Lucas Blakeley crowned the champion of EROC 2023

The current F1 Esports Series 2022 champion, Lucas Blakeley, started the year 2023 with a devastating pace, proving that he is coming for more this year. On Friday, January 27, the sim Racing driver was crowned eROC champion at the 2023 Race of Champions in Pite Havsbad, Sweden.

Blakeley defeated fellow F1 Esports contenders Jarno Opmeer and Michael Romanidis for the second time in a short period during the round-robin tournament. On the other hand, he also took out simulation driver Martin Palm.

Blakeley continues to show remarkable strength

Romanidis shone in the sim racing segment, of that there is no doubt, but he lost essential points in the physical aspect. At this point, Blakeley and Opmeer, who had perfect laps, took advantage to reach the final.

From that point on, F1 Esports Series champion Lucas Blakeley took control of the race beating Opmeer in the Polaris RZR on snow and ice by more than four seconds. They then switched due to the simulator, where two wins for the Scotsman gave him the overall title.

In this beautiful event, the world’s best sim racing drivers compete against each other on simulation platforms. Then, they each have to do a fast lap on the snowy track, i.e., the same one used in the simulators.

eROC Sweden 2023 Final

Experts in the field score fast laps in this tournament. The scores the drivers receive are combined with their points from simulation races to produce an overall leaderboard. The two best drivers compete in the grand final, while the third and fourth-best drivers compete to be the best of the rest.

There is no doubt that this moment makes the event worthwhile and much more exciting. As mentioned above, the drivers fight in the simulators before competing on the track for just a few seconds. There is no doubt that the gap between digital and physical racing is narrowing, as the double-ring design of the circuit makes for an intense battle.

Blakeley and Opmeer take on Hakkinen and Bottas

What better prize than taking on the best drivers in real life? Blakeley and Opmeer will represent Team eROC in the Nations Cup thanks to their first and second-place finishes in this event. Their rivals will be Team Finland, composed of Mika Hakkinen (x2 F1 World Champion) and Valtteri Bottas.

Let’s not forget that Blakeley has also faced other great F1 drivers, such as Sebastian Vettel. The Scotsman beat the German in the 2022 event and proved that they are excellent drivers in F1 Esports and reality.

Header: Lucas Blakeley | Twitter