The first stage of the 2021 MotoGP Esports Qualifiers is here, and it features a legendary rider, bike and circuit!
Photo credit: MotoGP
The fifth season of the MotoGP eSport Championship is underway, and the details of the first online challenge have been revealed. This first challenge features a little twist, as prospective esports competitors will have to master a classic bike and circuit combination. Riders will take control of Dani Pedrosa’s 2007 Repsol Honda RC212V and wrestle it around the legendary Laguna Seca circuit in California. In 2007, Pedrosa managed to place second in the championship standings and notched up two race wins, only being beaten to the title by Casey Stoner.
Laguna Seca was the venue of the MotoGP American Grand Prix twice during the sport’s history, but it was last seen on the calendar back in 2013. As a result, many competitors may not be so well versed at this circuit as at others. Not only will the riders have an unfamiliar bike and circuit combination to work with, but they only have three days to get to grips with the combination to post the fastest lap time possible. The online challenge began at 11 AM CET on March 18, and it will end on March 21 at 7 PM CET.
The first 2021 #MotoGPeSport Online Challenge is LIVE 🙌
— MotoGP eSport (@MotoGPeSport) March 18, 2021
Here are some tips to go faster around Laguna Seca 🎮#eSportshttps://t.co/DfRYeAGmw1
How it works
Time attack is the name of the game, so posting one perfect lap is what really matters. However, this will be made quite difficult for many contestants as both the ideal trajectory and rewind functions will be disabled for the challenge. This way, any prospective esports talent will need to prove their worth to battle at the top amongst the likes of Williams Esports’ 2020 champion Adrian ‘Williams_Adrian’ Montenegro Sanchez, ex-champion and the rest of the top competitors in MotoGP eSports.
Participants will be automatically divided into those from Europe and from the Rest of the World. The forty-five fastest riders in each category will be awarded points, fifteen from each of PC, PlayStation and Xbox. At the end of the four online challenges, the 16 European and 6 Rest of the World gamers with the highest point totals will advance to the draft selection phase of the 2021 Pro Draft. Joining them will be the three qualified racers from the 2020 Rising Stars Series. Of these 25, 11 will be drafted to make up the 2021 MotoGP eSports Global Series grid.
The current standings, as well as more information, can be accessed on the MotoGP eSports website, and these standings will be updated as the online challenges take place. Anyone can take part as long as they register first, so best of luck to all the challengers!
How do you feel about this first online challenge? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
