A groundbreaking multi-year partnership between Fanatec and the SRO Motorsports Group will see professional GT drivers compete in sim racing as a part of the GT World Challenge and GT2 European Series.
- The sim racing hardware brand has committed to being the title sponsor of the GT World Challenge Powered by AWS and the new GT2 European Series.
- This will see the SRO and Fanatec pioneer the integration of eSports and real world racing from 2021.
- Professional GT drivers will compete in eSports races using Assetto Corsa Competizione to score points contributing to real-world championships.
Fanatec and the SRO Motorsports Group have recently agreed to a multi-year parternship, that will see the Geman sim racing hardware brand become the title sponsor of the GT World Challenge by AWS and the brand new GT2 European Series.
This partnership is far more than just a title sponsorship however, and bears significance because it will see the first true marriage of eSports and real-world racing in a championship. At each of the five rounds on the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup calendar, an on-site eSports contest will take place between the competing teams.
Both Pro and Silver teams will be represented by one of their drivers in a virtual race, and for the first time ever, the results of the event will contribute to the championship points scored by teams at the race weekend.
The on-site events will be run in collaboration with Gaming PC manufacturers, eSports organisers and sim racing specialists, AK Informatica. The races will be done using Assetto Corsa Competizione, with it being the official video game of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Powered by AWS. Official rules and regulations will be released in due course.
Founder and CEO of the SRO Motorsports Group, Stephane Ratel, expressed his excitement about this milestone for the worlds of motorsport and sim racing:
"We are delighted that Fanatec will greatly enhance its partnership with SRO this season by becoming title sponsor of both GT World Challenge Powered by AWS and the GT2 European Series. I am excited by the initiatives that our collaboration can produce, particularly by integrating real-world racing and simulation.
"Having pioneered the introduction of Balance of Performance and driver categorisation, SRO has earned a reputation for breaking new ground within the sport. Now, we are proud to be at the forefront of another revolutionary moment as the first championship to merge virtual and real racing. It is clear that GT racing is immensely popular within the esports community, which speaks to its potential globally.
"As a leader in its field of expertise, Fanatec can play a crucial role in the project. This is also a tremendous boost for the Fanatec GT2 European Series, which I am very excited to see launch at Monza in April. Everything is now in place to ensure a strong maiden season for our new category."
The news comes off the back of Fanatec revealing their "crossover" steering wheel, that can be used within a simulator, or in the cockpit of the BMW M4 GT3, which will of course be the case in the GT World Challenge series. Endor AG CEO, Thomas Jackermeier expressed admiration for the category and was pleased by Ratel's open-mindedness in expanding their existing partnership:
“There are good reasons why this series is the most popular GT series in the world. Stephane Ratel is leading the industry with innovative changes and he was very open when I introduced my ideas about a combined sim racing motorsport series to him.
"Allowing virtual race events to contribute to real-world championship points is the ultimate acknowledgement that sim racing has truly arrived on the big stage. It sets the bar high for other racing disciplines to integrate esports in more meaningful ways in the future.”
The partnership marks a very significant step in the relevance of eSports and simulation to the world of motorsport. In recent years we have seen various categories run eSports events, but never before have they formed part of a real-world championship.
