The final round of the Endurance Cup took place at the classic British track, Silverstone, and it certainly produced a race to remember. With this being the final round, not only was it the final chance to score points but the difficulty was also ramped up as the race was the longest of the season yet.
The team that came out on top after eight hours was the #23 Zansho Rocket Esports Mclaren. The Mclarens were the cars to beat at Silverstone, their strong aero platform and the home soil advantage certainly gave them all the pieces needed to dominate the race throughout.
The Championship winners
As this was the final round there was not only a race win to play for but also a race for the series win. The three teams that were looking for a win going into the final round were:
All the teams were hungry for the championship win. Recently, The Sim Grid caught up with the teams to get their thoughts on the final round and what they looked to achieve during the Silverstone race. Check out the Behind The Rig interview for an in-depth breakdown from each of the teams.
As the eight hours came to a close and the championship came to an end, the #149 YAS HEAT Mercedes came out on top. However, it was not a smooth journey, as the #149 YAS HEAT started in fourteenth place behind the #27 Jean Alesi Esports Academy starting in eleventh and #157 GTWR Simulator Giantruck starting in eighth.
From the get-go, the YAS HEAT team had some work to do to keep the top spot in the series. Unfortunately, the team saw a slow start to their race, not making up the places they needed to catch their championship rivals. To make things even more challenging, a penalty came their way early in the race undoing any sort of progress that had been made.
The remainder of the first half wasn’t too eventful either, with few places being made up during pitstops. As the hours faded away, the YAS HEAT team managed to slowly close in on the GTWR Simulator Giantruck team, giving them the chance to start to apply some pressure. This chase went on through to the final hour of the race as the GTWR team held their cool and kept their position despite the looming pressure from the YAS HEAT Mercedes.
Throughout the whole race, neither of the championship contenders were able to catch the #27 Jean Alesi Esports Academy Aston Martin who had most of their race within the top ten spots. For the team, the race was one only of progress, as they continued to climb to the top five spots of the race before the first four hours had passed. For the rest of the race, it was quiet for the team as they held onto this spot and ultimately ended their race with a top-four result.
With this, the teams came home in eighth for YAS HEAT, seventh for GTWR Simulator Giantruck and fifth for Jean Alesi Esports Academy.
The Final Standings
Despite all the efforts to catch the championship leaders YAS HEAT in the standings, neither GTWR nor Jean Alesi Esports Academy could do so, with YAS HEAT doing just enough and winning the series by eight points.
| Position | Team | Points |
| 1st | #149 Yas Heat | 361 |
| 2nd | #157 GTWR Simulator Giantruck | 352 |
| 3rd | #27 Jean Alesi Esports Academy | 345 |
The Podium Performers
Despite there being a championship race on the go, there were still several teams and drivers hungry for their first win of the season. With this came some intense racing at the front of the grid. However, there was one victorious team and that was the one Jenson Team Rocket RJN car, know as #23 Zansho Rocket Esports Mclaren.
The #23 Zansho Rocket Esports Mclaren had a hard-fought race from start to finish, showing blistering pace throughout. It was no secret that the Mclarens had a pace advantage at the Silverstone circuit due to the high-speed nature of the circuit and the Mclarens characteristic high-speed performance. However, these features alone did not secure an easy win for them, as the #62 G2 Esports BMW kept them in check fighting them for the top spot all the way through the race.
The #23 Zansho Rocket Esports started the race in fifth position as the second fastest McLaren on the grid, just beaten out by the sister car of the #24 Zansho Rocket Esports Mclaren. Despite this, within the first five minutes of the race, the #23 Mclaren made up 2 places to secure third place from two unsuspecting Mercedes. The lightning-fast progress didn’t stop here, as within the first hour the team made their way to second, only behind their #24 sister car.
From here on out, the two Jenson Team Rocket RJN cars were locked in a tight battle. When the second round of pitstops came into play, the #23 Mclaren picked up the pace and managed to jump the #24 car for first place. However, the #24 Mclaren received a small penalty after the pitstops due to an incident with the #888 Coach Dave Academy Lexus, giving the #23 Mclaren a little breathing room for the next few hours.
Moving into the second half of the race, the #24 Mclaren got their own back, taking an early pitstop and using their pace advantage to make a jump on the #23 car taking back first place once again.
During the whole race, the #62 G2 Esports BMW had never dropped behind the Mclarens by more than one place – always keeping them in check and holding the pressure on the Jenson Team Rocket RJN cars. The #62 BMW had shown great pace throughout the whole weekend, from qualifying on the front row and showing they had the skills to challenge even the top teams with their outright race pace and strategy.
