The current pandemic has caused an unprecedented situation worldwide, has affected our day-to-day activities and also the whole sporting calendar. The motor racing might have stopped, but a whole new virtual racing world has taken its place.
With no circuits open, and racing unlikely to restart for a considerable time, Alex has turned his attention to a new form of racing.
As a regular user of the iRacing platform, Alex came up with an idea to expand his successful Sports Management company into eSports. With just forty-eight hours to act on it, Alex managed to create with the UK’s first NASCAR eSports event, with a full grid of 32 cars, live broadcast and fully staffed race control. Nearly five thousand viewers from around the world were treated to a fantastic race made up of a mixed grid, including EuroNASCAR and British Touring Car Championship drivers, facing up against sim racers and NASCAR fans. The virtual stage was the famous Brands Hatch Indy circuit which came alive as it hosted the thirty-two beautifully liveried ARCA Stock Cars. Running on the top gaming platform iRacing, the race provided wheel-to-wheel action and had all the excitement of a typical stock car road race – it was pure virtual racing!
Catch up on the race action here: youtu.be/FBcLstmM4gQ.
From the success of the one-off event, Alex has now developed a series to provide both drivers and eSports competitors a regular platform for them to continue their racing and provide them with something to focus on during these challenging times, whilst they are encouraged to stay at home.
Five races, over a five-week period, a mixture of fans, sim racers and professional drivers from NASCAR and the BTCC, will make up the series.
Tracks include Homestead-Miami, Brands Hatch Indy, Daytona, Zolder and Martinsville, the series will also include a cash prize fund and random prize draws.
With a fixed car setup, it is sure to create some close action that can be viewed live on the Facebook and YouTube channels for Alex, Vertex Sports Management, Vertex Experience, as well as series partners Luxsim24 and Simply Race.
The grid is filling up fast but, if you use iRacing and want to sign up, you can find out more about the series and enter using this link: vertextrackdays.com/esports.
Track Racing and Track Days might all be on hold but there is a new world of eSports which can provide similar challenges and fun, why not give it a try?