World’s Fastest Gamer is looking for the next esports racing champ to see if they can make the transition from virtual to reality – gamer to racer!
Winners of previous competitions won the chance to race in the Dubai 24 Hour – some of their performances earned them additional drives, but for some it was a one-off experience.
For the second season of World’s Fastest Gamer, the winner will receive a guaranteed full-season drive in 2020 racing at some of the best tracks in the world – a prize valued at more than US$1 million!
Check out the gamers who have blazed a trail in the past – we’ll have to see if our new winner will match these amazing performances.
Jann Mardenborough
Jann Mardenborough is one of the most successful gamers to make the transition to real-life racing of all time. After winning Nissan’s GT Academy in 2011—the youngest driver to do so—Mardenborough made his mark in GT cars and open-wheel formulae.
In his very first year of real-world competition, Mardenborough and Al Buncombe won the British GT round at Brands Hatch. Mardenborough was so quick that British GT banned GT Academy graduates from competing as an AM-rated driver.
From there, in 2013, Mardenborough finished third in LMP2 at Le Mans with fellow Gamer to Racer Lucas Ordonez. For 2014, the British driver switched to open-wheel cars, taking his maiden GP3 win at Hockenheim
Nowadays, Mardenborough races in Japan’s Super GT series with Nissan. He won his first GT300 race in 2016 at Fuji and scored his first podium in the premier GT500 class competition in 2018. Check out this great “Jann in Japan” feature.
Wolfgang Reip and Florian Strauss win Bathurst 12 hour
In 2015, two gamers turned racing drivers shocked the motorsports world when they took victory in the prestigious and grueling Bathurst 12 hour. The Australian enduro has challenged and defeated some of the best drivers in the world over its history, but Nissan GT Academy’s Wolfgang Reip and Florian Strauss won the race outright in 2015.
They took the flag first after 12 hours of grueling racing despite the car’s driver lineup being comprised of two “amateur” gamers in the form of Reip and Strauss and a single pro driver in Katsumasa Chiyo.
The Nissan-racing squad beat out several teams that contained two pro drivers, and finished a full lap in front of their closest two-am competitor.
Rudy van Buren Race of Champions
After winning season one of World’s Fastest Gamer, Rudy van Buren was invited to the esteemed Race of Champions event representing the virtual world in the Sim Racing All Star team.
Van Buren scored impressive wins over Porsche superstar and three-time Le Mans winner Timo Bernhard and current McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris during the event.
The Dutchman has gone on to make his Porsche Supercup debut in 2019 and will be a judge in this second season of World’s Fastest Gamer.
Lucas Ordonez podium at Le Mans/Other results
The very first Nissan GT Academy winner, Lucas Ordonez has been on the forefront of the gamer-to-racer scene for more than a decade. After winning GT Academy in 2008, Ordonez scored a podium finish in his first real-world racing event, finishing third in the second race of the 2009 GT4 European Cup weekend at Silverstone. Wins followed at Zolder and Algarve.
Ordonez has scored two LMP2 podium finishes at the Le Mans 24, earning his first on debut in 2011 and his second in 2013 alongside fellow gamer Jann Mardenborough.
2013 also marked a championship year for Ordonez; he took home the Pro-Am Cup title in the Blancpain Endurance Series.
Enzo Bonito at Race of Champions
Enzo Bonito returned to the Race of Champions in 2019 as part of the Sim Racing All Star team after competing alongside Rudy van Buren in 2018. For 2019, it was Bonito’s time to shine and take on some of the real-world racing heros in head-to-head competition.
At the Race of Champions 2019, Bonito bested Formula E champion Lucas Di Grassi in a shock result, beating the Brazillian ex-F1 driver to the line by six tenths.
Heitkotter wins World Challenge at Utah
Bryan Heitkotter is another GT Academy winner that went on to make his mark in professional motorsports. Following a podium finish at the Dubai 24 in 2013 in an all-gamer Nissan entry alongside Ordonez and Mardenborough, Heitkotter’s biggest results have come in the former Pirelli World Challenge, now Blancpain GT World Challenge America series.
In 2015, Heitkotter participated in the amateur GTA class, scoring five victories before being moved to the pro GT class.
Heitkotter continued to compete in GT competition in 2016, sweeping both races of the ninth round of the championship in Utah and eventually finishing fifth in the championship.
The best gamer performance ever
He recently teamed up to win the virtual Spa 24 hour with an all-star driver-line. The Dutchman has been a consistent race winner in major esports races for many years – showcasing the skills shown on the simulator can transfer across to the track.
His name: Max Verstappen.
Check out his first F1 win from 2016 when he became the youngest man in history to win a Grand Prix.
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