In one of the most dramatic 24-hour races in history, the #53 Mercedes-AMG Williams Esports car finished third in the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual after being stubborn in a race that featured stops.
Both Williams cars started the race with drive-through penalties after Tommaso Mosca joined Jack Keithley, Petar Brljak and Will Tregurtha in the #5 Williams Esports car after a forced late switch in the squads and Agustin Canapino made the switch with Nikodem at #53 Wisniewski, Cuba Brzezinski and Sami-Matti Trogen.
Early on, the #53 car also suffered a disconnect from the server, which cost her several minutes and dropped her from the order.
The first red flag proved crucial in getting the team back on track as the pack regrouped, allowing the riders to move forward quickly and decisively and reclaim their place in the lead battle.
It also gave drivers Jack Keithley and Will Tregurtha, driving live from the Williams Esports Lounge for the first time, a chance to show off the space and share their insights into the race so far.
With the race only a few hours back underway, Jack had managed to gain three positions in the #5 Williams Esports car and was sitting sixth before contact with another car dropped him to P10.
Another server issue caused another red flag and the pack huddled together again, benefiting the #53 car as it quickly moved up the order after the restart.
After some bad luck early in the race, disruptions to other drivers – including Max Verstappen’s Redline car – the number 53 was now reaping the rewards, sitting P3 as night turned into day in the race.
Meanwhile, in a sporting moment, the ATRS Esports car pushed the #5 Williams Esports car into the pits after it ran out of fuel on the pit lane entrance.
Unfortunately for the number 5 car, further problems including a second drive-through penalty and another connection failure meant they fell further behind the rest of the field and finished the race in P22.
The number 53 stayed in the lead battle with a brilliant strategy, battling for P3 with the number 36 Alpine car with just 10 minutes to go. Niko Wisniewski held position, but when he slowed while trying to gain fuel save, the stress overcame the team’s social media manager.
Alpine attacked not once but twice, resulting in a dramatic crash for the French team after they made a mistake lapping a GT3 car. That meant Nikodem only had to bring his LMP2 car home on the final lap, giving Mercedes-AMG Team Williams Esports third place in the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual, a third consecutive podium finish for Williams at the event.
The result meant the #53 Mercedes-AMG Team Williams Esports car finished P5 in the Le Mans Virtual Series standings, while the #5 Williams Esports car finished P12.
Williams would like to thank the drivers for their exceptional performances and hard work throughout the series.
Seb Hawkins, Team Manager at Williams Esports shared his reaction after a wild weekend: “After such a chaotic race and the disappointment of starting such a prestigious event with a drive-through penalty for every car, I am immensely proud of the resilience and performance of our entire team.
“After the early stoppage for the number 53 we managed to regroup and focus on getting the best out of the car. The riders put in a tremendous effort all night and to finish third in a high quality series like this proves why we are one of the best teams in the business.
“The drama of the final few hours to the finish was to be expected as we pushed our strategy to the limit. I am delighted that we are maintaining our record of being on the podium at every virtual Le Mans 24 hour race.”
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