Tournament provider Gfinity and Abu Dhabi Motorsport Management (ADMM) have today launched a new digital motorsport competition: the V10 R-League.
The V10 R-League is launched as part of the Global Racing Series, the first stage of the activation of the five-year esports racing agreement between ADMM and Gfinity announced back in June.
The Global Racing Series will feature a range of internationally-focused sim racing leagues and competitions, designed to provide commercial opportunities with brands, broadcasters and teams.
The V10 R-League, the first league under the Global Racing Series, will involve eight teams competing against each other in a round robin-head-to-head format in the Assetto Corsa game.
Two seasons will run per year and the teams will compete for a prize pot of £100,000 per season.
The first of the eight teams to be announced are Ford (Fordzilla), JAESA Team Suzuki, Williams Esports and BWT Racing Points Esports Team.
Season 1 will consist of seven rounds of matches. Each match will include a one-on-one race, a relay race and a first past the post format. Races will take place across seven tracks and the teams will race in a new car specifically designed for the V10 R-League.
The professional sim drivers will compete virtually on a full racing rig, with their camera and audio feeds controlled live from Gfinity’s TV studio in Fulham, London.
All content will be available across the Gfinity Digital Media Network and all team channels, as well as through regional and global distribution
partners.
Season 1 will air ‘as live’ at the end of August and throughout September 2020, with broadcast schedules currently being finalised. Season 2 will then air in Q1 2021.
The ADMM and Gfinity commercial teams are currently in negotiation with broadcasters and brands for multi-year deals to support the V10 R-League.
“The Global Racing Series will become the natural home for professional sim racing competition and we look forward to adding more innovative leagues in the weeks and months ahead.”
Saif Al Noami, Abu Dhabi Motorsport Management
Saif Al Noami, Acting CEO ADMM, said: “It is fantastic to see the first competition within the Global Racing Series come to life so creatively.
“Having the support and commitment from iconic racing and esports brands who will be stakeholders in the V10 R-League is testament to the concept. The Global Racing Series will become the natural home for professional sim racing competition and we look forward to adding more innovative leagues in the weeks and months ahead.”
Gfinity CEO John Clarke added: “There has been a massive spike in interest in virtual motorsport, a key pillar of our company strategy. We are excited to launch the V10 R-League, which has already attracted some of the biggest names in racing.
“The format has captured the imagination of teams, drivers, broadcaster and brands. The Global Racing Series and V10 R-League contribute positively towards Gfinity’s stated goal of being profitable in Q1 2021.”
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
