Supercars plugs coronavirus content gap with esports
As part of its plan to continue functioning for the next three months, Supercars is kicking off the All Stars Eseries with its Virgin Australia Supercars Championship drivers.
The series will begin on April 8 and run for around 10 weeks. It will be broadcast on Fox Sports and Kayo, with Supercars CEO Sean Seamer saying more broadcasters could be on the horizon.
Supercars is turning to esports to fill the coronavirus content void
“We expect to announce further broadcasters for the Supercars All Stars Eseries in the coming weeks,” Seamer said.
“This is about entertaining content. While we expect a strong and robust competition, ultimately this is designed to keep Supercars fans entertained during the period when we can’t race on the track.
“Fans watching from home will be able to hear the drivers during races, while a number of webcams will be set-up for broadcast as well.
“We expect to run a variety of different race formats across the Series to ensure this stays fresh and entertaining. Expect traditional two-race formats in earlier rounds, however all variety of formats including enduros, mystery rounds, night races and reverse grid races are all expected.
“We are still finalising the entire list of tracks we will race on and can confirm Round 1 will be Phillip Island and Monza.”
Drivers will log-in from home using the iRacing platform and use current Holden ZB Commodore and Ford Mustang Supercars. Drivers will compete for points in each race and a Champion will be crowned at the conclusion of the Series.
Seven-time Supercars Champion Jamie Whincup said he’s looking forward to taking part in his first ever competitive sim-racing series.
“We always want to put on a good show, so it’s great for the sport and the fans knowing we can still race while the season is on hold,” he said.
“I usually back myself, but the young blokes have the advantage here. My money’s on my teammate, SVG [Shane van Gisbergen], to be up the front. I know he races against a few of the guys down Pit Lane, even some of the Formula 1 drivers, so hopefully he’ll be representing the Red Bull Holden Racing Team on the podium.
“It will be a learning curve for me as I haven’t used a sim in a very long time and don’t use it as part of my training, but I’m looking forward to a new challenge and, most of all, I’m rapt that we can still provide some entertainment when everyone needs it most.
“I’m looking forward to having some fun with the Supercars All Stars Eseries and giving the fans something to cheer for until we can hit the track again.”
The Eseries, which will be live-streamed across Supercars’ digital channels, will run prior to the third instalment of the Supercars Eseries competition using sim-racing experts, which will begin later this year.
topics
coronavirus
COVID-19
eSports
Fox Sports
Foxtel
kayo
Sean Seamer
Supercars
Supercars Australia
