In a surprise announcement, Formula E, the electric offshoot of Formula 1, has revealed a new simracing competition with $1 million on the line. Titled "Road to Vegas," Formula E, along with Cloud Sport, will host a competition using racing simulator rFactor 2 at the Consumer Electronics Show. It will feature all 20 Formula E drivers, as well as 10 top virtual drivers from around the world. Players can register on the Road to Vegas website and start whittling down their race times.
Competitors won't be driving through the virtual roads of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca or Donnington Park; they'll actually be driving on brand-new courses built around virtual Long Beach, Paris, Berlin, London and Las Vegas. It's something that wouldn't be possible in the real world (well, not without a lot of headache). The finale will physically take place in Vegas at the Venetian Hotel, part of the Sports Business Innovation Summit, during CES early next year.
Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag said in a statement: "We believe eSports offers a new level of fan interaction and participation in sport, and we want to be at the forefront of this gaming revolution. Gamers, welcome to Formula E - let's race!"
Formula E's backing of simracing is a major step in making it a larger esport. While there are competitions occurring online, the simracing scene has not seen the same level of attention as other esports. The last example of simracing seeing any major traction on streaming site Twitch was when Microsoft hosted its "Audi 24 Hours of Le Forza."
Part of the appeal of esports is the ability to compete in something not possible in the real world. For example, humans cannot transform into beasts and battle it out five-on-five in magical realms, as happens in League of Legends. Road to Vegas follows this tradition because the competitors will be able to race on new tracks or impossible locations. It will give viewers something novel to watch, and give players a completely new type of competition.
At the very least, it would be interesting to see a Formula 1 car race around Mario Kart's Rainbow Road.
ESPN has reached out to Formula E and Cloud Sport for comment, and will update this article upon reply.