Want to win Le Mans? Game on with LE MANS ESPORTS SERIES

Mark Webber has done it, Fernando Alonso is doing it this year and Jenson Button is going for it too…who will be next to win at Le Mans or become a World Endurance Champion?  And who has the endurance, skill and strategy to be the fastest sportscar gamers in the world?

Launched at the 6 Hours of Silverstone today, the LE MANS ESPORTS SERIES  - a joint initiative by Motorsport Network and the Automobile Club l’Ouest (ACO) - will follow a calendar which takes qualifying players through to a Super Final to be held in France at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June 2019.

Entrants will compete over six preliminary rounds, comprising qualifying and race events, between August 2018 and May 2019.  The online competition will open with racers competing in Forza Motorsport 7 around the in-game Silverstone Circuit on 18th August.

A series of offline qualifying events will also take place at WEC rounds in Fuji, Japan in October (Asia qualifier), Autosport International Show, Birmingham UK in January (Europe and Middle East qualifier) and a further round for US and Lat Am qualifiers.
 
The event is open to all categories of competitors, from the elite esports drivers to amateur gamers the world over. The fastest qualifiers from the online game will also have the chance to race against and to meet the leading drivers from the world’s most iconic endurance race and one of the FIA’s premier world championships.

Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, said: “The 2019 Le Mans 24 Hours will be outstanding! Not only will our race be the culmination of the FIA World Endurance Championship Super Season, we will also be hosting the Super Final of the LE MANS ESPORTS SERIES competition, which starts today at Silverstone. As 60 teams take part in the 87th edition of the world’s greatest endurance race, the 12 best sim racer teams will be competing in the Super Final of the LE MANS ESPORTS SERIES. Just like their counterparts out on track, the competitors will take turns at the wheel throughout the 24-hour race.  I’m looking forward to playing host to this exciting new way of racing.”

James Allen, President, Motorsport Network Europe said: “Today is a really significant moment in the journey towards a new and unique esports series and I cannot wait to see the line ups and the intense racing at the Super Final in Le Mans next June. This is an inclusive racing series and we’re excited by the response so far.”

Full schedule below:

Race 1 - Silverstone [to support WEC 6h of Silverstone, 19 Aug]
Location: Online only
Track: Silverstone circuit 
Registration: opens 18th Aug, closes 31st Aug
Qualifiers: Online, 18th-31st Aug
Online Races: 4th-15th Sept
 
Race 2 - Fuji [to support WEC 6 Hours of Fuji, 14 Oct]
Location: Online, and Offline at Fuji race.
Track: Suzuka circuit
Registration: opens 16th Sept, closes 29th Sept
Qualifiers: Online, 16th-29th Sept, 
Races: Online 25th Sept - 6th Oct, Offline 12th October
 
Race 3 - Shanghai [to support WEC 6 Hours of Shanghai, 18 Nov]
Location: Online only
Track: Bathurst circuit 
Registration: opens 18th Oct, closes 11th Nov
Qualifiers: Online, 29th Oct-11th Nov
Races: Online 20th Nov-1st Dec
 
Race 4 - Autosport International 
Location: Online, and Offline at Autosport International
Track: Brands Hatch circuit  
Registration: opens 8th Dec, closes 30th Dec
Qualifiers: Online, 17th-30th Dec
Races: Online 25th Dec-5th Jan 2019, Offline 10th Jan 2019
 
Race 5 - Sebring [to support WEC 1,000miles of Sebring, 15 Mar 2019]
Location: Online, and Offline (location TBC)
Track: Sebring circuit 
Registration: opens 17th Jan 2019, closes 9th Feb 2019
Qualifiers: Online, 27th Jan-9th Feb
Races: Online 19th February - 2nd March, Offline 13th March 2019
 
Race 6 - Spa-Francorchamps  [to support WEC Total 6 Hours  of Spa-Francorchamps, 4 May 2019]
Location: Online only
Track: Spa-Francorchamps circuit  
Registration: opens 19th March, closes 11th April 
Qualifiers: Online, 29th March-11th April
Races: Online 20th April-1st May
 
SUPER FINAL - 24 Hours of Le Mans [to support WEC 24 Hours of Le Mans, 15-16 June 2019]
Location: Offline 
Track: Le Mans circuit 
Qualifiers: 8th-21st May
Races: 14th June 2019 

There will also be an additional ONLINE event in the run-up to the Le Mans Super Final - this will not be a qualifying round but a chance for everyone to test their mettle against this iconic race circuit.

Full details of the qualification process and registration for both professional sim racers and amateurs to compete in the opening season using Forza Motorsport 7 on the Xbox platform can be found HERE.