Mitchell deJong finished 10th at Indianapolis to clinch the first-ever Porsche Esports Carrera Cup North America title.

Mitchell deJong finished 10th at Indianapolis to clinch the first-ever Porsche Esports Carrera Cup North America title, while Sean Campbell became the first driver other than deJong to earn a victory, winning Round 5 at the virtual Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

The race opened with the field tightly packed into Turn 1, with multiple cars running side-by-side through the opening sequence. DeJong and Xander Reed moved to the front early and controlled the pace, while a large lead group remained within reach on the straights.

For much of the first half, the order remained stable at the front. DeJong and Reed traded small advantages but stayed clear of immediate pressure, with the fight behind them building rather than breaking apart.

That changed dramatically with 18 minutes remaining.

Contact between deJong and Reed while battling for the lead broke up what had been another controlled run at the front for Coanda Esports. Both drivers dropped into traffic, handing the lead to Aiden Mataj and bringing a multi-car lead group back into contention.

Campbell avoided the incident and moved into position. He cleared Ross O’Connor for second, then closed on Mataj as the front two began to edge away.

With eight minutes to go, Campbell made the decisive move down the inside into turn one.

Behind them, the race stayed compressed. Positions changed constantly through the top 10, while deJong worked through traffic after the contact, focusing on maintaining the position needed to secure the title.

The final dramatic moment came on the final lap.

Mataj closed to within a few tenths through the final sector and committed to a late move. He sent the car to the inside under braking, with Campbell leaving the door open on entry before immediately switching back on exit.

Mataj overshot the corner and ran wide onto the grass. Campbell cut underneath, reclaimed the lead and controlled the run to the line.

“I saw him start to go really deep into the braking zone,” Campbell said. “At that point I knew he was going to try something, so I focused on getting the exit right rather than forcing it on entry.”

“As soon as I saw how fast he was coming in, I knew he wasn’t going to make the corner. So I let him go in, crossed back underneath, and once I had the exit, that was it.”

Campbell held the position through the final corners to take his first win of the season ahead of Mataj, ending deJong’s run of victories.

“I had to manage the tires at the end,” Campbell said. “I backed it down a bit, got them back, and just made sure I didn’t make a mistake when it mattered.”

Gregory Hovesen finished third after emerging from the lead group battles, followed by Alex Johnson and Antoine Lacharite. Michael Janney was sixth, with Ross O’Connor, Guillaume Lévesque and Kevin Desnoyers completing the top nine.

DeJong crossed the line in 10th, his lowest finish of the season, but with Reed finishing behind him, it secured the Porsche Esports Carrera Cup North America title. It was not the clean finish he had managed in earlier rounds, but it was enough to complete the job heading into the finale next week on the iRacing virtual version of Road Atlanta.