Silverstone, UK – January 5, 2022. Names from Formula One and the motorsport world at large, familiar to all, are joining with some of the most successful sim racing teams in existence to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual. The finale to the 2021-22 Le Mans Virtual Series will take place online on 15/16 January, and the list of drivers will include champions from F1, IndyCar, WEC, GT Racing in Europe and the USA and many, many more well-known names. The full driver list will be released on Friday, January 7, 2022.
The event brings together the world’s best professional drivers and sim racers, teamed together for 24 hours of virtual racing around the legendary French track and the whole event will be televised live across the world via a special TV programme to be made live from Paris.
Real world interest in the virtual world
The 50-strong team entry list reveals that Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports will be making its debut in the Le Mans Virtual Series, competing against Alpine Esports and Red Bull Racing Esports – the official sim racing divisions of the F1 Grand Prix teams. Joining them will be an all-female team from the W Series, an official Prodrive Esports team, and a return to the spotlight for a famous French racing name, Pescarolo. They will line up alongside Le Mans Virtual Series full season endurance esports entries from Team WRT, JOTA, Panis Racing, Duqueine, GR Racing, Proton Competition, Team Project 1 and D’Station Racing.
The crème de la crème of sim racers will be representing such well-known esports teams as Rebellion GPX Esports, Rocket Simsport, Floyd ByKolles Burst, R8G Esports, Team Redline, Veloce Esports, Team Fordzilla and SIMMSA Esports. The list is long and exciting.
GTE’s diversity as impressive as at the real 24 Hours of Le Mans
The entries for the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual are split into two categories of cars, LMP and GTE. While all LMP teams will use the ORECA 07 LMP2 model, the range and variety of GTE cars entered strongly reflects the diversity and popularity of the virtual race’s real-life heritage. Ferrari’s official FDA Esports Team will compete with a Ferrari 488 GTE, also used by SIMMSA Esports, while Porsche Esports Team leads the way for no fewer than 10 Porsche 911 RSR GTE entries.
Current GTE championship leader BMW Team Redline is one of five teams using the BMW M8 GTE – the W Series entry opting for this model for their entry to endurance racing. Two Aston Martin Vantage GTE cars, including one from Prodrive Esports, and two Corvette C8.Rs make up the extremely competitive and always entertaining GTE category
The full team list can be found HERE
The full entry list including driver line ups will be released on January 7, but in the meantime more information about Le Mans Virtual Series including press releases, visuals, official poster and a presentation can be found HERE. All information on the event can also be found on www.lemansvirtual.com.
For further media information contact Fiona Miller, Miller Media & Communications, on +44 7770 371332 or miller.media10@btinternet.com
About Le Mans Virtual Series
Le Mans Virtual Series is a global, elite esports series made up of 5 rounds which bring together endurance racing and sim racing’s top teams to compete on some of the world’s most famous racetracks. International FIA-licensed real-world drivers are teamed up with leading esports protagonists to take on endurance classics for a total prize fund of US$250,000, culminating in the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual which will take place live and televised at the Autosport Show International in Birmingham, UK. The Le Mans Virtual Series is a joint venture between leading racing game developer, publisher and esports ecosystem provider of official motorsport racing series throughout the world, Motorsport Games, and ACO-the creator and organizer of the world-famous 24 Hours of Le Mans and promoter of the FIA WEC. www.lemansvirtual.com
Round 1 4 Hours of Monza, Italy September 25, 2021
Round 2 6 Hours of Spa, Belgium October 16, 2021
Round 3 8 Hours of Nürburgring, Germany November 13, 2021
Round 4 4 Hours of Sebring, USA December 18, 2021
Round 5 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual January 15/16, 2022
About Motorsport Games
Motorsport Games, a Motorsport Network company, combines innovative and engaging video games with exciting esports competitions and content for racing fans and gamers around the globe. The Company is the officially licensed video game developer and publisher for iconic motorsport racing series, including NASCAR, INDYCAR, 24 Hours of Le Mans, KartKraft, rFactor 2 and the British Touring Car Championship (“BTCC”), across PC, PlayStation, Xbox, the Nintendo Switch and mobile. Motorsport Games is an award-winning esports partner of choice for 24 Hours of Le Mans, Formula E, BTCC, the FIA World Rallycross Championship and the eNASCAR Heat Pro League, among others. For more information about Motorsport Games, visit www.motorsportgames.com