The third season of the Forza Racing Championship is currently underway. Today, Turn 10 has announced where the final event will take place, and it’s a familiar one for motorsports fans. That’s right: it’s heading to Le Mans.
In partnership with Porsche and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO, organizer of Le Mans), Turn 10 will be hosting the final event at the classic French endurance race. To celebrate the collaboration, the ACO has created a new category: the Official Endurance Esports Category. Therefore, the winner of the ForzaRC finals will get to hoist a trophy on the same podium as the real-world racers.
The final event will see over 100 gamers descend upon La Sarthe. Like the race drivers, these gamers will stay in the Le Mans village. In addition to the trophy, they’ll all battle it out for a cash pool of $100,000.
ACO President Pierre Fillon had this to say about the venture:
“There are close ties between the realms of motorsport and video gaming. The Forza franchise games are incredibly realistic and give players a chance to see what it’s like to drive a top-flight racing car, but they are also used by professional drivers as a means of getting to know the circuits! Automobile Club de l’Ouest is very excited about hosting the final of the third season of Forza Racing Championship Season 3: The Porsche Cup. It is an extraordinary opportunity to bring together the world’s best gamers and drivers to share their passion for motor racing.”
In a surprise move, the finals will be the first ForzaRC events to utilize multiple manufacturers. As befitting a race held at Le Mans, the list majors on cars that have taken part in the twice-around-the-clock event (and Porsches, naturally):
- 2012 Porsche GT3 RS 4.0
- 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo S
- 2011 Porsche #45 Flying Lizard GT3 RSR
- 1960 Porsche 718 RS 60
- 1998 Porsche #26 AG 911 GT1-98
- 2004 Porsche 911 GT3
- 2015 Porsche #19 Porsche Team 919 Hybrid
- 2014 Chevrolet #3 Corvette Racing Corvette C7.R
- 2016 Ford #66 Ford GT Le Mans
- 2009 BMW #92 Rahal Letterman Racing M3 GT2
- 2014 Toyota #8 Toyota Racing TS040 Hybrid
- 1998 Mercedes-Benz AMG CLK GTR
According to an interview on Autoblog with T10 Creative Director Dan Greenawalt, the idea for a Le Mans event is not a new one. “We’ve been sponsoring Le Mans for the past 4 or 5 years,” Greenawalt said. “There was no pushback on the idea. We have a comfortable partnership with the ACO.” Talk of such an event has existed since Forza became a sponsor, but it was only in the last year that the plans “really kicked into gear”.
Speaking of years-long partnerships, Turn 10 recently announced a six-year non-exclusive deal with Porsche. Due to this, players can expect the storied German brand to be included in future Forza games from day one.
The 85th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans happens June 17–18. The ACO recently released the real-world entry list, which we covered here. In terms of the ForzaRC, you’ll be able to catch the action on the official Beam, Twitch, and YouTube channels.
See more articles on 2017 Le Mans 24 Hours, Forza Racing Championship, Porsche, and Turn 10.
