Iwata takes the lead in 2022 WRC Esports at the Rally de Espana

When we talk about WRC the only thing that comes to our mind is superfast, expensive cars and a trail. But, WRC is now not only limited to road-specific races, but the E-Gaming sector is also nurturing WRC for the gamers. Gamers are now competing on an international level in WRC specific games.

The third round of the WRC Esports competition in 2022 confirmed that Kazuho Iwata’s surprise first-round Monte-Carlo victory was no fluke, as the Japanese rookie won convincingly.

Iwata – nicknamed eR Kazunokota – dominated the Rally de Espaa’s deep tarmac cuts, relegating Lohan Blanc – Nexl – to his second consecutive second-place result and secured his overall championship lead.

Despite a strong performance in last month’s Rally Sweden, 2020 WRC Esports champion Sami-Joe Abi Nakhle remained in sixth place, a huge blow to his title ambitions even thus early in the season.

Sami-Joe was considered the quickest WRC Esports participant in 2021, having won 12 out of 13 rallies heading into the 2021 WRC Esports Grand Final. He was also considered the hot favourite for triumph in 2022. However, despite a shaky start to the campaign, Nexl, his main challenger and the winner in 2021, has proven to be more steady so far.

Both have been overtaken by the newcomer Iwata, who finished just under two seconds ahead of Nexl after 27 kilometres of competitive running. John Bebnowicz-Harris – alias Izamusing – of Nexl’s Race Clutch team rounded out the podium.

Zeniou Panagiotis – TNG Zeniou – was the first to fire, beating Iwata to the first Riudecanyes level by 0.2s. Nexl won the second stage, the 5.74km Savallà test, with Iwata a second behind in third. Iwata earned the stage win in the final and longest stage, the 14.44km Querol Reverse, finishing nearly two seconds ahead of Nexl.

WRC ESPORTS 2022, ROUND 3 RESULTS:

1. eR Kazunokota
2. RC LDLC OL Nexl
3. RC Izamusing
4. TNG_Zeniou
5. TENTFS_Machinelv
6. TM_Sami-Joe
7. RC Krim
8. Wil Botti Jr
9. Triton Katana
10. TR-Raphi

From the 18th to the 21st of March, the field will head to the gravel of Wales, where Iwata will aim to build on his early-season success. Will Sami-Joe make a comeback, or will Nexl be able to earn his first triumph in 2022?

Anyone with a copy of WRC10 on Xbox, PlayStation, or PC can qualify for Round 4.