Tuomas Tähtelä, the two-time champion of Finland in digital car racing, will defend his title on Saturday in the SC final. The competition can be seen live on Areena from 16:00 and the decision moments on TV2 at 17:00.
This year, e-sports will also be contested during the championship week. The fate of the two championships will be decided in Salohalli on Saturday evening, as the winner of the competition will be awarded both the AKK SM title of the national sports association of motor sports and the eSM title of the Finnish electronic sports association SEUL.
The 2022 Finnish champion of digital track racing is determined using the iRacing simulator platform. As cars, the competitors have virtual versions of the cars of the Italian Dallara LMP2 class, and the track is the legendary Interlagos of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The 20 drivers of the competition were selected through the Salo qualifying series. He drove to victory in the five-race series Lassi Juurinenwho also won one competition in the series.
The 27-year-old Juurinen is a newcomer to domestic racing fields. For a car mechanic living in Järvenpää, the sport has offered a pleasant counterbalance to work and the opportunity to compete among the world’s best.
The victory in the qualifying series was a surprise for Juurinen
Juurinen, who created an iRacing account in 2019, has risen rapidly towards the top of Finland. However, the victory in the qualifying series was also a surprise for the driver himself.
– I didn’t expect this at all. Of course, the car suits my driving style and not all the hardest drivers finished the series, but the victory was a surprise, Juurinen tells Urheilu.
In the qualifying series, Juurinen still represented the German Impulse Racing team, but switched to Finnish KOVA Esports in the spring. With the change of team, Juurinen has been able to train even better than before.
– The more experienced teammates have helped me a lot with my own driving. Telemetry loops have been looked at and more speed has been found, especially in braking, says Juurinen.
Familiar top names against new challengers
Arriving in Salo as the reigning champion of the KOVA drivers Tuomas Tähtelä had to miss the qualifying series, but otherwise the team’s performance in the qualifying series was convincing.
Last year’s bronze medalist Antti Aholawho in 2020 won the SM bronze Valtteri Alanderwith the victory of the opening round of the qualifying series, claiming the place in the final Matti Sipilän and the fifth place finisher in the qualifying series Oskari Rinne tips and training help have helped Juuri develop as a driver. The team’s drivers have been training independently and also together, which has made it possible to test race strategies.
In Salo, KOVA’s six will be met by a familiar rival from Finnish e-sports fields. In the CS:GO game, HAVU, which is fighting with KOVA for the title of the number one team in Finland, attached the drivers of Inertia Simracing to its team, and the team will make its debut on virtual racetracks in Salo.
HAVU’s drivers in Salo include, among others, a two-time Finnish champion Matti Kaidesoja and won silver last year Matias Vitikainen. Juurinen still considers his own teammates to be the toughest competitors in the fight for the SM title.
– We have talked among the team that conquering the top 6 could be a good goal, Juurinen says and laughs.
A debut is also planned for Juurinen, who will compete in the finals for the first time in a lane event.
– Tuomas (Tähtelä) and Matti (Sipilä) are at least going really hard. At least I haven’t felt any pressure yet. It’s good to leave as a dark horse, Juurinen states.
The sports multi-sport event Championship week is underway in Salo. The broadcast of the digital track car championship final starts at Areena at 4:00 p.m. and the final moments of the competition will also be shown on TV2 from 5:00 p.m. See all broadcast times of the SM week here.