Rebellion Williams Esport win Virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans, Leclerc wants a taste of reality
Rebellion Williams Esport were victorious in a Virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans that left Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly wanting to sample the real thing.
The online race was organised for this weekend instead of the real event, which was pushed back until September 19-20 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Professional drivers Louis Deletraz and Raffaele Marciello and sim racing specialists Nikodem Wisniewski and Kuba Brzezinski were the winning quartet on Sunday, the Oreca LMP taking the chequered flag 17 seconds ahead of the ByKolles-Burst Esport number four Oreca LMP.
The second Oreca LMP entered by Swiss team Rebellion took third place, from the 50 teams and a mix of 200 professional racing drivers and sim racers that entered.
@RebellionRacing @WilliamsEsports wins the first ever VIRTUAL 24 Hours of Le Mans!
— 24 Hours of Le Mans (@24hoursoflemans) June 14, 2020
Congratulations to the drivers @LouisDeletraz | @Team_Rmarciello | @KubaBrzezinski | R. Wiesnewski@oreca #01 @FIAWEC @MSportgames pic.twitter.com/P45Ix0YIZK
Leclerc, Max Verstappen and Gasly were among the Formula One drivers to participate, along with former world champion Fernando Alonso.
Ferrari driver Leclerc finished 18th in the GTE class after getting behind the wheel for the final stint and the 22-year-old was left longing for the actual track of Le Mans.
He wrote on Twitter: "Thanks for being with me during the whole 24 hours guys!! The first 8/9 hours were very fun battling for positions."
He added: "Now I just want to do the real Le Mans though."
Gasly was ready to catch up on some sleep after coming through the endurance test. He helped the Veloce Esports team finish fifth.
Frenchman Gasly tweeted: "Top 5 for this first edition of the virtual 24hours of Le Mans. Never thought I would get that excited during a virtual race, very cool experience. It really makes me want to participate in reality one day! But for now, time to sleep.."
Alonso was restored to the race on Saturday after what he described as "a combination between human error and a game glitch" forced him to retire during the early running.