Racing gamers who want the chance to test their skills in the real world have a new opportunity to do just that, as esports startup Racing Prodigy launches a new league: Prodigy Racing League (PRL).
The company, founded by former Mazda Motorsports USA supremo David Cook and with 2013 GT Academy USA champion Nick McMillen as esports advisor, aims to take not just one but 50 gamers into a brand-new, real-world racing series in 2024.
PRL will run as a multi-title virtual challenge, with 12 tournaments running from June to October across four different racing games. Players will compete in iRacing, RaceRoom, rFactor 2, and — unusually — mobile device karting game Street Kart Racing.
Following this virtual phase, Racing Prodigy will select the 15 top players — although the criteria haven’t been announced just yet — as Prodigy Pass winners, to attend the first Prodigy Week event at Atlanta Motorsports Park in Georgia.
There the 15 finalists will receive intensive training in fitness, communication, and racing techniques, and will compete in Radical SR1 track cars — powered by a 185hp 1.3-liter engine derived from a four-cylinder Suzuki Hayabusa unit, in a 1080lb chassis.
That’s just the first phase though, with a second cohort of 35 drivers planned for another Prodigy Week in early 2024. The 50 drivers will then form the PRL talent pool, from which participating teams can select drivers for a paid seat in a real-world PRL racing series in 2024.
Racing Prodigy CEO Cook comments: “At Racing Prodigy, we are lowering the financial barriers to enter motorsports to the same level of traditional sports. Gamers just need a console, mobile device, or PC with a wheel and pedals to participate in esports tournaments, which is how we open the sport we love from the few to the many.”
The first event, the PRL iRacing GR86 Cup Open Challenge, will take place in iRacing with a qualifying stage that runs from June 19-26, with the online semi-finals and finals races live-streamed on Racing Prodigy’s Twitch channel on July 1-2.
You’ll need an iRacing subscription to take part in this event — with future events both free- and pay-to-enter — and be aged 13 years or older, as well as registering for the event on the Racing Prodigy website.
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