It’s a busy weekend for racing esports. Not only has the GT Sport FIA European Final just wrapped, it’s also the first day of the ForzaRC World Championship — and there’s $100,000 on the line.
The top 24 Forza Motorsport 7 players are all gathered in London at the Gfinity Arena. Through two seasons of racing, including live events in Seattle and Mexico City, these guys have risen to the top. They’re all guaranteed to walk away with at least some of that prize pot, but they’ll have to survive seven different races if they want the $20,000 for first.
Driver Lineup
Teams are dominant at ForzaRC this year. From Sauber and Williams (both busy in the F1 Esports championship as well) to long-time Forza teams like TX3 and F4H, a lot of these drivers will be sharing the tarmac with teammates. What that means in terms of mid-race madness is anybody’s guess…
Both Robin “B0X” Betka and Aurélien “Laige” Mallet (the latter a member of Fernando Alonso’s own esport team) have a win each from this year’s two previous seasons. They’re both strong contenders for the overall win here, but we recommend keeping an eye out for Taylor “Lightning” Stomski and Tobin “Racerz” Leigh. Both are seriously quick, and more than capable of applying pressure as well as holding off any attacks.
Don’t overlook Gary “Mitch” Mitchell either; he’s come out of nowhere earlier this season to place on the podium numerous times. Basically, there are no guarantees this weekend.
- Robin Betka (GT: Noble B0X)
- Aurélien Mallet (GT: G2 Laige)
- Phelipe Reis (GT: Sauber Zoom)
- Gary Mitchell (GT: Williams Mitch)
- Taylor Stomski (GT: TX3 Lightning)
- Zach Taylor (GT: F4H Venom)
- Michael Thomas Coyne (GT: Williams RR)
- Ross May (GT: JSR Rossi)
- Daniel Nyman (GT: Veloce ForceOne)
- Fabien Piffet (GT: Williams Seven)
- Noah Schmitz (GT: Veloce Virus)
- Alexandre Arnou (GT: Vitality ASIX)
- Wesley Dias Augusto (GT: TX3 Wesley)
- Alex Harrison (GT: TPR ChemicaL)
- THR Vanquish
- Shaun Arnold (GT: JSR Commando)
- Tobin Leigh (GT: Veloce Racerz)
- Dean Bodle (GT: F4H Deano)
- Matthew Kennedy (GT: TPR Zermatt)
- Arthur Peronico (GT: FRF Handicap)
- John Jung (GT: TX3 Billysoo)
- Chris Farkas (GT: JSR Craviator)
- Paul (GT: F4H Revz)
- Matthew Gater (GT: THR Nee)
Event Schedule
- Saturday, October 20 – Semi-Finals: 17:00 UTC (convert to your local time)
- Sunday, October 21 – Finals: 17:00 UTC (convert to your local time)
Event Format
Each driver will take part in at least three races this weekend. Today will see two groups of 12 competing in these first three events, earning points for each one. At the end of the trio, the top six players from each group will qualify for Sundays World Finals.
Saturday – Semi-Finals
The drivers will need a wide range of skills for today’s races. They’ll start out in NASCAR Fords, at the classic Watkins Glen. From there things will slow right down in a 21-year-old road car. The pace will pick back up again for race three: the Le Mans-winning Sauber C9 will head there. Well, not the full track, but the smaller Bugatti Circuit.
- Race 1: 2017 Ford #22 Team Penske Pennzoil Fusion @ Watkins Glen Full (8 laps)
- Race 2: 1997 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec @ Hockenheimring Full Circuit Dry (7 laps)
- Race 3: 1989 Mercedes-Benz #63 Sauber-Mercedes C9 @ Le Mans Circuit De La Sarthe Bugatti Circuit, Dry (10 laps)
Sunday – ForzaRC World Finals
Things get serious here. Only twelve drivers will remain, and they’ll face four very different races before they’re done the day. Each one of them will walk away with at least $1,500 for their work, but only one will claim the $20,000 top prize and the title of ForzaRC World Champion.
- Race 1: 2016 Aston Martin Vantage GT12 @ Silverstone Racing Circuit Grand Prix Circuit, Dry (7 laps)
- Race 2: 2016 Porsche Cayman GT4 @ Nurburgring GP Circuit, Dry (7 laps)
- Race 3: 2014 Honda #5 Zengo Motorsport Civic WTCC @ Suzuka Circuit Full Circuit, Dry (7 laps)
- Race 4: 2016 Ford Shelby GT350R @ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix Circuit (10 laps)
Where To Watch
We’ve embedded the Twitch stream up above. There’s also the Mixer stream. Both will feature “The Voice of Le Mans”, John Hindhaugh.
If you play Forza Motorsport 7 at all, you’ll want to head to watch.ForzaRC.com, however. There are multiple in-game rewards to win here, most of which feature custom liveries designed for ForzaRC by some of the community’s biggest designers. Stay tuned to the streams throughout the weekend to watch more episodes of “Driving the Design” for more info on these outstanding liveries.
There will also be numerous raffles throughout the day, including special ForzaRC clothing as well as codes for Forza Horizon 4.
If you’re in town, you might still be able to pick up tickets for the live event at the Gfinity Arena. Tickets are available here at Eventbrite.
Best of luck to all the competitors!
See more articles on Forza Racing Championship.
