We’ll pass along the official note that was published a week ago with some dates and data about what this change of platform means for both Assetto Corsa Competizione and the Gran Turismo saga because we’ve had a lot of questions about it, and we’ve already talked about it a little bit in the program.
Each of the FIA’s (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile) National Sports Authorities (ASN) can nominate only one driver for the Esports competition, dubbed the “Digital Cup” at the inaugural 2019 Motorsport Games in Italy.
The Assetto Corsa Competizione platform will be used for the 2022 competition, with racers competing in virtual GT3 cars – digital versions of the same cars that will compete in the GT, GT Sprint, and Endurance disciplines at the event.
The first FIA Motorsport Games gold medalist in this discipline was Australian driver Cody Nikola Latkovski, who qualified second fastest for the event in 2019 and won Semi-Final B before taking gold.
Costa Rica’s Bernal Valverde finished second to Italy’s Stefano Conte, who won the bronze medal, as part of the FIA Motorsport Games’ goal of introducing competitors from non-traditional motorsport countries.
The 20 finalists of the Esports FIA Motorsport Games FIA competition will be determined by a knockout format. More than 80 racers from around the world are expected to compete, all vying for national pride in the Mistral Hall of the Paul Ricard Circuit, which overlooks the famous Mistal Straight and is the home of the French Grand Prix.
Esports competition will begin on Thursday, October 27, with the final taking place on Saturday evening, October 29. This event is expected to have the most participants of any discipline in the Games’ second edition.
Kunos Simulazioni, an Italian developer, has contributed to the Assetto Corsa Competizione platform. To ensure photorealistic weather conditions and graphics, night racing, and motion capture animations, the platform employs the Unreal Engine 4 3D computer graphics gaming platform. It raises the bar for driving realism and immersion thanks to improved tire models and aerodynamics.
Kunos Simulazioni will build a custom circuit for the FIA Motorsport Games in 2022.
“The FIA Motorsport Games is an exceptional opportunity for Esports competitors to compete for medals alongside traditional racing drivers,” said FIA Esports Commission Chairman Niroshan Pereira.
“Working hand-in-hand with the ASNs, we firmly believe that the Esports discipline of the FIA Motorsport Games can help introduce competitors from non-traditional motorsport countries and discover stars of the future.”
“We are delighted to be able to work with Kunos Simulazioni and use their Assetto Corsa Competizione product on this occasion. It’s one of the most popular esports titles in the industry, as well as among our ASNs, so to be able to collaborate with them is great.”
For his part, Marco Massarutto, co-founder and CEO of Kunos Simulazioni, said “We are very happy to be the FIA’s choice for the Motorsport Games, as with Assetto Corsa Competizione we raise the bar even higher than with Assetto Corsa, bringing the excitement of real racing simulation to a very large number of countries, which we are looking forward to seeing compete in an event where every single simulation racer can make their nation proud.”
“We love racing and sports, and with Assetto Corsa Competizione every player has the opportunity to prove that skills, focus and dedication can make the same difference in Esports as when competing on a real track.”
Assetto Corsa Competizione is also the official simulation platform of SRO Esports.
AK Informatica, for its part, will support the FIA Motorsport Games as Esports’ production partner, coordinating the qualifying stages and producing the live broadcast.
Registration for the FIA Motorsport Games 2022 opened last Wednesday, June 15 via the FIA registration platform. Competitors wishing to represent their country are encouraged to contact their respective national sporting authorities, a full list of which can be found here:
fia.com/members/member_club/sport-mobility-3/member_club/sport-1
For more information, please visit fiamotorsportgames.com.
See you on the track!
