until Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League
Drivers from FIA Formula 3, W Series, Formula 4, The Road to Indy and other feeder championships have been invited into a new esports championship for junior single-seater racers.
Pau Grand Prix winner Billy Monger, W Series race winner Beitske Visser and British F4 champion Zane Maloney are among the drivers who will be taking part.
The Kokoro Invitational Series will be run on iRacing, with all of the drivers handed a Dallara F3 car with a fixed set-up. There will be a $2000 prize pool awarded based on overall championship results, with prizes also being given out for race wins.
Four championship rounds will take place, with two races around each circuit.
Uniquely, bonus points will also be given out to drivers who engage with their social media followers in the lead up to each double-header in a bid to drum up promotion for the esports series.
The first round will be held on April 17 around the Circuit de Catalunya, with coverage provided by Apex Racing TV. A round will be held every week until the championship finishes on May 8 at Silverstone.
“Given that motorsport is on pause right now, there are a lot of sim-racing options out there to choose from; we’re trying to do something a bit different,” Kokoro Media founder Josh Butcher said.
“We hope this gives drivers in the junior categories an opportunity to shine amongst their peers, and perhaps steal the spotlight from the big names getting into esports recently.”
Another iRacing-based series using Dallara F3 cars – the WH Sports-organised ‘April Isolation’ series – is set to kick off on Friday and will run until April 28.
The organisers have named Penske IMSA driver Ricky Taylor, Haas Formula 1 reserve Pietro Fittipaldi, IndyCar rookie Alex Palou and DTM newcomer Ed Jones as being among those set to participate.
