Caruso gains another international accolade
Jordan Caruso has won the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup
Full time Sim Racer Jordan Caruso has taken a major step forward in his Esports career after claiming another international title.
Having won the 24H Series Esports last year, Caruso’s latest achievement saw him secure the world-renown Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup earlier this month – becoming the first Australian to do so.
The international competition saw 35 of the best sim racers around the world contest 10 rounds at virtual versions of some of the most famous tracks in motorsport, including the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and the Circuit of the Americas.
With the series following a similar format as the FIA Formula 2 and 3 Championships, every round was made up of qualifying, a sprint race and a feature race, with competitors able to score points up to 20th and 25th.
And after four gruelling months of racing, Caruso ended up scoring an impressive 506 points overall – 68 points more than the next best driver in Sebastian Job of the United Kingdom, who edged out American Zac Campbell by just one point.
Both Job and Campbell, along with another Brit Charlie Collins were Caruso’s biggest challengers for most of the season with each notching up wins and a large collection of podiums between them.
However, it was Caruso’s consistency across the whole season which saw him rewarded with the title after picking up three wins, a further six podiums and seven races in the top 10.
And while Cox, Campbell and Collins all went through dips in form at one point of the season, Caruso was highly consistent throughout the whole campaign, recording just one DNF overall and finishing no lower than 13th.
Picking up a hefty prize as a result of his victory, Caruso was proud to take out the title in the way that he did.
“I am really happy to have won this title. I have put in so much time into it and to actually win a prestigious honour like that is amazing – I wasn’t expecting to be as competitive as I was coming into this,” Caruso said.
“Looking back, it was my consistency that helped get me the title. I had one DNF overall and my lowest position was 13th, which I didn’t get until round seven.
“Up until that point, I had a massive lead. Admittedly I did have a couple of tough results in rounds eight and nine, but I guess that’s because I had put pressure on myself about not wanting to choke.
“But then going into the final round, I felt super confident because I knew what I had to do and I knew from practice I had the pace. Then to qualify fourth when Seb and Zac endured difficult qualifying sessions gave me more belief. My sprint race win effectively sealed the deal.
“So it was a bit of an exciting end, but honestly – it was all about qualifying. I hadn’t qualified out of the top five in the first half of the season and that was pivotal.”
As for what to do now after his win, the hefty financial prize will make all the difference for Caruso, who remains motivated to continue his journey into Esports.
“I haven’t thought about what to do now, I was focusing on this championship. I want to enjoy the victory,” Caruso added.
“There is a bunch of special racing I will do with my team, but as of right now, I haven’t planned anything.
“I do sim racing full time and to win this competition with a very nice pay day sort of justifies my decision to pursuit it and solidifies the fact that I can do it full time.”
Caruso wasn’t the only Aussie taking part in the competition with Australian S5000 Drivers’ Championship star Cooper Webster having contested nine rounds.
Webster didn’t have as much luck as Caruso, with the Victorian enjoying one podium, a trio of top five placings and five finishes within the top 10.
His efforts saw him notch up 10th overall on the standings, an impressive effort considering he was the only driver within the top 15 to miss a round.
View more information on the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup.
Both Caruso and Webster will be in action during Shannons SpeedSeries’ Hi-Tec Oils Race Winton at Winton Motor Raceway this weekend.