Western Australian heads large field in action-packed Speedway Sedans Australia eSports National Modified Sedan online title

Ssr 5 James Riceweb TBW Newsgroup
SPEEDWAY WITH A DIFFERENCE: Mount Gambier's James Rice was the top performer in the Limestone Coast in the inaugural eSports National Modified Sedan title on the weekend, making it into the B Main on the final night.

Ssr 5 James Riceweb TBW Newsgroup
SPEEDWAY WITH A DIFFERENCE: Mount Gambier’s James Rice was the top performer in the Limestone Coast in the inaugural eSports National Modified Sedan title on the weekend, making it into the B Main on the final night.

BRAGGING rights and a national title were on the line over the weekend in the inaugural Speedway Sedans Australia eSports National Modified Sedan title, as drivers from across the country and abroad logged on for a speedway meeting like no other.

Streamed live on Facebook, the title was viewed by thousands of fans online, as a strong field of 305 drivers battled for the virtual silverware.

Among the field was a handful of Limestone Coast drivers and of those the best performer was Mount Gambier’s James Rice.

He finished sixth overall in group two, where he battled against 60 other drivers to make it into the B-Main 1 odds on the final night of racing, where he finished seventh.

Over the course of the event it became clear experience in the digital world was valuable, as drivers set up their cars for the three-night title chase.

Rice is no stranger to the iRacing format, with several years behind the screen helping him to push his way through the pack during the heats.

“I was in group two on Friday night, which was the qualifying night,” he said.

“Having 61 cars (in each group) and trying to move up through the whole field was a challenge, but I was very happy I transferred through to the final night.”

Only the top 12 from each group progressed into the third and final night and with two fourths and a first in his heat races, Rice found himself gearing up in one of four B Mains.

“The final night it was not meant to be, but I finished in the B Main, so I was only a few spots off (making the A-Main),” he said.

In the end it was Western Australian Tim Ryan, driving in the Logitech G Altus Esports team, who was first to greet the chequered flag in the A-Main and claim the inaugural eSports National Modified Sedan title.

For Rice, iRacing is the perfect alternative to the real deal and it is something he has been involved with for some time.

“Let’s just say ever since the dirt side of things came out on iRacing, I was on it,” he said.

“That was back in 2016 or 2017.

“I run league racing on a Thursday night basis, with sprintcars and other bits and pieces.

“I am in a sim-racing team, so those guys help me out quite a bit with setups and all that.”

Rice races in the Synergy Sim Racing team and said the online format is his way of getting behind the wheel, without the cost and extra commitment of running a physical car.

“I do not race speedway myself, but I am involved with speedway,” he said.

“It is one of those things that helps me feel like I am involved as a racer, but not in a real-world sense.”

Another big advantage of sim racing is the lessened impact on the bank account.

“You can drive the car straight into the fence and then just press the tow button and you’re back in the pits and your car is all fixed again,” Rice said.

“Unfortunately in real life that does not happen.”

With little in the way of sport entertainment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the growing popularity of eSports was shown in the number of viewers on the weekend.

“I think they peaked at over 3500 devices on Facebook,” Rice said.

The event was deemed an overall success, with only a couple of incidents, which were to be expected.

“There was some hiccups here and there with drivers not following the rules and some guys ran a bit too hard than what they could handle and ripped others, but at the end of it I think most of us were pretty happy with the whole thing,” Rice said.

For Rice, it was a proud achievement to be among the top drivers.

“Considering there were 305 drivers from all over Australia and the world and I was one of those drivers who made it through to the final night – sure I did not make the A Main, but it was a big thing for me,” he said.

Other Limestone Coast entries included Mount Gambier street stock champion Anthony Beare who finished 43rd in group three, while wingless sprint drivers Mitchell Broome (51st in group one) and Kirby Hillyer (57th in group two) were also in on the action.

The Gartners had a strong representation with Sam the best performer, finishing 13th in group three and missing out on a B-Main appearance by one position.

Brad and Steven Gartner finished 31st and 37th in group five respectively.

Next on the speedway eSports calendar is the Kings eRoyal event this weekend, which will be held over the four days of the Easter holiday.