McLaren-Honda’s World Fastest Gamer competition will begin at the Silverstone Grand Prix this July. The British manufacturer will host an inaugural rFactor 2 tournament to kick off the four-event-long program.
Revealed on the team’s website, the first round will consist of four race events with a contest each weekend starting on July 16. The top twenty drivers in qualifying each weekend will then race against each other to accumulate points in the Silverstone championship. The racer with the highest points total will secure a place in the grand finale. Further details on how to qualify for this round will be shared at a later date.
McLaren Technology Group Executive Director Zak Brown is excited about the prospect of opening the latest gamer-to-racer program to make its way to players. Brown comments on the opportunity to “bring a new and younger audience to the motorsport world” at a prolific racing venue such as Silverstone.
Those who don’t own a capable gaming PC or rFactor 2 need not worry, as McLaren has confirmed the three remaining qualifying events will be held across console and mobile devices. In a recent Q&A, franchises like Project CARS, Forza Motorsport and Gran Turismo were name-dropped as potential host platforms for the WFG tournament.
The World’s Fastest Gamer tournament will inevitably offer ten of the fastest gamers out there the chance of becoming McLaren-Honda’s new simulator driver. Six of these slots will be hand-picked by a panel of experts with the other four coming from online championships.
From there, the chosen few will have to survive a varied series of tests chosen by the manufacturer. Everything from fitness, engineering know-how and even PR skills will be put to the test.
With an investment in esports and collaboration with Logitech to deliver a high-end racing simulation range, McLaren is showing heavy interest in the world of sim racing. Following in the footsteps of competitions like Gran Turismo Academy, the WFG program has a lot to prove.
We look forward to it all kicking off in just under two month’s time.
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