The RCCO World eX Championship delivered its most dramatic round of the season yet as the all-electric sim racing series headed to the legendary Autódromo José Carlos Pace at Interlagos, Brazil.
Devin Braune continued his qualifying supremacy, securing pole position with a commanding four-tenth advantage over tv racing’s Robin Hay. The defending world champion’s pace around the iconic Brazilian circuit was simply in a class of its own, setting the stage for what many expected to be another routine victory.
Three-time World eX Champion Julius Martin locked out the top three in a tightly contested qualifying session that saw the top nine drivers separated by less than a second.
The sprint race delivered the ‘shock’ of the season as Steffen Walter claimed his fourth World eX victory and ended Devin Braune’s remarkable streak of 21 consecutive wins. The T17 E-Speed driver capitalized on early chaos to build an insurmountable lead and drive a masterful race to the checkered flag.
Drama struck immediately when Chris Overend stalled on the reversed grid start. The incident collected Julius Martin, Devin Braune, and Jennifer Schamey, with the championship leader suffering the worst and dropping to the back of the field.
Braune’s recovery drive was nothing short of spectacular, fighting back through the field. However, his charge was hampered by involvement in an ongoing drama surrounding rookie Rui Cabeda, who earned a record number of yellow cards for his controversial driving throughout the evening.
With early leader Bodo Kräling spinning on the opening lap and collecting Braune’s teammate Callum Cripps, and Robin Hay’s hopes ending after contact on lap two, Steffen Walter found himself with a commanding lead. The German didn’t waste the opportunity, maintaining his advantage while also setting the fastest lap of the race.
Braune mounted a fierce comeback, overtaking competitors one by one and claiming second place on lap five when Kräling made a slight error at Turn 1. Despite closing the gap to Walter, Braune couldn’t get close enough to mount an attack, even when the leader made a small mistake on the final lap.
The feature Race saw a return to normalcy as Devin Braune delivered a commanding performance from pole position. Making a perfect start, the championship leader eased away from the field to secure his 47th World eX Championship victory with an almost ten-second margin.
Unlike the Sprint’s chaos, the feature Race unfolded as a more straightforward affair. Robin Hay started from the front row but immediately lost positions to Julius Martin and Callum Cripps through the famous Senna S complex.
Martin’s race was compromised by internet connection issues that dropped him to fourth, setting up a captivating battle for second between Cripps and Hay that lasted the entire race distance. In a tense finish, Hay briefly moved ahead before Cripps fought back to secure a 1-2 finish for Rocket Simsport.
The latest World eX Bizz Talk featured a special guest appearance from Ellis Spiezia, the young American who has positioned himself as a passionate advocate and ambassador for electric motorsport. Spiezia, who has his own rich history in World eX competition, shared his latest insights with the unique sim racing community. As someone who has witnessed the evolution of electric motorsport firsthand.
2025 Interlagos eX Prix
Qualifying
1 #42 Devin BRAUNE (Rocket Simsport) 1:15.783
2 #97 Robin HAY (tv racing) 1:16.183
3 #94 Julius MARTIN (Martin Racing Team) 1:16.340
4 #90 Callum CRIPPS (Rocket Simsport) 1:16.436
5 #46 Chris OVEREND (T17 E-Speed) 1:16.437
6 #106 Rui CABEDA (Wild Card) 1:16.452
7 #17 Steffen WALTER (T17 E-Speed) 1:16.523
8 #3 Bodo KRÄLING (bspowersports) 1:16.854
9 #43 Markus MARTIN (Martin Racing Team) 1:16.887
10 #33 Jennifer SCHAMEY (Schamey Racing) 1:17.164
11 #65 Frank ENGER (bspowersports) 1:17.299
12 #8 Johannes MEINCK (Martin Racing Team) 1:17.464
Sprint
1 #17 Steffen WALTER (T17 E-Speed) 10 laps in 12:59.414
2 #42 Devin BRAUNE (Rocket Simsport) + 0.231
3 #90 Callum CRIPPS (Rocket Simsport) + 3.606
4 #94 Julius MARTIN (Martin Racing Team) + 4.190
5 #3 Bodo KRÄLING (bspowersports) + 5.897
6 #97 Robin HAY (tv racing) + 7.770
7 #65 Frank ENGER (bspowersports) + 14.492
8 #43 Markus MARTIN (Martin Racing Team) + 15.132
9 #8 Johannes MEINCK (Martin Racing Team) + 17.991
10 #46 Chris OVEREND (T17 E-Speed) + 18.745
11 #106 Rui CABEDA (Wild Card) + 27.150
12 #33 Jennifer SCHAMEY (Schamey Racing) 3 laps, DNF
Fastest lap: #17 Steffen WALTER (T17 E-Speed) 1:16.540
Race
1 #42 Devin BRAUNE (Rocket Simsport) 19 laps in 24:26.046
2 #90 Callum CRIPPS (Rocket Simsport) + 9.153
3 #97 Robin HAY (tv racing) + 9.609
4 #94 Julius MARTIN (Martin Racing Team) + 14.426
5 #3 Bodo KRÄLING (bspowersports) + 20.509
6 #17 Steffen WALTER (T17 E-Speed) + 21.928
7 #46 Chris OVEREND (T17 E-Speed) + 23.394
8 #43 Markus MARTIN (Martin Racing Team) + 33.537
9 #65 Frank ENGER (bspowersports) + 35.249
10 #8 Johannes MEINCK (Martin Racing Team) + 39.521
11 #33 Jennifer SCHAMEY (Schamey Racing) + 55.445
12 #106 Rui CABEDA (Wild Card) + 36.839 DQ
Fastest lap: #42 Devin BRAUNE (Rocket Simsport) 1:16.273
Standings after 6 of 9 Rounds
1 #42 Devin BRAUNE (Rocket Simsport) 224
2 #71 Nicolas HILLEBRAND (Hans-Günther Springob Rennsport) 96
3 #94 Julius MARTIN (Martin Racing Team) 86
4 #18 Jarno WIESE (WIWI Racing Team) 86
5 #17 Steffen WALTER (T17 E-Speed) 81
6 #46 Chris OVEREND (T17 E-Speed) 67
7 #90 Callum CRIPPS (Rocket Simsport) 61
8 #3 Bodo KRÄLING (bspowersports) 52
9 #97 Robin HAY (tv racing) 44
10 #4 Björn SKOTTKE (bspowersports) 20
11 #7 Thomas VOIGT (tv racing) 17
12 #43 Markus MARTIN (Martin Racing Team) 14
13 #65 Frank ENGER (bspowersports) 8
14 #25 Patrick WINZENICK (bspowersports) 8
15 #85 Bert KNOPS (Brabham Motorsport) 6
16 #2 Rune BOBBAERS (Brabham Motorsport) 4
17 #8 Johannes MEINCK (Martin Racing Team) 1
