Next week will treat us with a truckload of fantastic series-deciding races.
Photo Credit: Motorsport Games
On September 19, an absolute classic returns. It’s something that every motorsports fan knows and loves: the 24-hours of Le Mans. And while the drivers and teams are preparing their strategies and line-ups in the analog world, the final of the Le Mans Esports Series is taking place on the virtual tracks. It’s not happening on a single day though, but rather over the whole week leading up to the real-life race.
😆 It all comes down to this!
— Le Mans Esports Series (@LeMansEsports) September 4, 2020
The #LMES Super Final begins on September 15th and will be an unforgettable week of racing!
Day 1⃣ Pre 1970’s
Day 2⃣ 1970’s & 1980’s
Day 3⃣ 1990’s & 2000’s
Day 4⃣ 2010+@FIAWEC | @24hoursoflemans | @MSportgames@PlayseatGlobal | @TMThrustmaster pic.twitter.com/mmJuwZ33Pn
The concept of the final is refreshing: each day represents a different era of Le Mans. The esports teams compete in different stages. Every stage contains three different races to be completed with a different car from that specific era. Teams compete against each other in an amateur and a pro division. At the end of each day the two teams at the bottom of the standings get eliminated. This goes on until Friday, when the last stage is set to take place. The winning team will bank $100,000.
To have a better overview, here is the complete schedule:
| Race | Lenght | Track | Pro Car | Am Car |
| 1 | 1 hour | Le Mans Bugatti | 1956 Jaguar D-Type | 1956 Lotus Eleven |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 hour | Silverstone | 1958 Aston Martin DBR1 | 1957 Ferrari Testa Rossa |
| 3 | 2 hours | Le Mans (No Chicanes) | 1963 Ferrari 250LM | 1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS |
| Race | Lenght | Track | Pro Car | Am Car |
| 1 | 1 hour | Monza | 1971 Porsche #23 917/20 | 1971 Ferrari #2 Ferrari Automobili 312 P |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 hour | Le Mans (No Chicanes) | 1978 Porsche #78 MOMO 935/78 | 1980 Lancia Corse Beta Montecarlo Turbo |
| 3 | 2 hours | Nürburgring | 1988 Jaguar #60 Castrol Racing XJR-9 | 1989 Mercedes-Benz #63 Sauber-Mercedes C 9 |
| Race | Lenght | Track | Pro Car | Am Car |
| 1 | 1 hour | COTA | 1993 Peugeot Talbot Sport 905 Evo 1C | 1994 Nissan #75 Cunningham 300ZX |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 hour | Le Mans (Modern) | 2008 Porsche #7 Penske Racing RS Spyder Evo | 2006 Aston Martin #007 Aston Martin Racing DBR9 |
| 3 | 2 hours | Sebring | 2009 Peugeot #9 Peugeot Sport Total 908 | 2009 BMW #92 Rahal Letterman Racing M3 GT2 |
| Race | Lenght | Track | Pro Car | Am Car |
| 1 | 1 hour | Le Mans (Modern) | 2011 Audi #2 Audi Sport Team Joest R15++ TDI | 2011 Chevrolet #4 Corvette Racing ZR1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 hour | Spa Francorchamps | 2017 Porsche #2 Porsche Team 919 Hybrid | 2015 Nissan #23 GT-R LM Nismo |
| 3 | 2 hour | Le Mans (Modern) | 2014 Ferrari #51 AF Corse 458 Italia GTE | 2013 SRT #91 SRT Motorsport GTS-R |
If you want to witness the celebration of Le Mans’ legacy, or if you simply want to hype yourself up for the real-life race, you can watch everything on the Le Mans Esports YouTube channel, or you can visit their Twitch channel beginning Tuesday, September 15.
V10’s roar
The first round of the V10 R-League has been exciting for sure. The series features a duel format and this week’s matchup proved to be special.
We saw the Red Bull elite, under the guidance of F1 Esports Pro Series 2020 world champion Joni Törmälä, battle it out with Team Fordzilla. The matchup between Porsche24 Driven by Redline and BMW Motorsport SIM Racing Team was just as exciting. The former swept the series 3-0, even with a star-studded BMW line up which included the likes of Cem Bölükbaşı.
If you want to know more about what happened last time, you can watch the highlights here:
Ahead of us is round 2 at Brands Hatch. While the English circuit is not exactly notorious for its formula car races, it will surely provide a lot of nuances for the racers to handle. Furthermore, it will be interesting to see how the teams will square up against each other this time.
If you want to watch the action, you can tune in to BT Sports 2 via Satelite on Tuesday, September 15, or you can wait for the full race to be released on btsports.com the next day. So don’t miss the action and listen to the sound of howling V10s.