Podium Delight for Mercedes at iRacing Daytona 24

January. No racing, right? Wrong!

Our Mercedes Esports team was in action at the weekend, taking part in the iRacing Daytona 24 Hours. There was a special guest in our virtual car too; joining regular Esports drivers Bono Huis, James Baldwin, Jarno Opmeer, and Jake Benham was Mercedes Junior, Fred Vesti.

The quintet performed strongly throughout, taking P2 in the LMP2 category. “I’m delighted we took second in our maiden iRacing outing as a team. We weren’t the quickest due to our lack of experience on iRacing, but we maximised everything,” said James.

That lack of experience showed in Qualifying as the team could only manage eighth on the grid. The race, however, was a different story. With each driver completing triple stints in the cockpit, nearly two hours driving at a time, the team made steady progress.

“I really missed endurance racing,” Bono added. “It was great to be back and take part in a race where you are behind the wheel for so long at one time.”

By having greater fuel efficiency than other teams, the crew came alive during the night. As the virtual sun rose on Sunday morning, we were in the fight for P2. “We performed really well, particularly in the dark,” Jake said.

Despite the best work of each driver, it became clear that the win was beyond reach. Jake added: “All things considered, P2 was a good result… but it was a shame not to get the win!”

It was still a fantastic effort from an inexperienced line-up. And how was it for the most inexperienced virtual driver? “It was a really fun experience,” beamed Fred.

“With little real-life racing happening now, it was great to be able to test myself against some of the best Esports drivers. The race itself was intense but we worked hard as a team to climb from P8 to P2.”

Learn more about the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Esports Team here.