TCR ace Rowan Shepherd claimed a superb victory in the second race of yesterday’s inaugural AGR eSport Cup.
The 27-year-old from Hawkes Bay remained unfazed after a difficult qualifying which saw him line up 48th in the 52 grid.
After surviving the mayhem that ensued for most of the 30-minute feature race, Shepherd calmly finished in 25th position and earning himself pole position for the reverse grid sprint race.
Shepherd then proved to be dominant all race, succeeding in maintaining the lead from lights-to-flag. Yet the feat is by no means a surprise for Shepherd or his Track Tec Racing Team.
Shepherd competed in last year’s TCR Endurance championship which included races from Spa and Catalunya. Closer to home and Shepherd has raced under the Track Tec Racing banner in the a number of South Island Endurance Series events.
“I run a 11-year-old Logitech G27 steering wheel and pedal combo which is a little embarrassing compared to most setups but it does prove that you can still win races with a $300-400 piece of kit,” said Shepherd after his eSport Cup victory.
“I’m incredibly happy with the win. It was a real roller coaster and proves just like real racing, anything can happen.
“It’s great to see so many professional and top-rated drivers getting in behind this well run series and was great to see teammate Jaden Ransley post two very strong results. Very cool to see the Track Tec colours take the chequered and is a credit to them for organising our New Zealand team”
Track Tec Racing’s team manager Carmen Doran commended Shepherd efforts in the relatively new form of competition.
“We’ve worked together with Rowan for about a year now and as well as his talent on the track, he’s a great guy,” said Doran.
“The eSports series is giving drivers like Rowan, as well as Track Tec Racing, a good chance to learn more about how to use our simulator.”
The next round of the carsales ARG eSport Cup will be held at Zolder in Belgium on April 9, starting at 10 pm NZT.
