Dorian Lelievre Stands Atop the Podium After Final Lap Battle during Round 11 of the Radical SimRacing European Championship - 9/29/2024

After a thrilling day of competition during the 11th round of the Radical SimRacing European Championship, Dorian Lelievre of Worx Sim Racing was able to stay resilient for the final race of the day, leading to his P1 finish at the conclusion of the 11th round race hosted at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps.

The Frenchman started the race with the goal of achieving a clean performance, and since his championship campaign hadn’t gone the way he had hoped at the beginning of round 11, he was confident that he could make his own luck around the Belgian circuit. Despite the season not going to plan, Dorian knew that he could find strong pace at larger circuits like Spa-Francorchamps and knew that he needed to focus on getting into a competitive position. Unfortunately, after missing qualifying, Dorian started the event’s first race, a 15-minute sprint, in P13. However, Dorian’s luck shifted in his favor, and after successfully dodging a multi-car pileup into La Source during the first lap of the race, he was able to find his way to the front of the pack, battling with the leaders of the AM class. At the end of the sprint race, Dorian found himself in P1, setting himself up for a great opportunity to claim the top step in the evening’s 45-minute feature race.

As the sun fell behind the Belgian hills, the 45-minute feature race began with Dorian starting P8 overall and P1 in the AM class. As the green flag dropped, Dorian made a defensive move that held off P2 from attempting to take the lead of the race. After the first lap, Dorian found himself gaining two positions overall and following the leading group around the circuit. “I was very cautious and stayed in 6th place for a long time to save some fuel,” Dorian said after the race. “But after saving, I decided to push a few laps before the pit stop in order to have a well-placed pit entry and to avoid being blocked by other cars.” Just before the stop, Dorian was able to claim P1 overall, but after coming in for his pit stop and adding slightly too much fuel, he conceded P2 overall but was still leading the AM class.

With 15 minutes remaining, the top 5 were all battling for the lead of the race, and with a comfortable spot in P3 Dorian was waiting for his chance to make a move on the leaders in an effort to reclaim P1.  As the pack went past the start/finish line for the final time, Dorian made his move early and was able to work past both cars ahead - comfortably holding the lead down the Kemmel straight.  “From that point I knew that I was safe until the final chicane” Dorian said, “As we came down to the final chicane, the driver in P2 attempted to make an overtake at Blanchimont, I held my line which put me at the inside of the chicane and gave me a better exit to the finish”.  With a better run out of the final chicane, the Frenchman was able to cross the line ahead of P2 by less than half a car length, claiming the top step of the podium and solidifying a fantastic weekend with a rewarding P1 finish overall in the feature race.