FDA Esports Team to race in Le Mans Virtual Series

The FDA Esports Team is about to embark on an exciting new venture. The section of the Ferrari Driver Academy focused on Esports will be taking part in the first edition of the Le Mans Virtual Series, a championship organised by Motorsport Games in partnership with the ACO (Automobile Club de l’Ouest,) organisers of the Le Mans 24 Hours and sponsor of last year’s first virtual running of the classic La Sarthe event on the rFactor2 platform. The action starts on Saturday 25 September with the Monza 4 Hours and then there is one race per month up to January and the most demanding final round in the shape of the Virtual Le Mans 24 Hours. 

Mixed teams.  Unlike the other championships in which the FDA Esports Team is competing – the GT World Challenge Esports and F1 Esports – for this series crews are made up of sim drivers and FIA recognised professional drivers. The Maranello squad can count on David Perel, the South African with a wealth of experience at the wheel of Ferrari cars and Nicklas Nielsen, the Dane who has just won the LMGTE-Am class in the Le Mans 24 Hours. The sim drivers involved are another Dane, Kasper Stoltze with ten wins to his name in GT and Dutchman Jordy Zwiers, who has several wins and podium plasces to his name on the rFactor platform. Both are specialists from the Jean Alesi Esports Academy. They will go up against 37 other crews on the virtual race tracks, equally divided between sports prototypes and GT cars ad will race a Ferrari 488 GTE, carrying the iconic number 51. Another Prancing Horse car will also be on track, entered by the SMMSA Esports team.

Calendar.  As mentioned, the championship starts on 25 September with the Monza 4 Hours, then comes the Spa-Francorchamps 6 Hours on 16 October, the Nurburgring 8 Hours on 13 November and the Sebring 500 Miles on 18 December. The Virtual Le Mans 24 Hours takes place over the weekend of 15 and 16 January 2022.