As the teams entered the final hours of the race, the #62 G2 Esports BMW made their move on the #24 Mclaren, finally breaking the top two places and put in motion what was to be a thrilling end to the race. The #62 BMW took this opportunity to crank up the pace and hunt down the #23 Zansho Rocket Esports team currently holding the lead. As the sun began to fall and the track began to cool, the #62 BMW closed in on the #23 Mclaren as the final minutes slowly ticked away.
As the ending was in sight, the #62 BMW mounted up the pressure on the #23 Mclaren, gaining huge chunks of time as the minutes ticked down. However, the #23 Zansho Rocket Esports Mclaren kept it together and retained that number one spot with only 1.2 seconds separating them from the #62 G2 Esports BMW.
The Race Results
| Position | Team |
| 1st | #23 Zansho Rocket Esport |
| 2nd | #62 G2 Esports |
| 3rd | #24 Zansho Rocket Esports |
As can be seen, by the results, the Mclarens really did dominate the Silverstone circuit but despite all odds, G2 Esports took the BMW all the way to the podium showing that you need more than just the car to secure those coveted top spots.
Stand out teams
During this race, the cars at the front were not the only teams to show their pace and skills. One team that showcased their pace and determination was the #1 RennWelten Pro Team BMW. It is no secret that RennWelten has bundles of pace as the number one on their car indicates they are the season one champions.
The #1 RennWelten Pro Team BMW however, had a troublesome qualifying starting mid-pack in 25th position. The team had a relatively slow start in the first hour of the race, making up only a few places. Then any progress made was soon undone as the team were handed a penalty which was to be served at the next round of pitstops.
Despite this setback, RennWelten Pro stayed motivated and began to push even harder. Quickly and efficiently, the team managed to regain all the lost position from before their penalty and it didn’t stop there.
Moving into the second half of the race, the #1 RennWelten Pro BMW broke the top twenty. Now with their sights set on continuing the climb, RennWelten Pro’s race all started to come together. As the track began to cool as the sun went down, the BMW’s pace came into play for the RennWelten Pro Team and they managed to jump into the top fifteen.
As the race came to a close, this was where #1 RennWelten Pro Team BMW ended their race. The team gave us all a display of why even when everything doesn’t go your way, you can still get a good result if you give it your all.
Another team that displayed some great race craft was the #872 ACR – TX3 Bentley starting in 15th place, reaching the top ten by the end of the race.
The #872 ACR – TX3 Bentley has shown us all in previous rounds that when on the pace, they can challenge the best of them all. So much so, that the team secured the final step on the podium at the 4hrs of Zolder. As expected, the team’s fifteenth place qualifying result is not where the team would finish.
The start of the race was an unfortunate one for the #872 ACR – TX3 Bentley, as they dropped back a few spots. The team, however, quickly climbed back to their qualifying spot and started to set their sights higher up the field. As the first hour came to a close, the #872 ACR – TX3 Bentley had already managed to make their way to eleventh position.
From here the #872 ACR – TX3 team took consistency to a whole new level. The team took their Bentley into the top ten and managed to stay within these positions for the remaining seven hours. The Bentley saw a few trips up to eighth but ultimately they continued to settle down in tenth.
As the night fell and the final minutes of the race came upon the #872 ACR – TX3 Bentley, the team managed to secure the final spot in the top ten. Over the course of the eight hours of Silverstone, the #872 ACR – TX3 team showed us all why consistency matters and if you can hold your position and keep up the pace then results will come your way.
The season comes to an end
As is very fitting, the sun began to fall in the final hours of the Silverstone race, putting to bed the final laps of the season. Silverstone was a perfect end to an unpredictable season with yet again a new winner in the series finale. Across the whole season, there was a total of five different winners and a total of eleven different teams making their names know in the podium positions.
As a whole, the season has been one of drama, excitement and brought many hours of entertainment for all the viewers of the series and drivers taking part. Emotions ran high and low with the teams and drivers, some coming away with the best results yet and others not quite hitting their mark, but, what can be said if they all gave it their best shot.
However, as one season comes to a close, another season starts. If you want to see many of your favourite teams and drivers battle it out again on track, be sure to check out The Sim Grid x VCO World Cup and The Sprint Cup Season 3 all streamed live over on The Sim Grid Youtube Channel.
If watching is not enough for you and you want to be one of the teams battling for the win in the next season of the Endurance Cup, then get yourself signed up to The Sim Grid and start racing. Also, be sure to check out Coach Dave Academy to get yourself a race-winning setup for your car of choice to make sure you can compete with the very best in ACC.
