During yesterday’s ESL R1 livestream, details about the Closed Beta release and a brand new car was teased that was coming to Rennsport were revealed. But what car is it?
The final round of the ESL R1 Spring Season took place on 15 May, in advance of the Major at the Rennsport Summit in Munich on 3-4 June. There were plenty of announcements on the stream, one of the most prominent being that the closed beta for Rennsport will be available in summer!
But something else that was shown off was a teaser for a new car. In a silhouetted clip, the four GT3 cars already in R1 are displayed, coupled with their engine sounds. But then, there’s also an entirely new car.
What is it?
The shape is clearly not a GT3 car, so anyone who still had doubts about whether Rennsport was just going to be another GT3 only sim, can put them to rest. Indeed, the car that was shown in the teaser is unmistakably, Sports Prototype shaped!
Due to the darkened out reveal, we can’t be 100% certain as to what it is. But the headlights are somewhat circular, and the engine sounds like it’s turbocharged, the first vehicle that pops into mind is the Toyota GR010. But the placement of the mirrors don’t match.
We went looking through all possible Le Mans Prototype shaped vehicles, and nothing really matched the description. But maybe, the name of the Rennsport series was giving us the answer all along. Is the car the R1?
Could the car that is joining the Porsche, Audi, BMW and Mercedes GT3 cars as well as the Porsche Mission R be the Praga R1? This is the car that sim racing content creator Jimmy Broadbent drives in real-world racing.
Together with Gordie Mutch, they won the Praga Cup UK championship in 2022. Now he’s hosting a competition to provide a sim racer with a chance to compete in the real world. With the car available in the Assetto Corsa base game and having been added recently to RaceRoom, is the car shown in the Rennsport teaser the R1?
Visually, the car seems to resemble the Praga. However, there’s always the possibility that it could even be an entirely fictional car. Competiton Company CEO Morris Hebecker did say on the GridFinder podcast: “We will have concept cars, we will (also) have historic cars and open-wheelers”.
Whatever it ends up being, the car will be revealed during the Major at the Rennsport summit on 3-4 June.
Closed Beta
Sim racers, rejoice! The other major bit of news to come out of the ESL R1 stream, news about the Closed Beta. The official release date will be confirmed on 3 June for Day 1 of the Major, with anyone able to potentially access it via signing up on the Rennsport site.
Also for anyone hoping to attend the summit in Munich, tickets are available! Head to this site and use code ‘SUMMIT23’ to reserve a ticket. OverTake are planning to be on site so don’t be afraid to come say hello, and along with the R1 Major, there will also be community tournaments and creator appearances.
What do you believe the mystery Rennsport car is? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
