Recent developments in sustainable technology have accelerated the transition to electric cars in competitive sports racing. Formula One, the highest class of individual auto-racing, has worked closely with virtual reality technology to integrate electric cars into their racing scheme, hoping to attract new fans and audiences to the sport.
With the recent rise in e-sports and sustainability efforts worldwide, the introduction of the FIA Formula E Championship series has been expected to become the world’s first all-electric motor racing series. In order to demonstrate the potential of sustainable mobility, Formula E’s technology will make little noise, offer emission free charging for cars, and offer racers the opportunity to create their own new motor, inverter and gearbox solutions to improve the electric car technology.
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“We think e-sports (electronic sports) is a huge opportunity and we want to be the first ones fully immersed in that,” said Alejandro Agag, Formula E CEO. “This will be the first virtual race with 20 professional drivers of a racing championship on a big stage and with a very large prize fund.”
Formula E plans to host a virtual race in Las Vegas next January for all eager participants. With a jackpot prize of a little over $1 million, gaining entrance to this new championship series must be set up in an organized and fair system. To qualify for this race, an online competition will be launched three months in advanced to the championship’s date, and five competitors will have a chance to secure their spots on the roster.
“I think this is probably an experiment,” continued Agag on the race in January. “Depending on how it goes I could envisage that some of these virtual races could give points for a championship in the future, but not now.”
Hopefully the idea of pitting e-sports enthusiasts and professional drivers against one another in a racing simulator is enticing enough to attract a large crowd for this event, helping it become a staple in Formula racing. Right now, the Formula E technology is much slower than standard Formula One cars, but major manufacturers like Audi, Citroen, and Renault are involved to help mitigate this obvious difference in intensity.
Insight! How #eSport is bringing fans closer to #FormulaEhttps://t.co/cpvcjhCXpv pic.twitter.com/qZh2ALmZyk
— FIA Formula E (@FIAformulaE) June 21, 2016
“The fun thing would be for a gamer to win it against the professional drivers,” said Agag. “Gamers…are normally better at games than drivers. On the other hand, drivers are better than gamers at quickly getting the feel of a racetrack. It’s going to be an interesting competition.”
In the eRace exhibition, one selected driver per team will go head-to-head in a simulator race against another driver. The event will be held in front of thousands of attendees with the entire race broadcasted live on the Formula E YouTube channel. In the Pro Series, top 10 finishers from around the world who logged into the Forza Motorsport 6 ‘Rivals’ mode will then have a chance to solidify their spots in the championship series held live in Battersea Park during the final rounds of the season in London.
“It’s very difficult, because of the technology and the speed of the broadband, to have drivers racing at the same time in the race which is what we would have dreamt of when we started Formula E,” noted Agag. “On the other hand, there are many other things that are now becoming possible — like this e-race.”
If this trend in sustainable sporting events continues, e-racing could very well overtake Formula One racing within the next five years according to British entrepreneur Richard Branson. The concept of a virtual race is simply much safer and more accessible to the general crowd, so integrating new fans to this sport is a huge possibility.
It will certainly be interesting to see how the virtual race in Las Vegas plays out.