AMP eSeries Round Three Review

For the third round of The AMP eSeries sponsored by DiscoveryParts, the virtual racers returned to a road course as they battled around the streets of Belle Isle. The circuit, which is most well known for hosting the Indycar Detroit GP, proved to be a challenge for most of the drivers due to the circuit’s technical nature and small room for error with the walls lining the track.

Max Muir clinched pole position with Cameron Dance and Brandt Estes close behind. The opening lap saw a major pileup in the midfield involving several cars, but they were able to use their quick fixes and get back to racing quickly. 

At the front of the field, Muir led from pole, but was under pressure from Dance until Dance took too much curb on lap two and spun. Championship leader Dance fell back to ninth but was caught up in another collision later in the race that completely took him out of contention for the win. 

Estes inherited second place and pressured Muir during the first stint but was unable to attempt any overtakes due to the extremely tight nature of the Belle Isle circuit. Estes tried to take the lead in the pits by stopping one lap earlier, but traffic caused him to lose time and Muir emerged from the pits with an even larger advantage than before. 

Further back, Zach Holden was running in a career-best third before overshooting his pit box and falling back behind Ryan Flannery who he was unable to pass for the remainder of the race. 

Estes quickly caught Muir after their pitstops and was able to pull alongside the race leader but could never make the pass stick. Muir covered the inside line through every corner, forcing Estes to try a move around the outside which was near impossible. On the final lap, Estes was doing everything in his power to get around Muir, and all hope seemed lost until Muir clipped the wall on the exit of the final corner and broke his rear suspension. 

Estes seized the opportunity and was able to get his front wing ahead as they crossed the finish line 0.027 hundredths apart. The photo finish was proof that the smallest of mistakes could be the difference between winning and losing. 

Cameron Dance recovered to 7th which allowed him to maintain his championship lead as the AMP eSeries travels to a virtual Brands Hatch for round four. Make sure you tune in to our Facebook Live on Wednesday at 9 PM to catch all the action.