GT champion van der Linde wins both Redline races at Watkins Glen

The third round of the virtual series, which brings together over 40 real-life racing stars on iRacing alongside a couple of streamers and guest sim racers, tasked the drivers with racing Supercars around Watkins Glen.

Two-time ADAC GT Masters champion Van der Linde, who made his Formula E rookie test debut in Marrakech earlier this year, dominated the opening race from pole position ahead of 2016 Supercars champion and Redline series debutant Shane van Gisbergen.

DTM racer Daniel Juncadella completed the podium ahead of McLaren Formula 1 driver Lando Norris and Verstappen, who had won three of the first four races including both Catalunya races in GTE machinery on Wednesday.

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Van der Linde faced much stiffer competition in race two, fighting head-to-head with Red Bull Esports driver Frederik Rasmussen all race-long.

Rasmussen wasn't able to qualify for the first race, but he charged from 40th on the grid to finish in 13th place.

The Danish racer, who helped Red Bull to the 2019 F1 Esports Teams' championship, took pole position but made a mistake at the first turn and let van der Linde into the lead.

The duo came to blows on the penultimate lap when Rasmussen tried his luck around the outside of van der Linde, only to be pushed wide and onto the grass.

Rasmussen recovered back to second place, but was unable to prevent van der Linde from taking his third win of the season.

The South African had previously benefitted from contact between Norris and Verstappen to win the second race of the Spa season opener on Monday in Formula 3 cars.

Argentine tin-top racer Agustin Canapino took the final place on the podium, narrowly beating Norris and van Gisbergen.

Verstappen suffered a nightmare start to race two, dropping outside the top 10 after a spin. He recovered to finish in 10th, following home Super Formula champion Nick Cassidy, having spent half the race frustrated behind two-time DTM champion Rene Rast, who provided a robust defence of his position.

Two-time Indy500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya endured another difficult round, as Mercedes Formula E driver Stoffel Vandoorne. The two ex-F1 drivers had incidents in both races.

Verstappen's points lead after six races has been cut from 120 to 68. Van der Linde's double win vaults from fourth to second in the standings, with Juncadella remaining in third place.