The penultimate event of the 2026 Sim Racing World Championship concluded on Thursday after Round 8 and 9 around Zandvoort and Circuit of The Americas, with the best Esports drivers out there fighting it out for glory at the F1 Media and Technology Centre in Biggin Hill.<\/p>\n
Both races were filled with late drama, bold strategy, and plenty of shocks, as Otis Lawrence took a huge step towards sim racing glory, and Alpine<\/a> took control of the race for the Constructors\u2019 Championship<\/p>\n Here is a recap of Thursday\u2019s sessions…<\/p>\n Round 8 \u2013 The Netherlands<\/p>\n Zandvoort is another tricky track for making moves, so it was yet another crucial Qualifying session for the field to navigate. Ismael Fassi found out how tight the margins were in Q2 the hard way, missing the top-10 shootout by just six thousandths of a second, with Tom Manley and Jake Benham also suffering an early exit.<\/p>\n After the first runs in Q3, Frederik Rasmussen, Lawrence and Bari Broumand looked like the three to beat, separated by less than a tenth. However, a costly mistake by championship leader Lawrence left him in P5, having spun out at Turn 14. Instead, Red Bull<\/a>\u2019s Rasmussen took his third pole of the season, as Broumand, Ruben Pedreno, and Nicolas Longuet rounded out the top four.<\/p>\n A textbook start from Rasmussen left the Dane comfortably in P1, while Broumand and Pedreno battled it out side-by-side for half a lap before the Iranian eventually kept hold of his P2. The early stages were hampered by a lengthy DRS train, but strategy quickly opened the door for some movement in the field. Defending champion Jarno Opmeer pitted early on Lap 7 at his home race for a two-stop strategy, with the leaders sticking to a one-stop, boxing around five laps later.<\/p>\n The original top five were in the same order with a few laps to go, setting up a potential grandstand finish. Zandvoort delivered exactly that, as into Turn 1 on the final lap, Broumand in the Ferrari<\/a> made his move for the win, sending it down the inside of Rasmussen. The pair were neck and neck through Turn 2 before the Ferrari used the inside line to pull clear on the banked Turn 3, leaving Rasmussen scrambling to keep himself on the track, and the Iranian clear to take the victory.<\/p>\n An incredible win for the man who missed the first half of the season, but one we should have been expecting given his pedigree and his victory here last season. Rasmussen was gutted in P2, but he took his fourth podium in a row, with Aston Martin<\/a>\u2019s Pedreno finishing third to end a run of four races without a point.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, Lawrence\u2019s P5 was enough to maintain his lead in the Drivers\u2019 Championship, Jake Benham\u2019s brilliant overcut strategy allowed him to move from P15 to P7, and Opmeer\u2019s late overtakes were enough to claim a point.<\/p>\n Round 9 \u2013 USA<\/p>\n Mixed conditions returned for COTA Qualifying, as the field did their best to handle the slippery track in Q1, before attempting one lap each on slicks to close the session \u2013 high stakes indeed. Previous podium-sitters Pedreno and Alfie Butcher just missed out, while in Q2, Duncan Hofland was the unlucky man, missing the shootout by just under half a tenth.<\/p>\n