What you need to know: Round 5 Supercars Eseries
22 Sep 2021
This year’s Cash Converters Supercars Eseries will feature a hybrid format of the competition, with two championships within the series.
The All Stars consists of main game Supercars and Dunlop Super2 drivers, while the Pro Series features elite gamers representing Supercars teams.
This Wednesday, the online racing series will see Supercars drivers and pro gamers pair up for a virtual endurance race at Mount Panorama.
Qualifying coverage for Round 5 begins at 7pm AEST and will be broadcast live on Facebook, YouTube and Twitch.
From 7:30pm AEST, racing will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 506, Kayo, 7Plus and Sky NZ from 9.30pm NZST.
Online fans from around the globe can watch races via the Supercars’ Facebook page, Supercars teams' Facebook pages, Twitch and YouTube.
FAVOURITES
Round 5 of the Eseries will see the All Stars and Pro Series grids join forces for a 20-lap enduro in Bathurst.
Brodie Kostecki broke his Eseries duck at Daytona, before making it back-to-back wins at Monza last Wednesday night.
The Boost Mobile Commodore driver will be teaming up with Erebus Academy talent Jarrad Filsell at the mountain, with the young driver claiming one podium so far this season.
Defending Pro Series champion Dayne Warren is proving hard to beat, with the Walkinshaw Andretti United gamer topping all qualifying and race sessions this year.
Warren will share the Mobil 1 Appliances Online Racing Holden with Chaz Mostert, who has plenty of real-life experience at Mount Panorama.
Mostert has struggled in this year’s series, admitting he hasn’t been feeling completely comfortable in the sim.
New Zealand racer Richie Stanaway will share the Team Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland Commodore with Fawzan El-Nabi, who has been running inside the top 15 throughout the Pro Series.
Stanaway won at Charlotte and Pocono, but he missed out at Daytona and Monza.
The Kiwi will likely be a frontrunner at Bathurst and will be keen to regain his points lead.
Hot contender Cameron Waters is yet to record a race win in the series, but his consistency has him second overall.
Waters will team up with Ethan Warren - brother of Pro Series champion Dayne - in Bathurst.
Ethan claimed a podium in his first appearance in the series and has been a consistent top 10 runner.
THE FORM SEEKERS
Pioneer DJ Racing’s James Golding will share his Mustang with Corey Shepherd, who is yet to record a top 10 result this season.
The Team 18 Bathurst co-driver will have something to prove at the mountain; Golding currently runs fourth in the overall standings.
Emerging talent Matthew Payne claimed his second podium of the season at Monza, quickly moving past fellow Kiwi racer Richie Stanaway in the opening stint.
The CoolDrive recruit will team up with Josh Anderson in Bathurst.
Anderson recorded a series-best result of sixth in Round 1 of the series but has recorded mixed results since then, making them ones to watch out for on Wednesday night.
Brad Jones Racing’s Todd Hazelwood will be looking for teammate Madison Down to lead the charge at Mount Panorama, with the pro gamer recording a podium at Phillip Island last week.
Consistent Pro Series frontrunner Jackson Souslin-Harlow joins forces with BJR’s Macaulay Jones.
THE ROUGHIES
Justin Ruggier continues to be a consistent top-five contender; however, his Cash Converters teammate Emily Jones has had a troubled season. She has yet to record a top 10 result.
Matt Stone Racing’s Jake Kostecki could be an outside chance to claim victory in the enduro.
The MSR rookie will team up with pro gamer Andrew Gilliam, who recorded a season-best result of fifth at Phillip Island.
Nick Percat returns to the series for the second time, joining Jake Burton in the Dunlop Racing BJR Holden.
Burton hasn’t finished lower than sixth this season, making him a strong chance to record a strong result at Mount Panorama.
THE CIRCUIT
The Mount Panorama Circuit, famously the home of the Bathurst 1000, is the most iconic venue in Australian motorsport.
The 6.2km-long circuit consists of famous sections such as Mountain Straight, the Dipper and Conrod Straight.
It was one of the highlights of the 2020 Pro Eseries, with the gamers visiting the hallowed circuit twice last season.
THE FORMAT
Round 5 sees the All Stars and Pro Gamers join forces to tackle Mount Panorama.
Both teams will complete one combined 20-minute qualifying session that will set the grid for their races.
The fastest five qualifiers will roll into a 10-minute Top 5 Shootout, with All Star drivers required to set their best flying lap to set the grid for Race 5.
19:05-19:25 - Qualifying for Race 5, Mount Panorama Circuit
19:41-19:51 – Top 5 Shootout for Race 5, Mount Panorama Circuit
20:11 – Race 5, Mount Panorama Circuit, 20 laps or 45 minutes, one pitstop, 300 points available
Points will be shared 50/50 across both the Pro Series and All Stars drivers.
TRACK CONDITIONS
Track state for qualifying and Race 5 will be set to 75 percent.
Weather conditions will be 25°c (77°F), Partly cloudy, humidity 60, wind 5mph, West.
Dynamic sky with no weather.
Time of day: Afternoon.
COMPULSORY PIT STOPS
Race 5 – 1 CPS
Drivers must take 4 new tyres during each CPS
No fuel required
DRIVER FAIR SHARE
Either driver can start the race
Drive fair share will be disabled for the session
All Stars drivers must complete a minimum of 8 laps
Teams must complete at least one driver change during the course of the race
THE SAFETY CAR
For the first time in the Cash Converters Supercars Eseries, there will be an official BP Ultimate Safety Car and driver.
The 2021 Supercars Eseries BP Ultimate Safety Car is a Ford GTE.
Race 5 will see the BP Ultimate Safety Car deployed at race control’s discretion at any time during the race.
WHERE TO WATCH
The Cash Converters Supercars Eseries will take place on the iRacing platform, running over six weekly rounds from August 25th to September 29th and will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 506, Kayo, 7Plus, and Supercars’ Twitch, Facebook and YouTube channels.
Qualifying coverage for Round 5 begins at 7pm AEST and will be broadcast live on Facebook, YouTube and Twitch.
From 7:30pm AEST, racing will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 506, Kayo, 7Plus and Sky NZ from 9.30pm NZST.
Online fans from around the globe can watch races via the Supercars’ Facebook page, Supercars teams' Facebook pages, Twitch and YouTube.
