on the All Star grid, with Dylan O’Keeffe returning for Team Sydney.
Jay Robotham also makes a return for Image Racing.
THE FORM SEEKERS
Tickford Racing’s Cameron Waters will be looking to return to the top three following a season worst result in the Bathurst enduro.
The Monster Energy driver has slipped to fourth in the points, but a strong performance could see him overtake James Golding for third overall.
Justin Ruggier remains a top five contender, with Nick Percat and Todd Hazelwood both recording top 10 results at Mount Panorama.
Chaz Mostert was the surprise packet in Round 5, recording a consistent performance in his opening stint around the mountain, before handing over to Dayne Warren.
CoolDrive Racing's Matthew Payne sits sixth in the standings, despite slumping to 13th in Bathurst.
The New Zealand racer will be looking to return to the top of the pack for a strong finish to his season.
Jake Kostecki will be one to watch, remaining a consistent top 10 runner throughout his appearances this season.
THE ROUGHIES
Jack Le Brocq finished inside the top 10 at Mount Panorama and also finished 10th at Monza.
The Tickford driver has been a quiet achiever throughout the series but inconsistency at Pocono and Daytona hampered his chances of title contention.
Scott Pye has had an unlucky run in the past two rounds after recording a season-best fifth at Pocono.
Working with Ruggier and Super2 racer Jayden Ojeda to better their qualifying results, Pye will be looking to turn his season around to finish on a high at Watkins Glen.
THE CIRCUIT
Watkins Glen International - affectionally known as the 'The Glen' - was home to the iconic Formula One United States Grand Prix for 20 years between 1961 and 1980.
The 3.9km-long Short Course used for the NASCAR Cup Series consists of 11 corners with an ‘Inner Loop’.
The Pro Series will face the Hungaroring, home of the F1 Hungarian Grand Prix.
THE FORMAT
Round 6 sees the All Stars tackle Watkins Glen with the Pro Series heading to Hungary’s infamous Hungaroring.
Both series will complete one 10-minute qualifying session that will set the grid for their races.
19:00-19:10 - Qualifying for Pro Series Race 6, Hungaroring
19:15-19:25 - Qualifying for All Stars Race 6, Watkins Glen
19:45 – Pro Series Race 6, Hungaroring, 12 laps or 22 minutes, one pitstop, 150 points available
20:30 – All Stars Race 6, Watkins Glen, 19 laps or 24 minutes, one pitstop, 150 points available.
TRACK CONDITIONS
Pro Series
Track state for qualifying and Race 6 will be set to 70 percent.
Weather conditions will be 20°c (72°F), clear, humidity 60, wind 2mph.
Dynamic sky with no weather.
Time of day: late afternoon.
All Stars
Track state for qualifying and Race 6 will be set to 100 percent
Weather conditions will be 18°c (65°F), Partly cloudy, humidity 55, wind 2mph
No dynamic sky or weather
Time of day: Noon
COMPULSORY PIT STOPS
Pro Series Race 6 – 1 CPS
All Stars Race 6 – 1 CPS
Drivers must take 4 new tyres during each CPS
No fuel required
THE SAFETY CAR
For the first time in the Cash Converters Supercars Eseries, there will be an official BP Ultimate Safety Car and driver.
The 2021 Supercars Eseries BP Ultimate Safety Car is a Ford GTE.
The Ford is set to feature in both the All Star and Pro Series competitions throughout the six-event series.
The All Stars races will see the BP Ultimate Safety Car complete one mandatory competition caution in each race to occur between laps 11 and 14.
The Pro Series will see the Safety Car deployed at race control’s discretion following on-track incidents, similar to how it operates in real life Supercars events.
WHERE TO WATCH
The Cash Converters Supercars Eseries will take place on the iRacing platform, running over six weekly rounds from August 25th to September 29th and will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 506, Kayo, 7Plus, and Supercars’ Twitch, Facebook and YouTube channels.
Qualifying coverage for Round 6 begins at 7pm AEST and will be broadcast live on Facebook, YouTube and Twitch.
From 7:30pm AEST, racing will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 506, Kayo, 7Plus and Sky NZ from 9.30pm NZST.
Online fans from around the globe can watch races via the Supercars’ Facebook page, Supercars teams' Facebook pages, Twitch and YouTube.
