Two well-known racers at the top level of their respective motorsport are going head-to-head in an invitational sim racing event on Wednesday.
The first of three scheduled Logitech G Esports Pro-Am battles between Formula 1’s Lando Norris and NASCAR’s William Byron will face off in a set of races utilizing the NASCAR Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE and the Dallara IR-01 V10 Formula on the iRacing platform. If the practice session tweet from Tuesday is any indication, we could be in for a fun event.
The teams are made up of six each with drivers and celebrities both getting in on the action on both sides. Team Byron has two US-based drivers in Parker Kligerman from NASCAR and Felix Rosenqvist, current IndyCar driver for Arrow McLaren SP. Two American streamers, AnneMunition and Rory Plays, join the fun on the Byron squad. Another streamer from Australia, Ben Daly, rounds out the team of six.
On the Lando side of things, two more racers are teaming up with the breakout F1 driver in 2021. Accomplished IndyCar veteran Tony Kanaan will wheel for Norris alongside former IndyCar driver Robert Wickens. The team is joined by two musicians, Britain’s own Connor Ball and America’s own Micky Blue. Another musical presence in American rapper ASAP Ferg rounds out Team Norris.
THE LOGITECH MCLAREN G CHALLENGE IS LIVE
While the Pro-Am battle will bring eyes to the contest, the G Challenge has already started with the challenge qualifier open for the first round. The 12 Pro-Am racers will face off against one another racing in two of the three Logitech McLaren G Challenge vehicles. The Camaro and IR-01 are the two that will be used on the iRacing platform during the open challenge over the course of the next few months.
The third challenge for the Sports Cars category can be found on the PC version of Assetto Corsa Competizione. Top drivers in each category per region will move on to their respective regional race. Regional podium finishers, along with top point scorers throughout the competition, will move on to the regional semifinals. Top drivers in each region in the semifinals will move on to the Grand Finals Weekend, live in Las Vegas in the middle of January 2022.
First up, the Stock Car Challenge using iRacing’s NASCAR Camaro takes on the Charlotte Motor Speedway oval in July. The Open Wheel Challenge, in iRacing’s IR-01, will head to the Full Course at Okayama International Circuit. Finally, the Sports Car Challenge on Assetto Corza Competizione, using the McLaren 720S, will race around Spa-Francorchamps.
Through the next five months, there will be a qualifying round to determine the drivers that will participate in the main events per region at the end of the month. December will feature the semifinals and the finals go off in January.
PRO-AM WATCH PARTY
The Pro-Am battle will commence at 12:00 p.m. PST / 3:00 p.m. EDT / 8:00 p.m. BST / 9:00 p.m. GMT. The stream will be live on the Logitech G Twitch channel and will feature a race at Daytona Int’l Speedway in the NASCAR Camaro and a race at Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in the Dallara IR-01.
Both Byron and Norris are not only known for their abilities behind the real wheel, but also for their virtual racing prowess as online racers. Team L4NDO streams have become popular in recent times while Byron is one of the owners at the top level of eNASCAR iRacing competition.
Kligerman, Kanaan, Rosenqvist and Wickens all have taken up the virtual racing in the past few years, especially during the pandemic, but it will be interesting to see how the celebrities and creators adapt to the iRacing circuits during this Pro-Am battle.
As far as the challenge itself, registration is currently open to all active iRacing or Assetto Corsa Competizione members. Register for the action over at logitechgchallenge.com and get to qualifying before 26th July.
Don’t forget to read the rules!
