Is this what motorsport is coming to?

Is this the racing car of the future?

Is this the racing car of the future?

Published Jun 22, 2016

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London - Formula E, the world's first electric car racing series, is planning a virtual race in Las Vegas in January 2017 with a likely $1 million (R14.7 million) jackpot for the winner.

Series chief executive Alejandro Agag said on Tuesday the event, pitting regular race drivers against a handful of fans on simulators, could even become a round of the regular championship in future.

“We think electronic sport is a huge opportunity and we want to be the first ones fully immersed in that,” Agag said in an interview ahead of next week's London finale to Formula E's second season.

“This will be the first virtual race with 20 professional drivers of a racing championship on a big stage and with a very large prize fund.”

Agag said said the race would be part of the annual Consumer Electronics Show, which will run from 5-8 January, with a grand prize “significantly plus of six figures”.

“It will be a good jackpot for Vegas,” he added, agreeing that “people want to win a million in Vegas”.

To qualify, 'Race to Vegas' competitions will be launched three months in advance for gamers to sign up and compete online. Five are likely to secure slots.

“The fun thing would be for a gamer to win it against the professional drivers,” Agag said. “I think it's going to be very tough.

“We are only going show the virtual track to all the players that morning. It's going to be like the real Formula E. You come for the first time to a city and race in a city, you never practice before.

“Gamers are normally better at games than drivers. On the other hand, drivers are better than gamers at quickly getting the feel of a racetrack. It's going to be an interesting competition.”

Virtual reality

Tech giants such as Google, Facebook and Samsung are investing heavily in virtual reality and many sports, including Formula One, are experimenting with the technology to engage fans and attract new audiences. Nissan’s GT Academy invites Gran Turismo 6 gamers to compete, first online and then in simulators, for a seat in a real Nismo GT3 race car - but that’s the point.

The credibility of a virtual sport depends on its connection to the real-world contest it reflects - without that it’s merely an expensive video arcade game.

The concept of a virtual race, with gamers challenging drivers in an ePrix for points and prize money, was mooted by Agag even before the first Formula E season in 2014.

“I think this is probably an experiment,” he said of the Vegas race. “Depending on how it goes I could envisage that some of these virtual races could give points for a championship in the future, but not now.”

Virtual versus real

Agag has talked also about fans one day being able to use virtual reality to race against drivers competing on the physical racetrack but that day is still some way off.

“The problem of that, and we've been really looking into that a lot, is the lag between the real race and the virtual experience you can provide the gamers,” he said.

“It's very difficult, because of the technology and the speed of the broadband, to have drivers racing at the same time in the race which is what we would have dreamed of when we started Formula E.

“On the other hand, there are many other things that are now becoming possible - like this e-race.”

Formula E cars make little noise, are far slower than Formula One and cannot yet complete a race without drivers changing cars due to the limitations of battery technology. Nevertheless, major manufacturers such as Audi, Renault and Citroen are involved, while British entrepreneur Richard Branson predicted in 2015 that electric racing would overtake Formula One in popularity within five years.

Reuters

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