Porsche is expanding its one-make championship series to new realms—the digital one, that is.
On Monday, the German performance marque announced the Porsche Esports Supercup, which will be a one-make series for video gamers. The virtual world championship is no joke, as it shares its Supercup name with the real-world event. The name itself refers to the highest category of one-make series at Porsche. In real life, the Supercup sees 911 GT3 Cup racers duke it out, and that's exactly what gamers will do in the Esports Supercup.
The platform for the championship will be iRacing, one of the most popular motorsport platforms in the world of electronic sports (Esports). A total 40 simulation race drivers have already made their way to qualify for the series and will be placed in battle with the best of the best over 10 races. Fritz Enzinger, head of Porsche Motorsport, said the winner will be treated much like a traditional Porsche factory driver. He or she will be honored at the Porsche Night of Champions gala, which always marks Porsche drivers and motorsport teams' successes over a year.
Porsche, of course, isn't the first marque to recognize the achievements of a race driver doing battle in the virtual world. Nissan's GT Academy has seen several virtual racers get the chance to race in the real world.
Why all the interesting in Esports? According to Porsche, the brand's heart will always be planted in motorsport, and with this new endeavour, it can share its passion with a broader audience. The thinking is likely the same over at Mercedes-AMG, which last year formed a team of video gamers to take on the 2019 Formula 1 Esports Series.
As for the Porsche Esports Supercup, the first race will take place on April 13 at a virtual Barber Motorsport Park. The 10 races will run through September 28 when the series wraps up at a digital Monza. Not only will one driver earn bragging rights, he or she will also win one prize in the sum of $100,000.