© @bcampbell_photoGearing Up For Virtual Le MansEsports team are ready for the virtual version of the iconic 24 hour race.
RedBullRacingEsportskickoff2022withoneofthemosticonicenduranceracesinmotorsport.
The Team will take on Twenty-four hours at Le Mans this weekend, with the Esports Bulls targeting a positive end to a season of mixed fortunes in the 2021/2022 Virtual Le Mans Series.
The race will be the ultimate test of skill and focus, with eight drivers split across two teams in the LMP2 and GTE classes.
For motorsport fans, Le Mans is seen as the pinnacle of endurance racing, with the historic track providing an iconic setting for the series finale.
Charging On At The Historic Track© @bcampbell_photo
F1 Esports driver and former Porsche Esports Supercup World Champion Sebastian Job will be competing for the Esports Bulls in the race and has given an insight into how sim racers prepare for such long stints in rigs. The Brit said: “Preparing for long stints in sim-racing is quite tricky because after a while your body can get very uncomfortable. Muscles may cramp and go numb, and your mental focus may drop. For me, it's very important to talk as little as possible when I do this.
“I see it as wasting energy and focus that could go towards driving better. Doing lots of stints in practice is also important, even over a week before the race I had already done multiple stints to see exactly how the car would behave. This is key to make sure you don't get any surprises.”
The former PESC champion also explained the challenges the 24-hour race presents. He said: “I think the main challenge is going to be avoiding any incidents over the long race. Normally the winners are those with semi-decent pace who happened to just avoid any incidents and keep consistent. Strategy could play a small part also but there is no strategy needed if you are out of the race.
“These past few weeks switching from F1 to rFactor2 have been amazing. For me the F1 game lacks a lot of feeling with the car, whereas rFactor2 is amazing for that. During the F1 Esports season I never once really felt like I was driving at my usual level, and straight away going back to more sim-based games rather than slightly more arcade-style, the driving feels natural again. My motivation has been very high because of this.”
The Bulls Are Determined To Grab A Great Result© @bcampbell_photo
Nestor Garcia, who will compete in the GTE class for the Bulls, said: “Our main goal is to finish the race without incident, something that in any other race would be quite simple, but here it is extremely difficult. If we get a clean race, automatically the result will be very good because we think our pace will be good, so I would say that is the main objective.
“In these 24-hour races, what you can expect are surprises and things that are not foreseen. They are long and anything can happen, especially at night, when drivers are already somewhat tired and the ability to concentrate can decrease a bit.
“We entered this race with the hope of winning, I think we have a great team for this race and we are working hard to achieve a great result. As I said before, it is a race where many things can happen, but we are doing everything possible to be as well prepared as possible and have a great race.”
Red Bull Racing Esports currently sit 17th in the GTE class and 15th in the LMP2 class.
An Iconic Setting For The Series Finale© @bcampbell_photo
The drivers competing for the Bulls this weekend are:
- Frede Rasmussen
- Cooper Webster
- Norbert Kiss
- Alex Siebel
- Sebastian Job
- Nestor Garcia
- Yuri Kasdorp
- Dennis Lind
Fans can watch the action unfold at 12.30pm GMT here.
