How to tune in: eSports on the rise 

The global dark cloud that is the COVID-19 pandemic has very few silver linings, so far. But from adversity comes opportunity, says the adage.

And so it is that eSports – or more particular in this case, eMotorsports – has suddenly come into sharp focus.

F1, Supercars and the carsales TCR Australia Series have all announced plans to race virtually during the COVID-19 mandated competition hiatus.

Other series such as NASCAR have already kicked off an eSport series with some success, attracting large online viewing numbers and plaudits for the quality of the simulation and the racing itself.

Unlike most other sports, simulation already plays a significant part in motorsport driver and vehicle development.

Steve Hoinville, the founder of Motorsport Australia motion simulator ‘partner’, Australian company Motum Simulation, says this in part is smoothing the way for virtual racing to be taken seriously.

“There has been a movement towards increasing use of simulation to supplement or replace ‘real-life’ driver training and coaching,” Hoinville told carsales.

“Although regrettable, the widespread cancellations of events may speed that evolution up – drivers still want to drive, they want to practice and race. And if NASCAR is any barometer, fans still want to watch.

“With the race cancellations – and the eSports announcements – we’ve had a number of drivers and teams wanting to engage with us that previously had little interest in using simulators as a training tool or for online racing.

“The challenge for Motum, and the simulation industry more broadly, is to ensure that quality simulation is accessible and that it remains part of the discussion when regular events resume,” Hoinville commented.

Locally, the carsales ARG eSport Cup has already attracted over 40 entries from within the existing ARG series’ teams and will commence on April 2.

So, where and how do you watch and what is the make-up of the online racing events?

Motum Simulation provided this quick overview of the key current eSport series and, importantly, where you can tune in.

carsales ARG eSport Cup

To be staged around a virtual Mount Panorama circuit, the 10-round series will feature slight variations to a typical TCR Australia weekend.

Drivers will qualify for 20 minutes, and then race across two sessions – one of which will be a 30-minute feature before a second reverse grid race.

The field will be level, with brand allegiances put to one side, as all entrants across TCR, S5000, Touring Car Masters, Trans Am, and V8 Touring Cars compete aboard an Audi RS 3 TCR car. A F3 open-wheeler will be substituted for some rounds.

The bulk of the field will be drivers from the ARG’s suite of categories, with selected guests also welcome to participate.

Platform: iRacing (PC)
Cars: Audi RS 3 TCR, Formula 3
Circuits: Mount Panorama, TBC
Drivers: Limited to ARG’s pool of drivers, and invitational drivers. No professional gamers
Broadcast via: All events streamed live and free on TCR Australia’s digital platforms.

F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix Series

With Formula 1 already advanced in the eSports market, it has utilised its digital brand as a filler for real-world Grand Prix postponements.

The Bahrain Grand Prix was the first of its kind, with an ‘interesting’ line-up of drivers participating in the Formula 1 hosted event.

The series utilises its own licenced F1 2019 game, developed by Codemasters.

Renault Sport Academy and Formula 2 driver Guanyu Zhou claimed honours in the first event. Lando Norris and Nicholas Latifi were the only two current drivers to line-up for their respective teams, with Latifi technically making his Williams debut in the eSports event.

Former Grand Prix drivers Johnny Herbert, Anthony Davidson, Stoffel Vandoorne, Esteban Gutierrez, and Nico Hulkenberg also starred in the Formula 1 event. In some of the more unusual line-ups, One Direction band member Liam Payne represented Williams, golfer Ian Poulter represented Renault, and Olympic track cyclist Sir Chris Hoy represented Red Bull.

The event was focused more on the entertainment value rather than being a viable substitute for a Formula 1 simulation. Footage of Lando Norris calling up the likes of Max Verstappen, George Russell and Carlos Sainz mid-game went viral, as did the final-lap clash between Norris and Racing Point entrant, Jimmy Broadbent.

Australia will stage the next Virtual Grand Prix Series event, with the Albert Park circuit to come back to life in the virtual world on April 5.

Platform: F1 2019 (Xbox/PlayStation/PC)
Cars: Formula 1 – 2019 specification
Drivers: Mix of actual and former Grand Prix drivers, drivers from other motorsport categories, sports stars, esports athletes and personalities
Broadcast via: Twitch, F1TV, Facebook

Supercars Allstars Eseries

The Supercars Championship has also been fortunate to already have had involvement in the eSports arena.

