It's the pinnacle of sim racing
The who's who of sim racing are set to fill the grid from Thursday's opening round, with the qualifiers in early January seeing some 22,280 laps set by 600 of the best pro sim racers around, as well as plenty of talented upstarts searching for that breakthrough opportunity.
Those qualifiers boiled a list that included the likes of World's Fastest Gamer James Baldwin, into the real hardcore from across the upper echelons of the discipline - those that best grasped the intricacies af the Gen2 Formula E car and its instant power delivery, all-weather Michelin tyres and spec aerodynamics.
READ MORE: Head here for the full Formula E: Accelerate line-up
Dane Frederik Rasmussen came out on top and secured himself a virtual race seat with DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT, whilst second and third placed Erhan Jajovski and Manuel Biancolilla will line-up for ROKiT Venturi Racing and Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, respectively – the latter alongside pro racing driver Kelvin van der Linde.
Race at Home Challenge title contenders and podium finishers Peyo Peev, best remembered for his race-winning performance from Round 2 of the Challenge Grid competition, and Petar Brljak make their return to Formula E esports.
Peev will drive for DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT and Brljak takes a spot at BMW i Andretti Motorsport as teammate to the Race at Home Challenge winner - formidable Slovenian Kevin Siggy.
It's as real as it gets
Like in the Race at Home Challenge, Formula E will once again dive into the virtual world in rFactor2. This time, the digital racers will face new challenging features introduced in Studio 397’s Season 7 content drop.
Alongside new liveries and circuits introduced ahead of Formula E’s first World Championship campaign to match the look and feel of 2020/21, the sim stars will have to master energy management and ATTACK MODE for the first time, bringing the online competitors – and the fans – even closer to trials faced by their real-world Formula E counterparts.
TUNE IN: Watch Formula E: Accelerate
Managing deployable energy and the timing and strategy around when to activate ATTACK MODE are integral aspects of any E-Prix. Bringing this into the fold for Accelerate adds another level of depth to the challenge, and one the rapid sim racers won't be used to from racing elsewhere.
The prize pool, and that prize drive
Everybody's competing for the chance to take home a share from a minimum €100,000 prize pool alongside a real-world drive of a Gen2 car - a unique opportunity to jump from the sim seat into reality. Envision Virgin Racing's Nick Cassidy reckons there might be more similarities than you'd think for the winner.
"There are always going to be differences between the sim and reality," said Cassidy. "But the gap is getting smaller and smaller and you’re starting to get the feeling that it’s getting really close to the real thing.
READ MORE: Lotterer: 'Prize pool pushes sim racing to next level'
"The general feeling and balance of the car are similar but what the guys don’t experience from their sim rigs is being strapped in with all the helmet and race suit on with completely different visuals compare to a screen. The driving aspects will be familiar for the winner though when they jump into the real thing."
TAG Heuer Porsche's Andre Lotterer believes the prize on offer is just rewards for a group of top-tier sim racers that are every bit as professional in their own right as anyone lining up in a real E-Prix.
"The prize is great news," said the German. "These guys really dedicate a lot of time and they take their work in a very professional manner and the prize pool is a great initiative that will bring sim racing to another level."
Race at Home Challenge showed 'untouchable' sim racers' pace
Reigning Formula E champion Antonio Felix da Costa has been a part of a number of esports competitions in the past year, from Le Mans to US open-wheelers, as motorsport embraced the virtual world in the midst of the global health crisis and lockdown life.
Of course, the DS TECHEETAH racer also took part in the Race at Home Challenge, and his experience illustrated the extreme level at which the professional sim racers compete - often performing far beyond even his capabilities.
"I’m a big fan of some of the guys that’ll be competing," he said. "I follow it closely and I know who the best guys in the world are at the moment. Three, four or five years ago I thought I’d never meet them but their profile and the profile of sim racing is so much higher now.
"I have no chance up against these guys in esports. They’re going to kick my butt very hard which makes me angry! I tried to improve and ultimately, I just don’t have the patience to spend the time practicing.
"You need hours and hours but I get frustrated when I’m still slow and not quick enough! So, for me, it’s for fun. I race people like Robin Frijns because they’re similar to me and spend a similar amount of time in the sim. I can beat them and go to bed happy!"
ATTACK MODE/energy management
As good as these sim racers may be, none of them will have had competitive experience of regen and ATTACK MODE. Mastering the trade-off between raw pace and usable energy will all be new to them. It's going to prove to be a real leveller.
"Driving the car is one thing but I’d say that it’s, almost, the easy part," says Porsche's Lotterer. "Combining all the other factors in Formula E is where it gets tricky and it’s great to see this implemented into the rFactor 2 simulation now." And the guys behind the wheel here don't have the backup of banks of data and world-class engineers as the Porsche man has.
"Energy management and ATTACK MODE are key ingredients in Formula E's recipe and really add to the mix and make races even more interesting," continues the multiple Le Mans winner. "It’s all about achieving more with less and being more efficient.
"Every corner, every part of the track has an optimum efficiency – a lift point, a recuperation point. So, I think you’ll see more differences between them than you’d see in a normal flat out sim race. There is far more to think about."
With the Manhattan skyline in the background, here's the New York track our sim racers will be tackling in Round 1 of Formula E: Accelerate 🗽#FEAcceleratepic.twitter.com/m1s0KDJkGx
— ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) January 27, 2021
It's all streamed LIVE!
Every second of Formula E: Accelerate will be shown live, with the whole esports series broadcast across Formula E’s digital channels and hosted by Formula E commentator Jack Nicholls and Formula E's Open Talent Call for Presenters winner Derin Adetosoye.
Each of the six-round championship’s events will air live on Thursday evenings from 19:00 UTC with a 90-minute show, including every 25-minute Formula E: Accelerate race and all of the reaction from Team Principals, drivers, and more.
Catch the sim racing action, with special guests, direct from Formula E HQ on Twitch, YouTube and Facebook.
Your prelude to Season 7
From Season 7, the most competitive line up of teams, drivers and manufacturers in motor racing will fight it out for the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. Right here with Accelerate, Formula E is serving up a virtual teaser of what's in store in 2020/21 - our first season as an FIA World Championship - with the same ultra-competitive all-electric motor racing, featuring the world's very best.
New cars, software, drivers and powertrains will hit the track in anger for the first time in Saudi Arabia... Who'll get the jump on the rest when we get underway with a double-header in the dark for Formula E's first night races, in Diriyah on February 26 & 27?