Motorsport UK to launch brand-new British GT Esports Cup

17 January 2024

Since a few years, Motorsport UK, the national motorsport membership and governing body for all four-wheel motorsport in the United Kingdom, has shown a keen interest in esports in the UK and in general. One of the organisation’s highlights in that regard was the opening of the dedicated Motorsport UK Esports Hub last year. Through the Hub, they want to grow the community of new and experienced drivers, providing value, insight and benefits around the discipline, but they haven’t been sitting still since then. Just a few days ago, Motorsport UK announced the launch of the brand-new British GT Esports Cup, in collaboration with global sim-racing hub Simracing.GP.

40 teams of two drivers

In its announcement of the British GT Esports Cup, Motorsport UK also revealed a lot of details about the new event. The whole series will feature both professional sim racers and community drivers in order to give newcomers the chance to enjoy competitive racing in the spirit of the real-life version of the Esports Cup, the Intelligent Money British GT Championship. The British GT Esports Cup will feature forty teams consisting of two drivers each: one professional driver and one amateur.

We also know that the series’ calendar mirrors the real-world 2024 British GT calendar. This means that it will feature all of the important British tracks plus the famed Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. The British GT Esports Cup will be played on Assetto Corsa Competizione (ACC), the official GT World Challenge game by KUNOS Simulazioni.
“It’s thrilling to be able to provide the first Motorsport UK racing on ACC, and what better way to do it than partnering with the iconic British GT series”, says Adam Eley, Head of Sales and Marketing at Simracing.GP, “For SGP it is always important that we continue to provide opportunities for drivers of all abilities, which is why the Pro-Am format is just so exciting.”

Prizes

Naturally, Motorsport UK and Simracing.GP have also worked on prizes for the upcoming British GT Esports Cup, which is set to start in February. The winning team takes home 4 hospitality tickets to a 2024 British GT round of their choice plus 4 Grid Walk passes. The runners-up receive 4 hospitality tickets as well, but without the Grid Walk passes. Finally, the third-place team win 4 General Admission tickets to a 2024 British GT round of their choice. On top of this, Next Level Racing, one of the world’s leading simulation brands, is giving away an HF8 Haptic Cushion to one of the participating drivers at random.

“It feels great to finally announce our first championship on the ACC platform”, says Paul Crawford, Esports Manager at Motorsport UK, “The fact that this is in collaboration with such a prestigious championship in British GT makes it all the more worth the wait. This championship comes as an excellent addition to our Motorsport UK Esports membership allowing all members to compete in the championship at no additional cost.”

Photo Credit: Motorsport UK