10 teams to watch at 24 Hours of Le Mans

10 teams to watch at 24 Hours of Le Mans

rFactor 2
Jun 12, 2020 1 Min Read Posted by OverTake Team
FA RB ALLINSPORTS With two Le Mans championships, Formula 1 legend Fernando Alonso is one of the most notable participants at the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual. The two-time F1 world champion is joined by another famous F1 star: Rubens Barrichello. Their line-up is completed by two sim racing experts: Olli Pahkala (Team Redline) and Jarl Teien (G2 Esports). This line-up is certainly a top contender in the LMP class. VELOCE ESPORTS 2 Veloce Esports enters the competition with three star-studded line-ups which make it hard to determine a clear favorite among them. However, the LMP team Veloce 2 features some really talented drivers. Belgian racing ace Stoffel Vandoorne has shown his prowess in esports racing recently. He is joined by Norman Nato, who competed at real Le Mans events and had decent results there. The sim racers Eamon Murphy and Tomek Poradzisz complete the team. The 14-year-old Poradzisz is regarded as one of esports racing's prodigies. TEAM PENSKE Team Penske relies on four real racers to win the LMP division of Le Mans. With Juan Pablo Montoya, a real legend enters the game, along with Simon Pagenaud. The Frenchman is well-known for his exploits in the esports racing scene and brings a lot of skill to the table. The third driver is Dane Cameron, an accomplished American driver who's won several titles. Ricky Taylor, Penske’s fourth pilot, also boasts successful endurance race runs. RICHARD MILLE RACING TEAM Not only is this LMP team the only all-women line-up this year. With veteran Kathrine Legge, F1 test driver Tatiana Calderon and prodigy Sophia Flörsch, RM Racing boasts three capable real racers. Their team is completed by the Australian Emily Jones. She is considered one of Down Under’s finest esports racers and has gained a large following as a Twitch streamer. PORSCHE ESPORTS TEAM Porsche really wants that GTE championship: The German manufacturer sends four teams to compete in this class at Le Mans. One of the most impressive line-ups includes esports legend Mitchell deJong, who looked almost unstoppable in the Subaru IRX All-Star Invitational. His team-mate, Coanda Simsport’s Martti Pietilä, makes for a fine addition to the line-up. As do the real racers Formula E driver André Lotterer and 2016 Le Mans champion Neel Jani. PORSCHE ESPORTS TEAM This Porsche line-up is equally strong on paper. Ayhancan Güven and Le Mans winner Nick Tandy are famous real racers. Güven has even had impressive results in esports racing lately, for example in the Porsche Mobile 1 Supercup Virtual Edition. With Joshua K Rogers, they are joined by an iRacing world champion. Tommy Østgaard is the fourth competitor of this roster and draws his experience from decent Supercup and iRacing World Championship runs. R8G ESPORTS TEAM Romain Grosjean started his own esports racing team only recently. But their participation at the iRacing 24 Hours of Nürburgring was already graced with an impressive second place. Now they want to repeat or overshadow this success at the masterclass event at Le Mans. Their line-up boasts the real racers Daniel Juncadella and Mathias Beche, as well as sim racers Risto Kappet and Erhan Jajovski. They are one of Porsche’s fiercest competitors in the GTE category. MAHLE RACING TEAM Mahle Racing is more of a dark horse in the GTE category, but they are more than capable of staging an upset. The line-up surrounding star streamer Jimmy Broadbent also features Ferdinand Habsburg and Jamie Chadwick, both of whom add real racing experience to the team. Especially Chadwick’s accomplishments are worth mentioning: She won the inaugural season of the W Series in 2019 and also won a British GT championship. Jim Williams’ Kevin Rottig is the fourth driver for Mahle who’s got a lot of practice in rFactor 2. JOTA TEAM REDLINE This LMP roster is also a balanced mix of real and esports racers. Antonio Felix da Costa is a seasoned endurance racer, competing in multiple FIA categories. His real-racing mate and IndyCar driver Felix Rosenqvist will join the Portuguese, together with Rudy van Buren and Kevin Siggy. Van Buren is the winner of the very first World’s Fastest Gamer competition, while Siggy’s skill made him the McLaren Shadow Project champion in 2019. This team is on par with the strongest participants at Le Mans. FERRARI – AF CORSE The Italian car brand sends a star line-up as well. The GTE powerhouse roster includes F1 superstar Charles Leclerc. He proved his worth in numerous Virtual GPs, even winning two of them back-to-back. His F1 colleague, Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi, will take his turns at Le Mans too. They are accompanied by two strong sim racers: Race of Champions winner Enzo Bonito and F1 Esports World Champion David Tonizza.

50 TEAMS ARE GOING TO COMPETE AT 24 HOURS OF LE MANS VIRTUAL 2020. BUT WHICH ONE HAS THE FASTEST LINE-UP?

Photo credit: 24 Hours of Le Mans / Toyota Gazoo Racing WEC

Le Mans counts as one of the most important events in motorsports. This year, traditional racers joined forces with professional esports drivers to create the fastest teams around the globe. But who has the best chances to lift the trophy of 2020 Le Mans Virtual? Let’s take a look at the most promising line-ups.

You can also find a complete list of all 50 teams and 200 racers in our article here.

Who do you think is the strongest team at Le Mans Virtual? Tell us your opinion on social media!

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