With a sprint victory at Imola, Nicolas Hillebrand has ended Devin Braune’s winning streak in the RCCO World eX Championship.
The racing on the virtual Imola circuit got off to anything but a flying start for defending champion and championship leader Devin Braune. Problems with his sim kept the German’s eX ZERO stuck in the pits at the start of qualifying. In the end, Braune was left with just two flying laps. However, these were enough for yet another pole position – his ninth in a row in the series. Julius Martin secured second place on the grid for the Feature Race ahead of Steffen Walter and Chris Overend.
Nicolas Hillebrand, second in the championship standings, initially struggled with the chicanes and kerbs at Imola and had to settle for seventh in qualifying. However, this ultimately proved to be an advantage for the German. In the sprint race with a reversed grid, Hillebrand started from the front row alongside his tv racing team-mate Robin Hay.
Hay struggled with the handling of his eX ZERO on fresh tyres at Imola and let his team-mate take the lead as early as the opening lap. Hillebrand drove a flawless race and comfortably secured victory in the Sprint ahead of Chris Overend and Devin Braune. It was Hillebrand’s first victory since Bathurst in April 2024 and tv racing’s first since Mosport 2022 in Season 5. Overall, it was Hillebrand’s fifth win in the RCCO World eX Championship.
He had Julius Martin and, above all, Steffen Walter to thank, who made life difficult for Devin Braune in the Sprint on a track where overtaking is notoriously difficult. Both kept the reigning world champion behind them for so long that he ran out of time in his final push to catch up. “Steffen (Walter) simply didn’t make a single mistake,” said Braune.
In doing so, Walter also helped his team-mate Chris Overend, who eventually had enough margin to cross the finish line in second place, just ahead of Braune.
For Steffen Walter, however, there was no happy ending: shortly after Braune had overtaken him on the outside of Variante Alta, Walter was knocked off the track by Braune’s team-mate Luke Pound, who lost control of his eX ZERO whilst braking for the Tamburello chicane. As a result, Walter dropped back to seventh.
Shortly after the start, Bodo Kräling – who was running in third place – had already fallen victim to a contact with Luke Pound.
In the Feature Race, Braune went on to celebrate a commanding lights-to-flag victory with a margin of more than 18 seconds over Nicolas Hillebrand, who had worked his way up from seventh on the grid to second place. He benefited from a collision between Chris Overend and Julius Martin early in the race whilst braking for Tamburello.
For Braune, it was his 60th victory overall in the RCCO World eX Championship. Following his disappointing Sprint race, his team-mate Luke Pound secured third in the Feature Race, ensuring that Brabham Motorsport was also able to extend its lead in the team standings.
Steffen Walter, Bodo Kräling and Robin Hay rounded off the top six following some tight battles. Julius Martin fought his way back up to seventh after the collision with Chris Overend. Overend, who had caused the accident, was ultimately unable to get past Thomas Voigt and had to settle for ninth.
2026 Imola eX Prix
Qualifying
1 #42 Devin BRAUNE (Brabham Motorsport) 1:22.070
2 #94 Julius MARTIN (Martin Racing Team) 1:22.494
3 #17 Steffen WALTER (T17 E-Speed) 1:22.672
4 #46 Chris OVEREND (T17 E-Speed) 1:22.720
5 #28 Luke POUND (Brabham Motorsport) 1:22.733
6 #3 Bodo KRÄLING (Shutterspeed Racing) 1:22.899
7 #71 Nicolas HILLEBRAND (tv racing) 1:22.969
8 #97 Robin HAY (tv racing) 1:23.035
9 #65 Frank ENGER (bspowersports) 1:23.487
10 #7 Thomas VOIGT (tv racing) 1:23.681
11 #25 Patrick WINZENICK (Shutterspeed Racing) 1:23.756
12 #5 Rui CABEDA (Shutterspeed Racing) 1:23.783
13 #4 Björn SKOTTKE (bspowersports) 1:24.187
14 #8 Johannes MEINCK (Martin Racing Team) 1:26.292
Sprint
1 #71 Nicolas HILLEBRAND (tv racing) 9 laps in 12:34.440
2 #46 Chris OVEREND (T17 E-Speed) + 2.066
3 #42 Devin BRAUNE (Brabham Motorsport) + 2.185
4 #97 Robin HAY (tv racing) + 7.799
5 #94 Julius MARTIN (Martin Racing Team) + 7.853
6 #65 Frank ENGER (bspowersports) + 11.764
7 #17 Steffen WALTER (T17 E-Speed) + 14.965
8 #25 Patrick WINZENICK (Shutterspeed Racing) + 18.379
9 #4 Björn SKOTTKE (bspowersports) + 23.496
10 #8 Johannes MEINCK (Martin Racing Team) + 24.260
11 #7 Thomas VOIGT (tv racing) + 24.628
12 #3 Bodo KRÄLING (Shutterspeed Racing) + 24.779
13 #5 Rui CABEDA (Shutterspeed Racing) + 28.671
14 #28 Luke POUND (Brabham Motorsport) + 35.303
Fastest lap: #42 Devin BRAUNE (Brabham Motorsport) 1:22.405
Race
1 #42 Devin BRAUNE (Brabham Motorsport) 18 laps in 24:52.050
2 #71 Nicolas HILLEBRAND (tv racing) + 18.537
3 #28 Luke POUND (Brabham Motorsport) + 22.831
4 #17 Steffen WALTER (T17 E-Speed) + 23.977
5 #3 Bodo KRÄLING (Shutterspeed Racing) + 25.067
6 #97 Robin HAY (tv racing) + 25.332
7 #94 Julius MARTIN (Martin Racing Team) + 27.296
8 #7 Thomas VOIGT (tv racing) + 32.970
9 #46 Chris OVEREND (T17 E-Speed) + 33.018
10 #65 Frank ENGER (bspowersports) + 36.295
11 #25 Patrick WINZENICK (Shutterspeed Racing) + 53.573
12 #4 Björn SKOTTKE (bspowersports) + 1:04.578
13 #8 Johannes MEINCK (Martin Racing Team) + 1:06.354
14 #5 Rui CABEDA (Shutterspeed Racing) 0 laps, DNF
Fastest lap: #42 Devin BRAUNE (Brabham Motorsport) 1:21.957
Season 9 Standings after 5 of 9 Rounds
1 #42 Devin BRAUNE (Brabham Motorsport) 186
2 #71 Nicolas HILLEBRAND (tv racing) 108
3 #94 Julius MARTIN (Martin Racing Team) 86
4 #97 Robin HAY (tv racing) 69
5 #17 Steffen WALTER (T17 E-Speed) 68
6 #46 Chris OVEREND (T17 E-Speed) 52
7 #28 Luke POUND (Brabham Motorsport) 42
8 #18 Jarno WIESE (Brabham Motorsport) 39
9 #3 Bodo KRÄLING (Shutterspeed Racing) 22
10 #7 Thomas VOIGT (tv racing) 16
11 #4 Björn SKOTTKE (bspowersports) 15
12 #65 Frank ENGER (bspowersports) 13
13 #5 Rui CABEDA (Shutterspeed Racing) 4
14 #43 Markus MARTIN (Martin Racing Team) 4
15 #33 Jennifer SCHAMEY (T17 E-Speed) 3
16 #25 Patrick WINZENICK (Shutterspeed Racing) 2
17 #8 Johannes MEINCK (Martin Racing Team) 1
Teams
1 Brabham Motorsport 228
2 tv racing 177
3 T17 E-Speed 120
4 Martin Racing Team 90
5 @bspowersports 28
6 Shutterspeed Racing 26
