ENES winner Guillaume Deflandre on his love of sim racing
Guillaume Deflandre took the first victory in ENES history last Tuesday – The Belgian has always enjoyed sim racing
Last Tuesday Guillaume Deflandre wrote history in virtual Brands Hatch: He was the first sim racer to write his name on the winner’s list of the brand new EuroNASCAR Esports Series (ENES). The Belgian was very fast in the first points-giving race and secured victory against Alon Day and Andre Castro. Deflandre has been passionate about sim racing since his childhood.
The 25-year-old talked to ‘Leadlap.net’ about his passion: “I have always liked racing games like Project Cars, Gran Turismo and Assetto Corsa. In winter 2017 I discovered iRacing for myself. It is one of the best simulations and really close to reality. There are a lot of fast drivers there, I can train there at home and I have a lot of fun too”.
Despite his experience in iRacing, Deflandre had a tough time getting his first 40 points at the Indy track of Brands Hatch. Alon Day had led the race for a long time until he made a mistake. Then Castro took the lead and Deflandre pushed him out of the way with a bump & run to grab the victory.
“It was a really long race,” Deflandre said. “I had to get my way through pre-qualifying first, what I did. Alon and Andre were going pretty fast. I had to wait for Alon to make a mistake and he did one. After that, it was all about getting through traffic, which went really well.”
The Belgian also comments on the decisive manoeuvre: “Then my tyres briefly locked while braking, which is why there was the small contact with Andre, but it didn’t cause any damage. Afterwards I took the lead, but was put under a lot of pressure by Alon and Andre. One mistake and I would have lost the race.”
For RDV Competition the 40 points that Deflandre has scored for the real #10 car are very important, because the overall ENES ranking will have a direct impact on the team classification of the 2020 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series (NWES). In reality, Ulysse Delsaux is set to drive the car in both championships.
Deflandre has proved in the NWES that he is a real fighter and knows what it takes to win NASCAR races. In his career he has 37 EuroNASCAR 2 and four EuroNASCAR PRO starts under his belt. So far he has taken four win, eleven podium finishes and two pole positions. In addition, the first ENES victory in history is certainly very good addition to that. Whether Deflandre will take the wheel in the real world again in the 2020 season is not yet certain.
“Of course iRacing is a great simulation that a driver can spend many hours with, but the virtual world will never replace the sweet sound of a real V8 beast. Of course, I hope to be able to race in the real EuroNASCAR again. I’m currently looking for ways to find the necessary budget.”
