Online racing is a great equalizer, but when Red Bull elite athletes and top-notch entertainers are tossed into the mix, things get unbalanced quickly. Especially when two of the racers are the quirky, slightly unbalanced motocross and supercross star Jett Lawrence and the Red Bull Rallycross racer with a never-ending smile, Scott Speed.
On Friday, a roster of 10 A-list competitors donned their most comfortable uniforms - probably pajamas - and headed to the virtual starting line for the third and final Red Bull Homestretch event. They competed in seven-round, Gran Turismo Sport matchup that included head-to-head duels, zealous alliances and incessant trash talking.
Winning wasn’t necessarily the goal, but it can’t be spliced from a racer’s DNA and Speed was the driver who pulled out the overall victory. He tapped into the race to replace Sergio Perez, who last visited Victory Lane in the real world last week in the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix and Lawrence with his Pro Motocross season-opening win at Fox Raceway.
The 10 competitors raced for points in two teams. Perez was the “Viewer’s Choice” to head the Blue Team while rapper, singer and producer Blxst helmed the Red Team.
Waiting for a mate 🛑 @SChecoPerez having some fun at #RedBullHomestretch 😂🎮 pic.twitter.com/G5ooZxkcaB
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) June 11, 2021
Race 1 went to the Red Team with Lawrence besting the Red Bull Ring Short Track. Race 2 was claimed by Blxst. The Blue Team finally earned a victory in Race 3.
So, in a crazy turn of events after Race 3, Perez recruited a successor, Speed, to take his place and finish the races.
It was the winning move. Speed won two of the remaining four races, including the finale on the famed Red Bull Ring.
One of the highlights of the Red Bull online racing event was Lawrence channeling his inner “Tokyo drift” as he tried to push snowboarder Zeb Powell out of first - but that is hard to do to an athlete accustomed to slippery conditions.
In another amusing moment, Lawrence attempted a victory donut when he thought he’d won before the checkered flag. “I thought the finish line was closer,” he said.
Drivers even flipped the tactical approach on its head several times when they used their last-place position to sabotage the racers lapping them with a sudden game of bumper cars.
Once the virtual smoke cleared, drivers put their differences aside with virtual fist-bumps and complete admiration for each other’s gameplay.
Race Results
- Race 1 – Red Bull Ring Short Track: Jett Lawrence
- Race 2 – Blue Moon Bay Speedway: Blxst
- Race 3 – Kyoto – Miyabi: Matthew Noszka
- Race 4 – Autodromo Nazionale Monza: Zeb Powell
- Race 5 – Tokyo Expressway: Scott Speed
- Race 6 – Sardegna – Windmills II: Matthew Noszka
- Race 7 – Red Bull Ring: Scott Speed
Overall Champion: Scott Speed
Catch up on the action from the Red Bull Homestretch three events on Red Bull Twitch and Red Bull Motorsports YouTube.
