Abt had no intention to deceive fans in eSports incident

Daniel Abt has released a statement on YouTube to explain what happened in the fifth round of Formula E’s Race At Home Challenge eSports event.

Abt was disqualified from the race and has subsequently had his contract with Audi Sport terminated.

After finishing the race in third place, it was discovered that professional sim racer Lorenz Hörzing was instead competing for Abt.

In the video Abt said that he intended to have Hörzing race in his place as “a joke” and would later create a video detailing Hörzing’s experience for his YouTube channel.

The idea of Hörzing standing in for him came about during a Twitch stream. Abt did not name Hörzing in his video.

“In this stream, on this day, we had a conversation and the idea came up that it would be a funny move if a simracer basically drove for me to show the other, real, drivers what he is capable of,” said Abt.

“We wanted to document it and create a funny story for the fans with it.

“So we talked about it, we thought about how to make it happen, how to document it and how to unwind it in a video afterwards.

“It is also very important to me to say that it was never my intention to let another driver drive for me to get a result and keep quiet about it later on just to make me look better.”

The two-time Formula E race winner divulged that he did not take the eSports event as seriously as other drivers, and used it as a way to entertain his fans.

Abt also stated that he made no effort to disguise the fact that Hörzing was instead competing at home in Austria.

“We didn’t hide that by using a VPN account and trying to work around it,” said Abt.

“No, we consciously left this the way it was because we didn’t have the intention that this wouldn’t be recognised.”

In the 15 minute video, Abt also gave details of the charity, that helps to mobilise the disabled, who he donated his €10,000 fine to.

Abt, who said that he is feeling “pain which I have never felt in this way in my life”, is yet to decide on the next step of his career.

Abt suspended by Audi after using sim racer in Formula E’s Race At Home Challenge

Daniel Abt has been suspended by the Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler Formula E Team with immediate effect after using a sim racer to compete in his place for the Race At Home Challenge eSports race.

Abt was disqualified from the fifth round of the series after it emerged that professional sim racer Lorenz Hörzing was instead competing in his place.

Audi Sport said in a statement: “Daniel Abt did not drive his car in qualifying and the race at the fifth event of the Race at Home Challenge on May 23 himself, but let a professional Sim-Racer do so.

“He directly apologised for this on the following day and accepted the disqualification.

“Integrity, transparency and consistent compliance with applicable rules are top priorities for Audi – this applies to all activities the brand is involved in without exception.

“For this reason, Audi Sport has decided to suspend Daniel Abt with immediate effect.”

Abt has competed in Formula E since its inaugural season in 2014 and has won two races.

Abt disqualified from Formula E eSports race for using sim racer

Audi driver Daniel Abt has been disqualified from the fifth round of the virtual Race At Home Challenge, after it was discovered that a sim racer competed in his place.

The fifth round took place at the Tempelhof in Berlin and Abt originally finished the race in third place.

Some drivers were quick to draw criticism of Abt’s driving in the race, with Mercedes’ Stoffel Vandoorne accusing him of not being at the wheel.

Vandoorne also attempted to phone Abt after the race, live on his Twitch stream, but he did not answer.

Suspicions arouse when Abt was not clearly visible in a Zoom call of all 20 drivers, and he did not take part in the post-race press conference.

It was discovered that 18 year old professional sim racer Lorenz Hörzing was instead competing for Abt.

Formula E have disqualified Abt due to “sporting misconduct”, stripped him of all points scored in the Race At Home Challenge and fined him €10,000 which must be donated to a charity of his choice.

Hörzing, meanwhile, has been banned from competing in future Challenge Grid rounds.

“I would like to apologise to Formula E, all of my fans, my team and my fellow drivers for having called in outside help during the race on Saturday,” said Abt.

“I did not take it as seriously as I should have. I am especially sorry about this because I know how much work has gone into this project on the part of the Formula E organisation.

“I am aware that my offence has a bitter aftertaste, but it was never meant with any bad intention.

“Of course, I accept my disqualification from the race.”

Jaguar I-PACE eTrophy to close at the end of the season

The Jaguar I-PACE eTrophy will come to an end, after just two seasons, at the end of the year, due to uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The eTrophy series commenced in 2018 as the support category for the ABB Formula E championship, and was won by Sérgio Jimenez in the Pro class and Bandar Alesayi in the Pro-Am class.

Jaguar will now focus fully on its team in Formula E, which currently fields Mitch Evans and James Calado.

In its first season there were 12 cars on the grid, but this fell to 10 in its second season.

Jaguar Racing Team Director James Barclay said: “Over the last two seasons, the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY has produced some incredible racing around the world and has been a valuable addition to the Formula E schedule.

“Along with our valued entrants and series partners, we are proud of having created a true world-first with the I-PACE eTROPHY. Together we have pioneered battery electric vehicle racing.

“We would like to thank them for joining us on this journey and turning the vision into reality, helping show the industry what is possible in terms of electrification in motorsport.

“The series has realised many of the targets we set out to achieve.

“However, during these unprecedented times of the coronavirus pandemic, we have reviewed our strategy and made the decision to withdraw the Jaguar I-PACE eTrophy series after two successful seasons.

“We remain fully committed to electric motorsport and our Jaguar Racing Formula E programme as an important part of our transition to electric mobility.

“I’m looking forward to the Formula E and eTrophy seasons resuming if and when it is safe for our team, partners and fans to do so.”

The eTrophy series has become the first motorsport championship to be cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Formula E CEO Jamie Reigle added: “Jaguar are fantastic partners on and off the track.

“The success of the eTrophy in taking the pioneering technology Jaguar developed through Formula E and applying it to high-performance production cars is a testament to their branding and engineering capabilities.

“At Formula E, we’re delighted to have supported this project, which showcases how we enable our partners to leverage our platform to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles.

“We look forward to continuing to work with Jaguar Racing on their Formula E programme.”

FIA announces safety innovations after review of 2019 accident data

The FIA has announced a series of new safety measures after reviewing the data from serious accidents in 2019.

The FIA safety department looked into 28 serious and fatal accidents related to circuit racing, which was supported by the ASN (National Sporting Authority) in each country.

The changes include “new innovations in circuit infrastructure”, “the development of new tools and operational best practice for circuit race direction”, as well as improvements to the cars.