Leading Formula 1 automotive brands are moving further into the surging Esports space, signing up to a new online race championship hosted by Torque Esports’.
Esports has seen a surge in popularity amid the global coronavirus shutdowns, which has seen most major traditional sporting competitions, including the F1 Championship suspended.
According to a report by Streamlabs and Stream Hatchet, live streaming platforms like Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Facebook Gaming are experiencing a major surge in growth this quarter – with YouTube Gaming Live at an all-time high, increasing by 15.5 percent since the previous quarter.
Mercedes-Benz-AMG Petronas Esports, Aston Martin, BMW, Williams Esports, and ROKiT Venturi Racing will all enter two-car teams in the Pro Cup championship, which runs as part of the All-Star Series.
The Race All-Star Series, powered by ROKiT Phones on the rFactor 2 platform, will feature Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button, Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya, World Rally Champion Petter Solberg and 24 Hours of Le Mans winners David Brabham.
Torque Esports says content partnerships with Discovery Inc.-owned Eurosport will see the races broadcast on TV, and online, with highlights shown on more than 70 different global networks – reaching a potential audience of more than 610 million homes.
“The fact that we’ve been able to attract these incredible factory teams is remarkable and shows how we’ve really established the All-Star Series as a bona fide international motorsports championship and a highly attractive television property,” says Torque Esports President and CEO, Darren Cox.
Torque focuses on three areas – esports data provision, esport tournament hosting and esports racing.
Its tournament organising arm, UMG, has recently added a digital tournament platform to its portfolio of assets in its growing ecosystem.