Formula 1 Hot News

More F1 legends to join The Race All-Star Series esports

Emerson Fittipaldi last week at Silverstone
Emerson Fittipaldi last week at Silverstone

Formula 1 Ferrari legend Rubens Barrichello and Monaco Grand Prix winner Olivier Panis have joined a star-studded field for this week’s second round of The Race All-Star Series esports Legends Trophy.

The Legends Trophy debuted last Saturday with four-time IndyCar champion and three-time Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti taking the prize against a star-studded field including two-time F1 world champion, Emerson Fittipaldi; a pack of Indy 500 winners – Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, and Gil de Ferran, plus 24 Hours of Le Mans winners Emanuele Pirro, David Brabham, Jan Magnussen, and Darren Turner.

Created by Torque Esports, The Race All-Star Series rocked the esports and motorsports world four weeks ago as the first major virtual racing event to be live-streamed featuring professional international racing stars competing against the world’s best sim racers.

The event was launched to fill the motorsport entertainment drought created by the cancellation of major international racing events including Formula 1, IndyCar, NASCAR, MotoGP and more

Now entering its fourth week of competition, The All-Star Esports Series will again feature the All-Star Esports Battle with another packed field of young road racers doing battle against their sim racing rivals, plus an expanded version of the Legends Trophy.

Saturday’s event will feature a second race for the Legends Trophy for the first time, with a reverse grid race added to the program.

Scotsman Franchitti took the Legends Trophy crown in week one around the rFactor 2 version of the Silverstone National – leading home Aston Martin Le Mans winner, Darren Turner, and Mexican IndyCar great, Adrian Fernandez.

This week’s field is even stronger with four Formula 1 race winners, five Indy 500 winners, eight IndyCar race winners, and four 24 Hours of Le Mans winners.

In total, the Legends entry list features drivers with an incredible combined 1,343 Formula 1 starts, 48 wins, and 41 poles; 1,785 IndyCar starts, 143 wins, and 11 Indy 500 crowns; a total of 16 x 24 Hours of Le Mans victories plus three World Touring Car Championship titles.

The full Legends Trophy field includes:

  • Emerson Fittipaldi – 2 x Formula 1 World Champion. 2 x Indy 500 wins
  • Dario Franchitti – 4 x IndyCar Champion. 3 x Indy 500 wins
  • Juan Pablo Montoya – Monaco Grand Prix winner, 2 x Indy 500 wins, 3 x Rolex 24 wins
  • Helio Castroneves – 3 x Indy 500 wins
  • Emanuele Pirro – 5 x 24 Hours of Le Mans wins
  • Rubens Barrichello – Ferrari Formula 1 legend. 11 x Formula 1 wins
  • David Brabham – 24 Hour of Le Mans winner, 2 x IMSA Champion
  • Gil de Ferran – Indy 500 winner, 2 x IndyCar Champion
  • Jan Magnussen – 4 x Le Mans 24 Hour winner. 4 x IMSA Champion
  • Max Papis – Formula 1 racer, 3 x IndyCar wins
  • Adrian Fernandez – 11 x IndyCar wins
  • Olivier Panis – Monaco Formula 1 race winner
  • Tony Kanaan – Indy 500 winner, IndyCar Champion, 17 IndyCar wins
  • Tiago Monteiro – Formula 1 racer, 12 x World Touring Car race winner
  • Andy Priaulx – 3 x World Touring Car Champion
  • Darren Turner – 3 x 24 Hours of Le Mans winner
  • Mika Salo – 109 x Formula 1 race starts
  • Vitantonio Liuzzi – 80 x Formula 1 race starts

While fans will get their chance to cheer on their heroes from yesterday as they compete again this week aboard the 1974-spec Brabham BT44, the on-track and online race heroes of today will also return this week in the All-Star Cup competition.

rFactor2 sim racing competitors yesterday got their chance to race their way into tomorrow’s event with ten spots in the 20-driver sim racer heat on Saturday reserved for the public qualifiers.

Saturday’s field of current pro racers include FIA Formula E points leader Antonio Felix da Costa plus series rivals Neel Jani and Stoffel Vandoorne; Mercedes Benz Formula 1 test driver Esteban Gutierrez; sportscar aces Maxime Martin, Jonny Adam, Harrison Newey, Harry Tincknell, Charlie Eastwood, Tristan Vautier and Andrea Pizzitola plus up-and-coming young stars Sebastian Montoya, Billy Monger, Luca Ghiotto, Jack Doohan, Jack Aitken, and Sebastian Priaulx.

The girls are getting in on the action too with Top Gear test driver Abbie Eaton and W Series racer Ayla Agren on the entry list.

The Race All-Star Series is part of Torque Esports’ global esports entertainment push which has moved into high gear during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Part of the “stay at home economy" – Torque Esports’ gaming tournament and streaming division UMG has also been going full throttle with the launch of major US Collegiate Clash esports tournaments for Overwatch and Rocket League.

Showcased globally and live-streamed on The Race’s YouTube channel – Saturday’s full event program for The Race All-Star Series kicks off at 17:00 GMT | 18:00 CET | 12:00 US Eastern | 09:00 US Pacific | 03:00 Australia and 13:00 in Brazil.