One of the most successful events of the social media era took place at the Circuit Bugatti at Le Mans on Saturday, 8 October. It drew in huge numbers of fans, both on Twitch and at the circuit itself. But what is GP Explorer?
Image credit: Lucas Hauchard / GP Explorer
On Saturday, a grand total of twenty-two French speaking content creators came together to participate in a single race at the Circuit Bugatti. These content creators were comprised of Youtubers, Twitch streamers, TikTok personalities and more.
Over one million live viewers followed the action on Twitch, while a further 37,000 made the trip to Le Mans to witness the spectacle. The mastermind behind the event, Lucas ‘Squeezie’ Hauchard is a YouTuber with over 17 million subscribers. His organisational efforts took six months at a total cost of between 3 and 5 million Euros.
GP Explorer: A Resounding Success
The event itself was split up into a practice session, qualifying and then the race itself. From the twenty-two competitors, eleven teams of two were constructed. These teams included the likes of esports giants Karmine Corp, as well as a team sponsored by Alpine.
In the end, the victor was Sylvain Levy, part of the Vilbrequin YouTube channel which makes content about cars and motorsport. He took the chequered flag ahead of Pierre-Olivier ‘Depielo’ Valette of the Oscaro team, and Étienne Moustache, who was driving for the World of Tanks outfit.
After the marked success of this initial running of GP Explorer, it seems certain than another event will follow. While nothing is yet confirmed, the parting words on the Twitch steam were “À l’année prochaine!” In English: “See you next year!” Given the astonishing viewership and these words, many will be anticipating the return of GP Explorer in 2023.
Did you watch the GP Explorer event? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
