There have been plenty of surprises so far in the 2025 Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup, with past champions faltering while rookies establish themselves as serious title contenders.
Vying for the largest share of the $200,000 prize pool includes 2020 and 2024 champion Sebastian Job, for Red Bull Sim Racing.
However, after a rocky start to his 2025 campaign, it is instead Job’s team-mate Cooper Webster, who came fourth last year, who leads the drivers’ championship after three rounds.
Hot on their heels are other recognisable names including Alejandro Sánchez, Luke McKeown, Chris Lulham and 2022 champion Diogo Pinto.
However, in the opening round some of this year’s debutants made a name for themselves having graduated from the Contender Series late last year and were keen to stamp their mark on the main championship.
Round 1 - Daytona Road Course
Once again, Daytona kicked off the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup season, and it was rookie Florian Lebigre who made a name for himself right away by claiming pole position for the sprint race.
The Verstappen.com Racing driver was a race winner in last year’s Contender Series, and did well enough to secure his place on the main Porsche Esports Supercup grid for the first time.
It was a dream start for the Verstappen.com Racing pairing of Lebigre and Lulham, as they were able to work together and bump drafted each other to secure a 1-2, with Lebigre claiming a race victory on his debut.
It was a much less fruitful day for defending champion Job, as he started the race in 22nd place before contact on the opening lap dropped him to 30th and last place.
The Brit ended 15.8 seconds down, having recovered to 27th. With the main race grid being dictated by the finishing positions of the sprint race, it meant Job had to start the 16-lap event from the rear of the pack.
The reversal of the top eight finishers in the sprint race for the start of the main race gave rookie and Contender Series race winner Elvis Rankin the lead at the start.
Rankin held onto first place for a long time, but came under increasing pressure in the second half of the race when Webster forced his way in between Rankin and fellow Porsche Coanda Esports driver Mitchell DeJong on the run to Turn 1.
That move forced DeJong out wide and cost him a few places, whilst Webster took second place and was biding his time to line-up an overtake for the lead.
At the end of the final lap, leaving the Le Mans chicane and on the long, flat-out run to the finish line, Webster went for the slipstream-aided overtake and snatched victory by a margin of just 0.016s.
Rankin took second in that photo-finish ending, with McKeown of Apex Racing Team third and within a tenth of a second of the race winner.
The last lap move for the win by Webster - combined with an incident for Lebigre on the start that left him to finish seventh - meant he was the points leader after the opening round.
Round 2 - Mugello
After the rookies shocked the grid in the opening round, many of the more established names came back stronger for the second round at Mugello.
Series veteran Sanchez took pole position for the sprint race, with 2023 champion Jordan Caruso joining him on the front row.
The pair maintained their places for the opening few laps, but on the penultimate lap Caruso successfully took the race lead, having placed his car on the outside heading into Turn 1 before switching to the inside line just before the braking point and catching Sanchez off guard.
Behind them in third place was Job, who secured his first podium finish this season.
Oscar Py of Kubina Racing started from the front for the main race, but on only the second lap he was passed by 2022 champion Pinto.
Behind them, Job was making his way up the order from eighth place and on lap four of 14, Job moved into second place and a mere 1.5 seconds behind Pinto.
With five laps to go, Job pulled alongside Pinto heading into Turn 1 and the pair duelled side-by-side all the way until the hairpin of Turn 12 where Job, on the inside line, solidified his spot at the front of the field.
A race win for Job shot him up to fifth in the points standings on 85 points, 40 behind then points leader Sanchez.
The Spaniard took the points lead away from Webster, who had a forgettable weekend with 10th in the sprint race and seventh in the main race.
Round 3 - Spa-Francorchamps
The third round of the season saw Mitchell DeJong become the third different sprint race pole sitter in three rounds, sharing the front row with championship frontrunner Webster.
In the race, they maintained their positions for a lap until Webster got by at La Source, although it was behind them where the more impactful track action was taking place.
Title rivals Sanchez and Job qualified ninth and 10th respectively, but were both hunting for a place inside the top eight and having the benefit of the reversed starting positions for the main race.
Job, Sanchez and Sanchez’s team-mate Luca Kita went three-wide into La Source. On the inside line and with a clean exit, Job was able to pass the pair of them to move into an all important top eight position.
From there, the Red Bull Sim Racing driver also overtook McKeown for seventh. So whilst Webster won and took the maximum points haul from the sprint, it was defending champion Job who had a front row starting position for the main race.
It took a matter of seconds for Job to lead the main race as he cleared McKeown on the run down the Kemmel Straight on the opening lap.
From there, the front remained fairly static until the penultimate lap, when contact from behind by Chris Lulham on McKeown’s car unsettled him heading into La Source.
That brief loss of control cost him a place on the podium as both Lulham and Yohann Harth passed him.
Further back, Webster was only able to make up one place in the race, finishing in seventh. Contrast that with a second race win of the season with Job, the gap between the two drivers shrunk across the two races.
Webster currently leads the drivers’ championship with 178 points, 29 more than Job in second with Alejandro Sanchez in third and 36 points behind the leader.
Still to come this season
There are four rounds remaining in the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup, and plenty of points still up for grabs in the title fight. The remaining circuits are Sachsenring, Thruxton, Fuji and Le Mans.
In addition to the regular racing, Sachsenring will also host the all new Mid-Season Tournament.
This will give fans an opportunity to join the All-Stars Series grid, and race alongside some of the fastest iRacing content creators and real-world drivers including Porsche Formula E driver António Félix da Costa and former IndyCar driver Tony Kanaan.
On February 22, one of the All-Stars Series drivers will set a benchmark time on a live stream for anyone who owns iRacing to beat.
From there, the time attack competition will officially open in iRacing and run for a week from February 23 to March 2.
One lucky winner will secure their place on the grid for the Sachsenring round to see if they can go toe-to-toe with the All-Stars drivers.
Read more details about the competition on iRacing.com
In addition to that, the Sachsenring will hold the fourth round of the regular Porsche Esports Supercup, with both the All-Stars Series and the main championship available to watch live on the Porsche Twitch channel.
PESC 2025 Remaining Races:
Round 4: March 8 - Sachsenring mid-season tournament Round 5: March 29 - Thruxton Round 6: April 5 - Fuji International Speedway Round 7: April 12 - Circuit de 24 Heures du Mans
