Formula E to hold Las Vegas virtual race
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[June 22, 2016]
By Alan Baldwin
LONDON (Reuters) - Formula E, the
world's first fully electric car racing series, is planning a
virtual race in Las Vegas next January with a likely $1 million
jackpot for the winner.
Series chief executive Alejandro Agag told Reuters on Tuesday that
the event, pitting regular race drivers against a handful of fans on
simulators, could even become a round of the regular championship in
future.
"We think e-sports (electronic sports) is a huge opportunity and we
want to be the first ones fully immersed in that," he said in an
interview ahead of next week's London finale to Formula E's second
season.
"This will be the first virtual race with 20 professional drivers of
a racing championship on a big stage and with a very large prize
fund."
The Spanish entrepreneur said the race would be part of the Jan 5-8
global Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
While insiders indicated $1 million as the likely prize, Agag said
only that the amount would be "significantly plus of six figures".
"It will be a good jackpot for Vegas," added Agag, agreeing that
"people want to win a million in Vegas."
To qualify, 'Race to Vegas' competitions will be launched three
months in advance for gamers to sign up and compete online. Five are
likely to secure slots.
"The fun thing would be for a gamer to win it against the
professional drivers. I think it’s going to be very tough," said
Agag of the race.
"We are only going to disclose and show the virtual track to all the
players that morning. It’s going to be like the real Formula E. You
come for the first time to a city and race in a city, you never
practice before.
"Gamers...are normally better at games than drivers. On the other
hand, drivers are better than gamers at quickly getting the feel of
a racetrack. It’s going to be an interesting competition."
VIRTUAL REALITY
Many sports, including Formula One which raced in the past in Las
Vegas and has been linked to a return to the famed strip, are
experimenting with virtual reality (VR) technology to engage fans
and attract new audiences.
Tech giants like Google, Facebook and Samsung are investing heavily
in VR with some predicting the immersive technology will have the
same effect on television as the internet on newspapers.
The concept of a virtual race, with gamers challenging drivers in an
ePrix for points and prize money, was mooted by Agag even before the
first Formula E season in 2014.
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Formula E - Berlin ePrix, Berlin, Germany, 21/05/16. Swiss driver
Sebastien Buemi of Renault e.Dams leads the pack. REUTERS/Hannibal
Hanschke
"I think this is probably an experiment," he said of the Vegas race.
"Depending on how it goes I could envisage that some of these
virtual races could give points for a championship in the future,
but not now."
The Spaniard has talked also about fans one day being able to use VR
to race against drivers competing on the physical racetrack but that
day is still some way off.
"The problem of that, and we’ve been really looking into that a lot,
is the lag between the real race and the virtual experience you can
provide the gamers," he said.
"It’s very difficult, because of the technology and the speed of the
broadband, to have drivers racing at the same time in the race which
is what we would have dreamt of when we started Formula E.
"On the other hand, there are many other things that are now
becoming possible -- like this e-race."
Formula E cars make little noise, are far slower than Formula One
and cannot yet complete a race without drivers changing cars due to
the limitations of battery technology.
However, major manufacturers such as Audi, Renault and Citroen are
involved.
British entrepreneur Richard Branson predicted a year ago that
electric racing would overtake Formula One in popularity within five
years.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)
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