A new approach to finding future motorsport talent has launched at Devon’s UK motorsport simulator venue, Apex Race Centre.
In a world first, the simulator-based FastTrack to Motorsport Championship provides the opportunity to win a £150,000 motor racing scholarship with UK independent motorsport team, Kent-based Team Hard Racing.
Designed to break down barriers that currently prevent those from ordinary backgrounds making it into top level motorsport, the Championship emulates the story behind the upcoming Gran Turismo movie. This tells the true story of gamer Jann Mardenborough win a place at Nissan’s PlayStation GT Academy, earning him the right to drive for Nissan competitively. Mardenborough went on to finish third in the MMP2 class during his Le Mans debut.
Paddy McGuinness summarised the problem on Top Gear, saying: “No matter how talented you might be, the simple truth is that, without the right connections and a whole heap of cash, it’s nigh on impossible to crack.”
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Created by Dan Regan, Director of Apex Race Centre and Re:Fuel, and James Shanks, Director and Co-founder of Race Car Experiences, the Championship addresses this issue by providing a low cost, swift and direct route to a potential career as a professional racing driver.
Dan explained: “Using simulators as a method of finding talented drivers amongst the general public – paired with a track-day final and scholarship trials – has never been tried in this way before, but we’re 100% confident that it will provide the perfect entry point for untapped talent.
“We know that because professional drivers, including two time Le Mans winner Harry Tincknell, and Amy Riley, who last year won the UK Formula Woman Series, already use our race simulators. In fact, Amy is using Apex Race Centre to prepare for her upcoming season as it gives her a level of reality on the tracks that she’ll be competing on that few have the opportunity to experience.”
James added: “This is a unique opportunity and a world first. Normally, you’d need thousands of pounds just to make it onto the grid of entry-level motorsport, let alone onto the professional circuit, but not with the FastTrack to Motorsport. When you consider that privateers in motor racing can easily rack up bills of half a million pounds in a year, this has to be the opportunity of a lifetime.”
“For us, it’s hugely exciting, and with the release of the motor racing movie of the summer Gran Turismo on August 25th, the timing couldn’t be better. We’re expecting to be inundated with entrants inspired by the film that are looking for that golden opportunity to make it big in the world of motor racing.”
Apex Race Centre’s FastTrack to Motorsport Championship – How it Works
All individuals have to do is prove their abilities on Apex Race Centre’s cutting-edge race simulators, based at Re:Fuel, the Southwest’s home for automotive enthusiasts, located close to J28 of the M5, just outside Cullompton.
The opening rounds take place from August 7th to October 6th 2023, with the live semi-final on October 7th, followed by the live final on October 21st.
The top three drivers from the FastTrack to Motorsport Championship will be given the opportunity to take their simulator abilities onto the track with Race Car Experiences in a drive-off at Brands Hatch.
Each will compete for the top spot in a 2021 British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) spec’d Mercedes A Class. The winner will go on to compete for the Scholarship place with Team Hard Racing and the opportunity to race in the 2024 British Endurance Championship, a feeder the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), where drivers can earn upwards to £150,000 a season.
Race Car Experiences plans to take the Championship to the national level in 2024, using immersive motorsport simulator venues across the UK to discover the next big thing in motorsport.
Those interested can visit the Apex Race Centre website to book their place in the FastTrack to Motorsport Championship They’ll have to race on the simulators at Re:Fuel to take part.
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.
