As interest in World’s Fastest Gamer – our virtual racing series – hots up, we’re ready to announce details of the second of four official qualifying rounds. This series of qualifying races is open to the public, and will select four of the 10 greatest racers in esports – the remaining six being chosen by a specialist panel.
SILVERSTONE ESPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP
Title: rFactor 2
Platform: PC
Last month, we made our first announcement about one of the qualifying rounds, the Silverstone esports Championship, an rFactor 2 series, presented in association with our friends at Silverstone. The rFactor 2 series takes in classic grand prix circuits, with the emphasis on the roots of the sport in Europe. Competitors will race in a soon-to-be-unveiled race specification McLaren GT car.
Registration opens: August 1
Register at: www.studio-397.com
Qualifying opens: August 2
Before each race weekend, time trials will be open to all registered drivers. The fastest 20 in week one will progress to qualifying sessions that will be part of a live esport broadcast hosted from Silverstone – another first for the British F1 circuit.
| Round 1 | August 13 | Silverstone GP | |
| Round 2 | August 20 | Zandvoort | |
| Round 3 | August 27 | Silverstone International | |
| Round 4 | September 3 | Silverstone National |
Each race event will feature a ‘Super Pole’ one-lap shoot-out for the top five qualifiers, followed by a 30-minute race. The driver with the most points at the end of the season will qualifying for the WFG finale at MTC in September and be crowned Silverstone’s esport champion.
The CJ Wilson Racing 570 CHALLENGE
Title: Forza Motorsport 6
Platform: Xbox One
The newly announced CJ Wilson Racing 570 Challenge takes the action across the Atlantic, focusing on a series of events at some of North America’s most iconic and fearsome road courses, including the mighty Road America and Sebring, where Bruce McLaren took his first Formula 1 victory, way back in 1959.
Hosted in association with CJ Wilson, the famous ‘lefty’ baseball pitcher, who is now pursuing a successful career in motorsport.
Registration opens: June 19
Register at: www.cjwilsonracing.com
Qualifying opens: July 3
| Round 1 | July 11 | Daytona – Sports Car Circuit (10 laps) | |
| Round 2 | July 25 | Sebring – Full Circuit (8 laps) | |
| Round 3 | August 8 | Road America – Full Circuit (8 laps) | |
| Round 4 | August 22 | Sonoma – Full Circuit (10 laps) | |
| Round 5 | August 29 | Road Atlanta – Full Circuit (12 laps) |
Each fixture will consist of two races of around 15 minutes’ length – the grid for race one will be established using qualifying times; the order for race two will be taken from the first race’s results. There will be standing starts in each race.
Competitors will race the 2015 McLaren 570S Coupe, built to GT4 spec
All races will be streamed live and can be viewed through McLaren’s official channels.
Speaking about the opening qualifying rounds, McLaren Technology Group Executive Director Zak Brown said:
“These qualifying rounds are exactly what World’s Fastest Gamer is all about: fast, frantic racing on some of the world’s greatest and most demanding racetracks. With these first two qualifiers, we’ve selected some of the most iconic and popular circuits on the racing calendar – venues where drivers love to race and fans love to spectate.
“I’m convinced these opening rounds will provide our candidates with the perfect introduction to online racing against some of the fastest and toughest opponents in the world.
“As with racing in the real world, the cream always rises to the top, and I’m certain the winners of these two qualifying rounds will be worthy competitors for the World’s Fastest Gamer finale.”
McLaren will shortly announce two more official qualifying rounds, including one with World’s Fastest Gamer Founding Partner Logitech G, and another series based exclusively on mobile devices, in the next few weeks.
Further information will be published on McLaren.com in due course.
