© Tom Morley2026 F1 Sim Racing Championship - Event 3 ReportSecuring A Historic First Victory and 1-2 Finish at Spa
RacingBullsdeliveredthestrongesteventintheteam’sF1SimRacinghistoryduringEvent3ofthe2026season,securingamaidenvictoryandtheorganisation’sfirstever1-2finishinthechampionship.
Across races in Belgium, the Netherlands and the United States, the team continued to show front-running pace and strong consistency as Racing Bulls climbed further up the Teams’ Championship standings.
The third event of the season began at Spa-Francorchamps, with Ozyildirim and Manley immediately looking competitive in mixed conditions.
A bold late switch onto soft tyres during qualifying proved the perfect strategy call, with Ozyildirim securing pole position and Manley qualifying P3.
“[The strategy] was a very big gamble,” explained Ozyildirim after qualifying. “I just trusted my engineer on what he said and it was right, so I’m very happy!”
Wet conditions remained for the race before the circuit slowly dried, creating a strategic battle around tyre changes.
Manley was among the first drivers to gamble on slick tyres, while Ozyildirim extended his first stint out front. The strategy worked perfectly, with Racing Bulls emerging into a historic 1-2 formation after the pit cycle.
Media Duty For Manley© Tom Morley
Excellent tyre management and teamwork allowed the pair to control the closing stages, with Ozyildirim securing his maiden F1 Sim Racing victory and Manley crossing the line P2.
“It is my first win after a few podiums and a few unfortunate events,” said Ozyildirim afterwards.
“Finally, Racing Bulls can show what we can do this year, so we are really happy!”
The result marked Racing Bulls’ best finish in the championship since joining the series in 2018.
Ulas In The Zone© Tom Morley
Following the highs of Spa, Racing Bulls rotated drivers for the Dutch Grand Prix, with Törmälä stepping in alongside Manley.
A difficult qualifying session left the pair starting P12 and P16 respectively, with overtaking proving difficult around the tight Zandvoort circuit.
After briefly running inside the points, Manley eventually finished P13 while Törmälä crossed the line P16.
Joni Bringing His Experience To The Team© Tom Morley
For the final race of Event 3, Ozyildirim returned to the line-up alongside Törmälä at Circuit of the Americas.
Wet conditions once again shaped qualifying, with Ozyildirim securing P6 on the grid while Törmälä narrowly missed out on Q3 in P12.
An aggressive undercut strategy helped Ozyildirim move forward during the race, but contact and penalties later on dropped him back down the order. Törmälä’s alternate strategy also failed to deliver the expected gains.
The final classification saw Ozyildirim finish P10 and Törmälä P13 after penalties were applied.
Tom Pushing On© Tom Morley
- Team Standings: P5 - 101 points
- Ulas Ozyildirim: P6 – 72 points
- Tom Manley: P14 – 27 points
- Joni Törmälä: P21 – 2 points
After three events, Racing Bulls moved up to P5 in the Teams’ Championship following a 45-point weekend, with the team now firmly establishing itself as a regular front-running contender in the 2026 F1 Sim Racing World Championship.
Making Those Strategy Calls© Tom Morley
