Jordan Caruso, Charlie Collins, Joshua Rogers, and Dayne Warren make their way home from the most prestigious sim racing event of the season with a cash prize of 40,000 US dollars. The team that wins the ‘R1’ series receives a cash prize of 200,000 US dollars.
The Porsche factory team competed in the online preliminary rounds from their new HQ in Cologne. At the state-of-the-art Porsche Esports Performance Center, they qualified for the finals in Saudi Arabia by finishing top in the teams’ standings.
The unofficial elite tier of sim racing competed in Riyadh for the first time in 2023. Porsche won the title in the teams’ championship with the then new factory team. They finished in fifth place last year.
Nina Braack, Manager Esports at Porsche Motorsport: “Congratulations to BMW M Team Redline! We were forced to concede to strong competition. Naturally, we are very disappointed all the same. The EWC is the highlight of our season, the biggest esports tournament in the world – and finishing in P1 after the online preliminaries made us all the more ambitious. However, at Porsche Motorsport we know how to handle only having the chance to get one of the biggest victories once a year. We have learned even more this time around and can be proud of the individual victories we have achieved – both in Cologne and during the races here in Riyadh. Preparations for next year and for all the other races we will be contesting this year will start on Monday.”
Esports World Cup: esports highlight of the year
With 25 different esports competitions in seven weeks, the EWC is the biggest spectator event of its kind. The event kicked off on 7 July and ends on 24 August. It will be held at an event centre covering around 60,000 square metres; the centre comprises several esports arenas. Across all disciplines, the total prize fund comes in at more than 70 million US dollars – an EWC record.
Brief overview: R1
- The unofficial sim racing premier class is contested on the “Rennsport” platform.
- The cars fielded are based on GT3 regulations, including the 911 GT3 R.
- Like in real-life racing, a Balance of Performance ensures a level playing field.
- 12 teams consisting of 4 drivers each compete in a team championship.
- The drivers qualify for the final live event at the EWC through the online events.
- 500,000 US dollars in prize money up for grabs in the R1 championship.
The Porsche Motorsport Hub offers more information about the series.
Esports, sim racing and Porsche
Esports involve competitive gaming with video games. This also includes simulated racing, or sim racing. In professional sim racing, drivers use hardware adopted from real race cars. For example, steering wheels and pedals require the same operating force. The software typically simulates real racetracks and vehicles. Competitors race against each other either online or on a local network. Many major esports championships hold online qualifiers but host their finals on-site with a live audience. Esports are particularly popular in Asia and the USA. Vice President of Porsche Motorsport Thomas Laudenbach: “Whether digital or real, motorsport is in our blood. But we’re not doing it just for the fun of it. Esports help us connect with a young, tech-savvy audience. Plus, simulations are playing a bigger and bigger role – whether it’s preparing for a race or developing our race and road cars.”
