Ludovic Di Monte, Round 2 winner;
Credit: ACL
The Automobile Club du Luxembourg (ACL) has declared Ludovic Di Monte the winner of the second round of its ACL Challenge.
The 20 drivers selected for Round 2 of the ACL Challenge met this past weekend at the Mondercange karting site, where simulators were available. With the same equipment and set-up for everyone, the pilot needed to make a difference more than ever in this tightly-packed exercise. The event was characterised by stiff competition, with the top of the standings hanging in a few tenths.
This event took place behind the wheel of the Mercedes AMG C63 DTM (the same car as for the first race) from the Merbag Luxembourg dealership. Each participant was entitled to ten minutes of training on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, in order to familiarise themselves with the simulator. Two 20-minute sessions followed on this same circuit, as well as on the Bilster Berg, where the participants gave their everything to achieve the best lap time.
“Spa-Francorchamps is an essential circuit for eSport events. In contrast, few expected Bilster Berg. It is a very winding course, with many blind corners. We wanted to toughen up the competition during this round so that the drivers could stand out", explained Florian Brouir, eSports manager at the ACL and organiser of the event.
At the end of these two 20-minute timed sessions, points were distributed. Having achieved the second fastest time on the Ardennes toboggan and 1st place on the circuit dubbed the "mini-Nürburgring", French national Ludovic Di Monte pocketed the most units (38 out of a total of 40).
Since participation in the FIA Motorsport Games requires the participant to have Luxembourgish nationality, it is Tom Vallenthini, who placed 2nd in the general classification, who will be headed to this event in Marseille from 29 to 31 October 2021. He commented: "It was not easy. You really had to go after every hundredth. In the end, it paid off and I am delighted to be able to represent ACL and Luxembourg at the FIA Motorsport Games where I intend to wear the national colours!"
The points won during this simulator test will be kept for the third and final test, which will be held on 15 May 2021 aboard karts. It will be broadcast live on ACL's social media, with technical support from Codex. The driver with the most points accumulated in races two and three will be crowned the winner of the first edition of the ACL Challenge. This edition had 230 registrations, an encouraging result for the development of eSports within the club.
