Supercars to launch new eSports series 

Supercars has revealed details of its brand new expanded six round eSports series which will begin in October.

The championship has been planning a new virtual racing series for sometime having indicated its plans to Speedcafe.com in March.

Backed by new sponsors, the Boost Mobile Supercars e-Series will see the country’s best gamers race virtual recreations of Supercars over six rounds using Xbox’s Forza Motorsport 7 racing game.

The concept will run from October 16-November 21 and is due to be officially launched at the Melbourne Esports Open on Saturday.

A move into eSports has been seen by the category as a crucial way to engage the younger demographic of Supercars fans.

Supercars debuted the platform last year with the successful Harvey Norman Supercars Forza Challenge held at Mount Panorama, which was streamed more than 200,000 times online.

Virtual racing is fast becoming a lucrative market with Formula 1, Formula E, the World Endurance Championship and the World Rally Championship all launching an official eSports series.

Just this week the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) announced plans for an eSports event at its Shannons Nationals season finale at Sydney Motorsport Park next month.

“With the support of Boost Mobile, this Series will engage a new generation of fans,” said Supercars CEO Sean Seamer.

“The ability to replicate our world class on-track competition in the virtual world makes esports a brilliant platform for engaging new and existing fans of Supercars alike.”

The Boost Mobile Supercars e-Series will commence from October 1 with entrants attempting to qualify for the six-round championship.

The best lap times will decide a qualifying group of 32 who will then compete to earn one of the eight positions in the series.

The six-round series will be broadcast live on Supercars.com and across Supercars social media channels, including the popular gaming streaming platform Twitch.

A separate Cup Series is open to anyone to compete on six nominated days in an online knockout competition.

Supercars drivers will take part in this competition as phantom entrants.

A wide range of prizes will be on offer for both the e-Series and Cup Series including a $5000 cash prize pool that includes money can’t buy experiences, gaming products and merchandise.

Registrations for the series will open from September 14 with entrants required to visit supercars.com/eseries.