Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup enters the 2020 season with virtual events
Thursday, March 26, 2020 - In response to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup will embark on the racing season with a digital series. In the all-new Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Virtual Edition, current drivers, teams and selected participants compete in virtual Porsche 911 GT3 Cup racing cars. Four double header events make up the digital version of the international individual cup series, which normally takes place as part of the Formula 1 support program.
“Virtual car racing, or“ sim racing ”, is becoming more
and more popular, also on a professional level.
That is underlined by the great success of Porsche's general esports activities. Until the delayed start of our real season, we created a great platform with the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Virtual Edition for our teams and our drivers, ”explains Oliver Schwab, project manager of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.
The virtual edition of the racing series is not in competition with the "Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup", which enters its second season in 2020. It is aimed at professional sim racers and those who are striving to become one. "With the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup, we have expanded our presence in the world of motor racing and opened the door to simulation drivers to join the international Porsche Motorsport family," said Marco Ujhasi, head of electronic sports at Porsche Motorsport. . "We are now looking forward to supporting our colleagues in the real Supercup and being able to offer them an appropriate platform with iRacing."
After a day of testing (March 29), the first two races of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Virtual Edition will take place on April 4 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain. The Silverstone circuit (Great Britain), the Spa-Francorchamps circuit (Belgium) and the Autodromo Nazionale Monza (Italy) are other places to host events. The last virtual event will take place on May 16, 2020. In addition to two 25-minute sprint races, the program includes a free practice session (30 minutes), a qualification session (15 minutes) and a warm-up (20 minutes). ).
There is a maximum grid of 40 drivers, but only teams and drivers officially registered for the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup as well as guest drivers are allowed to participate. Vehicles driven by Supercup teams will sport the same livery as on real circuits. In addition to the general classification, drivers in the ProAm and rookie categories will also fight for victories.
“The current situation has put a real brake on my life as a racing driver. Instead of doing real racing, I spend a lot of time ≤ on the simulator. The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Virtual Edition is a great opportunity to fill the void. I can hardly wait for the first race, ”says Porsche Junior Ayhancan Güven (TR / Martinet by Alméras). The young racer discovered his love for esport at the age of twelve and drove for the greatest team in the world with today's Formula 1 drivers Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. Güven lines up on the virtual grid with his junior teammate Jaxon Evans (NZ / Lechner Racing).
The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Virtual Edition uses the iRacing simulation portal. All single virtual cup events will be broadcast worldwide via the Internet. Fans can follow the sessions live on the YouTube and Twitch video platforms.
2020 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Virtual Edition racing calendar
29.03.2020, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (Spain), official test
04.04.2020, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (Spain), races 1 + 2
04.04.2020, Silverstone Circuit (Great Britain)), races 3 + 4
04.25.2020, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium), races 5 + 6
16.05.2020, Autodromo Nazionale Monza (Italy), races 7 + 8
Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Virtual Edition, 1st day of racing, Barcelona / Spain
Solid composition for the first season of Virtual Supercup
Friday, April 3, 2020 - The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Virtual Edition is ready to start its very first virtual season with an impressive range of 31 drivers. VIP vehicles driven by well-known professional racers will join the teams and drivers who have officially registered for this year's real Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup season. The season takes off this Saturday (April 4) with a double-head event on the virtual version of the Spanish Circuit of Barcelona-Catalunya.
“The Supercup is the ultimate in single-brand Porsche mugs. I am delighted that we have managed to find an excellent alternative in the current circumstances without real motor racing. We have a top-notch field and I'm very happy to see who will be most successful on a screen, ”said Oliver Schwab, project manager for the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. The eleven Supercup teams compete with a total of 22 drivers, including the two Porsche Juniors Jaxon Evans (NZ / Momo Megatron Lechner Racing) and Ayhancan Güven (TR / Martinet by Alméras).
Nine Porsche 911 GT3 Cup drivers will be entered by partners and sponsors: the four Porsche factory drivers Richard Lietz (Austria), Sven Müller (Germany), Nick Tandy (Great Britain) and Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) manage the virtual vehicles put into service by App. -Tech srl, Agility Management AG, ExxonMobil Oil Corporation and TAG Heuer SA. Porsche plant manager Simona from Silvestro (Switzerland) drives the Cup vehicle managed by ABB. At the wheel of the digital racing car launched by Hugo Boss AG is Porsche Formula E driver André Lotterer (Germany). Porsche development driver Lars Kern (Germany) drives the ANSYS vehicle. Christian Engelhardt (Germany) and Fabienne Wohlwend (Liechtenstein) are also taking up the challenge in the Cup cars of ZF Friedrichshafen AG and Vodafone Group Plc.
The first event of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Virtual Edition will be broadcast live on www.porsche.com/virtualPMSCBarcelona. Commentary is provided by former Supercup pilot and current Eurosport expert Jan Seyffarth. Sport1 also takes stock of the virtual race series and retransmits the first two races live on Saturday at www.sport1.de. In addition, the German television channel will broadcast selected extracts on Sunday. Eurosport broadcasts live on www.eurosport.com and selected local websites - for example, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. The Ziggo Sport television station covers the virtual cup in the Netherlands. In addition, the Porsche Motorsport Hub, the Porsche Newsroom and the Twitter account @PorscheRaces keep fans up to date with information on the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Virtual Edition.
Last Sunday, the competitors had the chance to participate in a nine-hour test on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The fastest time of the day was established by Porsche Junior Jaxon Evans, with a 23-year-old man who completed the virtual circuit in 1: 47.738 minutes. Luxembourger Dylan Pereira (BWT Lechner Racing / 1: 47.870 minutes) and Larry ten Voorde (Team GP Elite / 1: 47.906 minutes) from the Netherlands completed the first three.
The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Virtual Edition uses the iRacing simulation portal. The calendar consists of four events - each with two 25-minute runs. The first double-headed tour of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is followed by three other matches on the Silverstone Circuit (Great Britain / April 18), the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit (Belgium / April 25) and the Autodromo Nazionale Monza (Italy / May 16).
The schedule (April 4):
4:00 p.m. - 4:15 p.m .: Qualification
4:20 p.m. - 4:45 p.m .: Race 1
4.30 p.m. - 5.10 p.m.
5.12pm - 5.37pm: Race 2
(every CEST hour)
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