Australian Esports and rally competitor Luca Giacomin has returned home following a solid result at the Asia Pacific Assetto Corsa Shootout in Macau.
Giacomin finished fourth outright out of eight qualified sim racing rally participants, originating from all over the Asia-Pacific region, after narrowly missing out on the final in the semis.
“It definitely was a unique esports event that lived up to expectations for all competitors from an event and sporting perspective,” Giacomin noted.
“The event was conducted as seriously as any motorsport event I’ve competed in Australia.”
Giacomin opened up the Shootout with a strong first showing, winning his quarterfinal against Japan’s driver Kazuho Iwata in a very close stage where Luca had started slower in the first of four sectors, but regained his composure by the second to eventually come away with the win.
Giacomin came up just short in the Semi-Final against Indonesian driver Andika Rama Maulana, missing out on the win by two seconds over a six-minute stage. Maulana then ultimately finished runner-up with the Phillipines’ Matthew Spencer Ang winning the Shootout.
The Aussie representative then settled for fourth following the event’s third-place playoff, where Giacomin had a spin trying to find more speed that he felt was lacking in the Semi-Final.
Giacomin expressed his excitement for the Esports rally community, following his personal experience at the event.
“The FIA team responsible for developing this championship and other FIA Esports Championships are really serious about supporting Esports, even President Mohammed Ben Sulayem made it clear during his talk at our event,” Giacomin added.
“The location of the ‘Galaxy Convention Centre’ in Macau was absolutely stunning to be honest, Macau’s casinos were just jaw dropping from my experience. I arrived in Macau Sunday night and took a small walk through Galaxy Casino before sleep.
“Then Monday was essentially a tourist day where I got to explore a few casinos and hotels in the precinct; The Venetian and Parisian mainly which had remarkable recreations of Venice and Paris.
“Tuesday was a event day where the group had dinner together to celebrate, and then Wednesday was the flight home from Hong Kong. Overall I can only describe the trip as a brilliant experience.”
As for what is next for Giacomin, he will resume his rally campaign in the Victorian Rally Championship while also completing the build of his Subaru WRX production rally car, and has already expressed interest in participating in qualifying ahead of next year’s Asia Pacific Assetto Corsa Shootout.
