World eX has a new race winner: young German kart racer Jarno Wiese gave himself a late birthday present by winning the main race of the Buddh eX Prix just a few days after his 16th birthday.
This makes Wiese the youngest race winner in the unique sim racing community.
Wiese’s maiden victory was aided by the absence of defending champion Devin Braune and other strong drivers due to illness or other commitments.
They missed one of the most interesting Bizz Talks, when Markus Winkelhock gave an insight into Schaeffler’s DTM innovation taxi.
Winkelhock has a history in RCCO slot racing and said that he uses simulators to learn new tracks, although he is not particularly strong in sim racing.
Three-time World eX Champion Julius Martin set a new track record in qualifying, beating Jarno Wiese by just 79 thousandths of a second to take pole position for the main Race.
Björn Skottke inherited the pole position for the reverse grid Sprint. He was able to defend the lead early on, before eventually dropping back to fifth.
Chris Overend showed a commanding performance in the Sprint. The handicapped driver from the U.K. started fourth and was able to build up a huge lead once he had passed “Skottie” for the lead.
He crossed the line five seconds ahead of Jarno Wiese, while Frank Enger completed the podium as AM class winner in P3 overall.
There was some drama in the sprint, including a contact between Julius Martin and Bodo Kräling on the final lap, and a failed attempt by Thomas Voigt to pass two AM class competitors at the same time.
It was the second win for Chris Overend following his victory at Misano last year, while Frank Enger took his second AM class win of the season.
The main Race featured a nice battle for the lead between pole setter Julius Martin and Jarno Wiese with several lead changes.
The battle was decided on lap 6 when Martin spun on his own, handing the lead and ultimately the race win to his young rival on a silver plate.
It was a terrible lap for the Martin brothers as Markus Martin spun off the track a few corners later, handing third place to Bodo Kräling.
He was later involved in a drag race to the finish line which saw Björn Skottke and Markus Martin finish on exactly the same time in P6 and P7.
Chris Overend and Bodo Kräling completed the overall podium, with the latter taking another win in the AM class with a brilliant drive.
The results of the main Race with the first World eX win for youngster Jarno Wiese.
Devin Braune maintained his lead in the overall series standings, while Bodo Kräling remains the best placed AM driver.
Next up for World eX is a trip back in time to see the futuristic electric prototypes on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit of 1966. Only sim racing can offer such a unique opportunity.
2024 Buddh eX Prix Results
Qualifying
1 #94 Julius MARTIN (PRO/Martin Racing Team) 1:34.820 (New Track Record)
2 #18 Jarno WIESE (PRO/WIWI Racing Team) 1:34.899
3 #43 Markus MARTIN (PRO/Martin Racing Team) 1:34.918
4 #3 Bodo KRÄLING (AM/bspowersports) 1:35.168
5 #46 Chris OVEREND (PRO/T17 E-Speed) 1:35.439
6 #7 Thomas VOIGT (AM/tv racing) 1:35.814
7 #65 Frank ENGER (AM/bspowersports) 1:35.955
8 #4 Björn SKOTTKE (AM/bspowersports) 1:36.387
9 #8 Johannes MEINCK (AM/Martin Racing Team) 1:36.456
Sprint
1 #46 Chris OVEREND (PRO/T17 E-Speed) 8 laps in 12:53.764
2 #18 Jarno WIESE (PRO/WIWI Racing Team) + 5.102
3 #65 Frank ENGER (AM/bspowersports) + 8.474
4 #43 Markus MARTIN (PRO/Martin Racing Team) + 9.292
5 #4 Björn SKOTTKE (AM/bspowersports) + 10.436
6 #3 Bodo KRÄLING (AM/bspowersports) + 10.523
7 #94 Julius MARTIN (PRO/Martin Racing Team) + 11.584
8 #8 Johannes MEINCK (AM/Martin Racing Team) + 25.357
9 #7 Thomas VOIGT (AM/tv racing) + 30.793
Fastest lap: #46 Chris OVEREND (PRO/T17 E-Speed) 1:35.554
Race
1 #18 Jarno WIESE (PRO/WIWI Racing Team) 15 laps in 24:03.474
2 #46 Chris OVEREND (PRO/T17 E-Speed) + 6.061
3 #3 Bodo KRÄLING (AM/bspowersports) + 10.674
4 #94 Julius MARTIN (PRO/Martin Racing Team) + 12.703
5 #65 Frank ENGER (AM/bspowersports) + 16.020
6 #43 Markus MARTIN (PRO/Martin Racing Team) + 25.180
7 #4 Björn SKOTTKE (AM/bspowersports) + 25.180
8 #7 Thomas VOIGT (AM/tv racing) + 26.436
9 #8 Johannes MEINCK (AM/Martin Racing Team) + 39.647
Fastest lap: #18 Jarno WIESE (PRO/WIWI Racing Team) 1:35.101
Standings after 4 of 10 Rounds
1 #42 Devin BRAUNE (PRO/Rocket Simsport) 106
2 #94 Julius MARTIN (PRO/Martin Racing Team) 61
3 #46 Chris OVEREND (PRO/T17 E-Speed) 55
4 #17 Steffen WALTER (PRO/T17 E-Speed) 54
5 #3 Bodo KRÄLING (AM/bspowersports) 53
6 #18 Jarno WIESE (PRO/WIWI Racing Team) 52
7 #71 Nicolas HILLEBRAND (PRO/Biela Racing Team EURONICS) 35
8 #65 Frank ENGER (AM/bspowersports) 27
9 #43 Markus MARTIN (PRO/Martin Racing Team) 25
10 #96 Patrik BARBULESCU (AM/tv racing) 25
11 #88 Alessandro OTTAVIANI (PRO) 24
12 #4 Björn SKOTTKE (AM/bspowersports) 20
13 #7 Thomas VOIGT (AM/tv racing) 10
14 #23 Dominik HEUSSEN (AM/T17 E-Speed) 5
15 #21 Jurgen VAN BERGEN (PRO/Race Clutch) 4
16 #8 Johannes MEINCK (AM/Martin Racing Team) 3
17 #14 Yvonne HOUFFELAAR (AM/United Sim Team) 2
18 #85 Hamish EASENER (PRO/Hamish Easener Racing) 2
