OverTake presents our Hero of the Month for September: Sim racing commentator George Morgan.
Photo credit: George Morgan
Passionate, hard working and with a heart of gold: 29-year-old George Morgan is not only known for his excellent commentating but also for constantly speaking out to make the sim racing community a better place. Last month, the Welshman stood up for the League Racing fans and addressed the respective game developers to fight for more support of the scene. This is why we decided to choose him as our Hero of the Month for September!
From a fascinated spectator to working in the scene
Like most fans, George’s interest for fast cars started really early. Back in 1996, he got mesmerised when watching Formula 1 for the first time as a little kid. The glorious victory of Damon Hill winning the world championship accompanied by the iconic voiceline of Murray Walker: “I’ve got to stop, because I’ve got a lump in my throat.” – Little George was hooked and suddenly, his weekends were filled with watching races. Of course he also wanted to sit behind a wheel himself and the best way for children to live their dream of being a racing hero is by jumping into video games. George’s first racing game was RAC World Rally Championship back in 1998 on the PC, and one year later he got his first PlayStation and was immersed into Gran Turismo 2.
The now 29-year-old has made a name for himself as a League Racing commentator and his passion for F1 has obviously persisted. He is, therefore, an avid player of the annual F1 games. Additionally, he enjoys iRacing, especially for its physics and the laser scanned circuits. George also plays Assetto Corsa and is a fan for its broad mod capabilities, indulging in some nostalgia with the old school F1 cars from the 90s where everything started for him.
Diving into the role as a caster was not something he had planned, it just casually happened some day and he immediately loved it. In October of 2018, he was racing with his friends in F1 League Racing. He realized he was not the fastest but still wanted to be involved, so he got in the commentary box, et voilà, a new passion was born.
In the next week or so I will be making an announcement that will play a pivotal part to my career.
— George Morgan (@georgemorgantv) September 27, 2021
This is what approximately 2-3 years of hard work and passion gives you.
It will serve as a statement to what League Racing, and it’s community has the ability to achieve! pic.twitter.com/F9d7VewrFN
Working his way up
He still carries on the fire of what first fueled his love for racing: That memory of Damon Hill claiming the trophy while being accompanied by the voice of the legendary Murray Walker. The motorsports commentator is a huge inspiration for George and he starts every race by paying homage to him with his signature “Pedal to the metal go, go, go, go, goooo!”. George also points out his parents as his greatest inspiration as they taught him that you will always thrive when working hard and enjoying your work. Because of them, he wakes up every morning with the same drive to stay positive and achieve something.
Thanks to his hard work and enthusiasm, his new career quickly took off. One of his personal highlights so far was getting asked by Veloce Esports to cover the SquadSprint Series. This coverage lead him to commentating on stars such as Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Another major highlight for him is his work for PSGL when he started covering their PC Top Tier racing in January and was then part of the staggering growth of the project. The PSGL YouTube channel went from 700 subscribers at the start of the year to around 10,000 at the time of writing. This also showcases how fans value League Racing as the high viewer counts keep increasing.
Fighting for League Racing
Speaking of League Racing, let’s go to George’s field of expertise and the reason for his selection as HOTM. With F1 2021‘s development mostly focused on the singleplayer game modes such as MyTeam, League Racing has at times not had the same love from the developers, which resulted in a malfunction of the online experience during some of the races they wanted to host. The races have had to be postponed or even cancelled because of these issues, and now, some entire seasons have been put on hold. As leagues such as PSGL and WOR had gained great momentum, this forced pit stop was a disappointing set-back. George became vocal and confronted these issues to fight for better circumstances for League Racing.
For George, League Racing has such a high importance because he has always participated in local sports clubs that foster a sense of community in a safe environment. League Racing can also be a stepping stone for some and a place to learn new skill sets, from drivers, league organisers and broadcast producers to social media mangers and commentators, as George explained to us. League Racing had been on a steady upwards trend with more professional teams taking a real interest, such as Alpine Esports Team F1 Esports.
To everyone in the league racing community.
— George Morgan (@georgemorgantv) September 8, 2021
We have a positive community, determined to help and support one another.💪🔥
I have seen the best in what our community has to offer.
Let’s look after leagues, and always passion before fashion❤️#LeagueRacingComesFirst
Going full speed with everything
When George is not involved in speedy cars, he follows his other interests with just as much passion and dedication. He was a footballer prior and even ran his own club for four years. Unfortunately, it eventually came to an end due to the pandemic. George still follows the sport and supports his local team Newport County.
The commentator also went down the musical route as for several years he was a part of a rock band called Thousand Fingers. They even toured together and headlined a show at the O2 Academy in Birmingham.
Going the next step with Loudspeaker Agency
George is eager to further expand his career. His main aspiration use to be becoming a F1 Esports commentator, but he now discovered many more avenues. He wants to continue with League Racing with PSGL and WOR, seeing it as a privilege to be part of the fledgdling community.
The Welshman has recently made another significant career chouce, as he has just signed to Loudspeaker Agency which is run by Gemma Scott and Louise Beckett. The talent agency supports George to further grow his career. We wish him the best of luck and only have one advice: Pedal to the metal go, go, go! Full speed towards your goals!
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Are there any personalities in esports racing you would like to nominate for the next edition of Hero of the Month? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!