Inaugural World’s Fastest Gamer winner Rudy van Buren will make his professional racing debut this week when he contests the Hockenheim round of the 2019 Porsche Mobil 1 SuperCup.
Dutchman van Buren earned the “best job in esports racing” in 2017 when he won the first edition of World’s Fastest Gamer and scored a job as a simulator driver for the McLaren Formula 1 team.
The gamer took his initial steps on the #GamerToRacer ladder in 2018 by contesting the Race of Champions in Saudi Arabia. He impressed many with his speed and claimed high profile scalps including Le Mans winner, Timo Bernhard.
He also drove Emmerson Fittipaldi’s McLaren M23 at last year’s Goodwood Festival Speed.
But this weekend’s SuperCup race will be his first opportunity to race professionally, wheel-to-wheel. Van Buren’s No. 16 Molitor Racing Systems Porsche will feature backing from World’s Fastest Gamer and the competition’s creators, Millennial Esports Corp.
“I tested the SuperCup car at Silverstone in late May, and I can’t wait to get out there on track this weekend,” van Buren said.
“The car is certainly very different from what I’ve driven before, but I came away from the test confident that I can do a good job this week in Hockenheim. It will be a huge learning experience for me because all the other drivers have four races under their belt. In some cases, they have been driving these cars for several years.
“I plan to push as hard as I can, keep out of trouble and hopefully use this as a stepping stone to more real-world race outings in the future.”
Van Buren was a sales manager before entering the inaugural season of World’s Fastest Gamer. With a year’s experience under his belt as a Formula 1 simulator driver, van Buren will now be a judge for the second season of the competition alongside Monaco F1, Indianapolis 500 and Rolex 24 at Daytona winner Juan Pablo Montoya.
The recently launched second season of the competition will provide the winner with a full-season of GT racing in 2020.
“I would never have had this opportunity to race at this level if it wasn’t for entering World’s Fastest Gamer,” van Buren said.
“I’m following in the footsteps of a number of gamers who have made the transition from gamer to professional racer. I’m extremely grateful to World’s Fastest Gamer and Millennial Esports for this opportunity.”
It will be a busy weekend ahead for the esports racing competition with van Buren in action at Hockenheim and World’s Fastest Gamer branding appearing on the No. 762 R-Motorsport Aston Martin at the Spa 24 Hour.
Media attending the Spa-Francorchamps endurance classic will also have the chance to showcase their skills on the World’s Fastest Gamer simulators in the R-Motorsport hospitality. The quickest media member of the weekend will attend the competition grand final. Should a media member be successful in their efforts to “#RaceRudy” – a bonus prize of US$10,000 is on offer if they can surpass van Buren’s benchmark time.
“Rudy is jumping in at the deep end in one of the most competitive race series in the world, but I’m sure this is only the first step to bigger things,” World’s Fastest Gamer creator, Millennial Esports Corp President and CEO, Darren Cox said.
“He was massively impressive in the first season of World’s Fastest Gamer and he has always wanted to race for real. We’re glad that Millennial Esports can help him take that next step. He is joining a long list of talent we have supported to move from gamer to racer.”
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