Its first attempt in 2018 was met with mixed reviews, as critics lamented the use of Xbox’s Forza Motorsport 7 over more hard-core simulation games such as rFactor or iRacing.

Last year (2019), Supercars respond by opting to use iRacing, and up its level of broadcast with events televised live on host broadcaster, Fox Sports.

The category has also had close involvement with the developers of the iRacing platform, with the Holden ZB Commodore and more recently the Ford Mustang superseding the ageing VF Commodore and FG Falcon.

Twenty-five starters are expected, with the entire real-world Supercars grid set to take part.

Many Supercar drivers are well versed in eSports – in particular Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen, who are prolific racers in the virtual scene in their own right.

Walkinshaw Andretti United already has formal arrangements with Motum Simulation. The squad used the Australian technology to ‘train’ 2019 Bathurst 1000 wildcards, US racers James Hinchcliffe and Alexander Rossi. Further, WAU have now embedded simulation and Motum’s products as a core element of their ongoing engineering program.

Platform: iRacing (PC)
Cars: Holden ZB Commodore, Ford Mustang Supercars
Drivers: Virgin Australia Supercars Championship drivers
Broadcast via: Fox Sports, Kayo, Supercars.com

eNASCAR Pro Invitiational iRacing Series 

NASCAR has been the biggest winner in the battle for eSports eyeballs over the last few weeks.

Its inaugural event it set a record for an eSports event on American television – and potentially the world. The event attracted almost a million viewers (903,000 to be precise) on US Fox Sports (FS1).

Denny Hamlin won the first event at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Hamlin was also victorious in the real-world Daytona 500 earlier in the year.

Hamlin admitted he received a shook can of Coca-Cola from his daughter, who acted as his pit crew, during a caution period and competed barefoot! Such is the world of eSports…

Texas Motor Speedway will be the next event in the series this coming weekend (Monday AM, Australian time)

“This rapid-fire collaboration between FOX Sports, NASCAR and iRacing obviously has resonated with race fans, gamers and television viewers across the country in a very positive way,” stated Brad Zager, FOX Sports Executive Producer, EVP/Head of Production & Operations.

“We have learned so much in a relatively short period of time, and we are excited to expand coverage of this brand-new NASCAR esports series to an even wider audience.”

The FOX NASCAR broadcast team of Jeff Gordon, Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds will commentate on the series with NASCAR CUP SERIES driver Clint Bowyer providing ‘in-car’ commentary.

Platform: iRacing (PC)
Cars: NASCAR
Drivers: 2020 NASCAR entrants
Broadcast: Fox Sports USA

IndyCar iRacing Challenge 

IndyCar’s answer to the eNASCAR debut is just a few days away. The inaugural IndyCar iRacing Challenge is described as “a virtual race among the series' best” and will kick off this Saturday (March 28) afternoon US time (early Sunday AM in Oz).

It too will be iRacing based and INDYCAR is promising weekly events through to May 2.

It will be streamed through IndyCar.com, the series’ YouTube and Facebook channels as well as iRacing's Twitch service.

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES says most of its drivers own and use iRacing to “varying degrees”.

“Some drivers are more active than others, which means their skill sets vary,” its release stated.

All cars will have a static set-up. Poster boy for the virtual foray is Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Wix Filters Chevrolet driver, Sage Karam says: “With open setups, I would do better, for sure. But for fairness, this is the best thing for everyone – and the fans."

Platform: iRacing (PC)
Cars: IndyCar
Drivers: 2020 IndyCar entrants
Broadcast: IndyCar.com, YouTube, Facebook and Twitch.

FIA Gran Turismo Championship

The disruption set about by the COVID-19 pandemic has not, however, left the virtual world immune. The FIA Gran Turismo Championship has been postponed, with the 2020 series to start anew from April 25.

The FIA-sanctioned championship is unique in that it visits the globe in physical locations, with the most recent event held in Sydney, Australia as recently as mid-February earlier this year.

The championship structure and calendar will now be amended to adapt to global travel restrictions.