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The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile has announced a formal partnership with a sim racing chassis manufacturer and turnkey service provider..
The deal sees Advanced SimRacing become an official supplier for sim racing installations, which the FIA says will maximise accessibility to motorsports, and create new possibilities for sim racing events.
Discussions began because of the Canadian company’s close relationship with D-BOX, already a close FIA partner, and Marc Andre Ladouceur, Co-Owner of Advanced SimRacing, explained that cooperation between these brands has been ongoing for a while.
He said: “We ran two massive events with [the FIA], we were at the FIA’s General Assembly in Uzbekistan last year, and we also participated in the FIA Motorsport Games in Valencia. Those two events were our trial run in a way.”
Ladouceur explained that these events allowed them to demonstrate their products to the leadership of the FIA, who were able to try out their simulators firsthand during these events.
One of the leaders was Eric Stranne, who saw Advanced SimRacing’s strong reputation as deserved.
“Everything from planning, assembly, execution and operations with Advanced SimRacing was excellent on both occasions, and they really showed why they are so highly regarded in the industry,” said Stranne to Traxion, the FIA Esports Project Manager.
“The FIA’s collaboration with Advanced SimRacing will make the thrill of racing more accessible by making it easier and more cost-effective for our ASNs to organise events.”
These events helped fast-track conversations, according to Ladouceur, which were started by the FIA’s willingness to dive deeper into Esports.
“I think there was always a desire throughout the last few years for the FIA to be involved in the simulation aspect of motorsport,” he said.
“It was always a niche aspect but now it’s becoming more and more popular, they’ve been paying attention and investing in more initiatives and competitions, so that’s where it started.”
“We’re extremely pleased to have announced this partnership,” continues Stranne.
“Advanced SimRacing will be sure to help support not only [the FIA] but also [its] member clubs, lowering the barrier of entry and bringing more people together to motorsport.”
Ladouceur added: “We’re very happy, the feedback has been incredibly positive. This is a really big moment of pride, to be able to say we keep pushing the envelope, we’re going to carry the flag [for sim racing] and keep being the standard bearers for the industry on a global scale.”
It follows the news that the FIA has created an esports appendix for its International Sporting Code.
The deal was set out alongside an expansive vision for sim racing and esports in the next few years by Stranne in his keynote speech at Sim Formula Europe, which included hinting at a World Championship event soon.
Advanced SimRacing customers now see the FIA’s approval of their hardware, and wider esports fans may start to see the benefits of the FIA’s exploration into the industry with more competitions – an exciting prospect.
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