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As winner of the Born2Drive final, an e-sports competition organised by Porsche Belgium, Calogero Lopez will soon be able to realise a dream: getting behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT2 RS Clubsport on the circuit of the Red Bull Ring in Austria. To achieve this, the 21-year-old from Brussels beat strong opposition during the final at Autoworld Brussels on Saturday February 17th.
For the third consecutive year, the Born2Drive campaign, which concluded at Autoworld on Saturday, was a great success. A year after the selection and final rounds were held at the 100th Brussels Motor Show, the majestic setting of the Autoworld Brussels museum was the setting for all those who dreamed of following the action's slogan: "From Sim Racer to Porsche Driver".
For a fortnight, 972 candidates came to try their luck on one of the simulators set up next to 'Driven by Dreams', a temporary exhibition celebrating 75 years of Porsche. After setting the fastest times on the virtual circuit of Spa-Francorchamps, nine finalists aged between 20 and 33 met on Saturday February 17th. On the programme: a warm-up, a qualifying session and a 45-minute race in virtual Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars (type 992), beautifully decorated in Red Bull colours. Encouraged by spectators who attentively followed the commentary of Thomas Bastin and Gert Vermersch, two well-known voices in Belgian motorsport, the competitors went into battle. Calogero Lopez dominated as he took pole position and did not relinquish it during the race.
"Last year I was already on pole position, but then I finished third after a collision at the start," recalled the 21-year-old from Brussels. "I have to admit it was a huge disappointment. So I prepared even better for this year, by training a lot and taking care of the set-up. I was stressed before the race, but as soon as practice started, I saw that I was in a position to win and make a dream come true. Calogero, a former winner of the Belgian karting championship, had to give up real competition due to a lack of funding. "From then on, Sim Racing became the best alternative for me," he explains. "I participated in a number of online competitions and several races like this one. I have already raced cars on the track, but a Fun Cup is nothing compared to a Porsche 911 GT2 RS Clubsport! But I will prepare in the simulator as usual. As in the first two editions, the winner can switch from a virtual Porsche 911 GT3 Cup to a real Porsche 911 GT2 RS Clubsport, powered by a 700 hp engine. The Red Bull Ring in the Austrian Alps is once again the setting.
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"Well done to all participants in this latest edition of Born2Drive," smiles Jo Peeters, Marketing Manager at Porsche Belgium. "With almost 1,000 candidates, the selection process was a success, and the average age of the participants means we can reach a young audience, which is important for our brand. The beautiful setting of Autoworld, the atmosphere with our professional commentators and the overall quality of the simulators fully met our expectations. "Driven by Dreams" was the theme of Porsche's 75th anniversary exhibition at Autoworld. Looking at the career of Calogero Lopez, that could also have been the slogan for our Born2Drive campaign, to which I would add "Driven by fairplay", as sportsmanship was one of the key words this year. The fact that we were able to link our exhibition and Born2Drive made this final a great success."
