Public iRacers Will Have Chance to Qualify for First Time
By David Phillips
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – IMSA is partnering with iRacing and VCO (Virtual Competition Organisation) for the third straight year to stage the 2024 IMSA Esports Global Championship beginning in November, but for the first time the prestigious sim racing contest will feature a public qualifying process.
Although entries in the championship will be reserved for previous series champions and winners of iRacing’s VCO Grand Slam events, every iRacing member will have the opportunity to earn their way into the four-race championship. Additionally, a limited number of wildcard entries will be featured. The 2023 wildcard entries included the Nitro Circus Sim Racing Team and Texaco Racing by TK, Tony Kanaan’s Esports Team.
“It will be great to once again have the best sim racers from around the world competing under the IMSA banner in the 2024 Esports Global Championship,” IMSA President John Doonan said. “They’ve shown in the first two seasons how skilled they are. Opening the process for all iRacing members to try to qualify for the championship only makes it more exciting. We can’t wait to see how it all shakes out in what is certain to be the most competitive IMSA Esports Global Championship yet.”
The four-round schedule kicks off with Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta (Nov. 24), followed by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course (Dec. 8) and Sebring International Raceway (Jan. 5, 2025) before concluding at Daytona International Speedway (Jan. 12, 2025). The competition will feature precisely digitized versions of the Acura ARX-06, BMW M Hybrid V8, Cadillac V-Series.R and Porsche 963 Grand Touring Prototypes (GTP), along with the Mercedes-AMG GT3, BMW M4 GT3, Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, Ferrari 296 GT3, Ford Mustang GT3, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2, and Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) cars from the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class currently available on the iRacing platform.
“Multi-class sports car racing lies at the very core of the international sim racing community, and the IMSA Esports Global Championship is the premier series in this segment,” said Florian Haasper, CEO of Virtual Competition Organisation (VCO). “Working together with IMSA and iRacing on this project has been a blast over the past years. Together, we constantly strive to improve the competition further. Introducing an open qualifying process for the series is a very important next step. We cannot wait to get the new season going!”
To date, Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen’s Team Redline, VRS Coanda and Williams Esports have earned automatic berths in the 2024 IMSA Esports Global Championship’s GTP class, while Team Redline and Drago Racing have qualified for the GTD competition. Teams looking to participate in the public pre-qualifiers will need to register with the IMSA.
Teams that qualify from the Time Attack will then participate in a “Car Shootout” with other qualifying teams to determine which car they will use during the 2024 IMSA Esports Global Championship season.
“iRacing and IMSA have enjoyed a remarkably successful partnership for more than a decade,” says Tony Gardner, iRacing president. “It’s no coincidence that both our organizations have experienced dramatic growth during that time frame. The 2024 IMSA Esports Global Championship will be yet another exciting step in this partnership, and I’m confident that opening the qualifying format to our more than 270,000 iRacers will help make this the most exciting edition of the series yet.”
In keeping with the sprint race format in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, each event in the IMSA Esports Global Championship will be 2 hours, 40 minutes long and will stream live on the IMSA and iRacing Facebook, Twitch and YouTube channels. Additional details on public qualifying and the series can be found in the official series rulebook.
About the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA):
The International Motor Sports Association, LLC (IMSA) was originally founded in 1969 and owns a long and rich history in sports car racing. Today, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the premier sports car racing series in North America. IMSA also sanctions the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge and Historic Sportscar Racing, as well as five one-make series: Ferrari Challenge North America, Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America, Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin, Mustang Challenge and Porsche Carrera Cup North America. IMSA – a company within the NASCAR family – is the exclusive strategic partner in North America with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) which operates the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a part of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The partnership enables selected IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competitors to earn automatic entries into the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans. For more information please visit www.IMSA.com, www.twitter.com/IMSA, www.facebook.com/IMSA or www.instagram.com/imsa_racing.
About iRacing:
The world leader in the online racing simulation and gaming market, iRacing was founded in 2003 by Dave Kaemmer, co-founder of Papyrus Design Group, and John Henry, principal owner of the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool Football Club and co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing. iRacing has developed dozens of formal partnerships in the motorsport industry to help create the most authentic racing simulation in the world, including with NASCAR, INDYCAR, the FIA, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, and numerous other car manufacturers, tracks, and racing series. Alongside its PC simulation, iRacing owns two additional game studios and produces the official console games of NASCAR (beginning in 2025) and the World of Outlaws, as well as the fantasy off-road racing game ExoCross. Learn more at www.iRacing.com.
About VCO:
Virtual Competition Organisation (VCO) brings together different stakeholders in Esports, from simulation or gaming platforms and interested partners to active teams, drivers and the community. In a rapidly growing sector, VCO stands for professionalism, focus and a broad media presence. With its international network, VCO provides solutions for the best possible conception and implementation of Esports projects of all kinds. The best teams in the world compete in such high-class competitions as VCO INFINITY, the Esports Racing League (ERL), and the FLExTREME championship, which VCO implements on a wide range of gaming and simulation platforms.