Fresh off the back of a starring role in Aston Martin Cognizant Esport Team's opening-round victory in the V10-R League, Lucas Blakeley recaps the team's journey towards its Esport debut.
The first round of the V10-R League season took in two Team and two Relay races across Spa and Monza on Assetto Corsa, with individual displays and teamwork both rewarded in the battle against Romain Grosjean’s R8G Esports Team.
Winning all four races, Aston Martin Cognizant Esports Team made a commanding start to Group A as it seeks to earn a place in the playoffs.
Lucas played a starring role in all four victories by taking pole-to-flag wins in both Team races, while also putting in strong laps alongside Daniele Haddad and Shanaka Clay as the trio expertly executed the Relay races.
“It was the perfect start to the season,” said Lucas. “It’s impossible to make predictions until you really get going, especially as you’ll never know where your competitors are.
“That meant our focus was entirely on ourselves over the winter, both as a team and individuals, to put in the hard work to make improvements.
“We’re delighted with the results and it’s great to be back racing for the team again.”
Team defeats Romain Grosjean's R8G in opener
The Aston Martin Cognizant Esports Team era began with a clean sweep of victories over R8G Esports Team in the opening round of the V10-R League in a thrilling head-to-head battle across the legendary Monza and Spa circuits.
Aston Martin Cognizant Esports Team and its drivers built on the foundations of Team Silverstone, which took part in the inaugural season of the V10-R League last year.
It proved a steep learning curve as the drivers got to grips with the 900bhp V10 single-seater, while the unique format also proved a challenge in races such as the Relay.
While the team did win races in 2020, it was a challenging debut season as the team expanded its Esports programme alongside the F1 Esports Pro Series.
“The first season was a baptism of fire,” explained Lucas. “It was so new and we’ve never driven anything quite like this car.
“The first season was OK, but we were just learning so much each round. We knew we had to keep on an upward trend and over the off-season it was about applying those lessons so we could get off on the right foot this year.”
The V10-R League has expanded to 10 teams in 2021, creating a field of leading Esports teams that includes Red Bull, Williams, R8G Esports, Team Redline, Suzuki, Ford and more.
“It’s been great to see more teams added to the field,” added Lucas. “Two more teams shows the growth of the series and it shows just how hard we’ll have to work to stay ahead of the competition.”
Aston Martin Cognizant Esports Team will face Yas Marina Esports in the second round of the V10-R League on April 19 at 19:00 BST.
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