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Formula E’s esports competition returns, Gen3 cars and €40,000 prize pool

Formula E | Accelerate is back for 2023, the real-world series’ official esports competition mixing online qualifying races and an in-person final. It also seemingly confirms the Gen3 single-seater for the rFactor 2 platform.

Formula E’s esports competition returns, Gen3 cars and €40,000 prize pool

Won by Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports driver Frede Rasmussen back-to-back in 2021 and 2022, netting a test in a Gen2 Formula E car, the competition will offer a €40,000 prize pool this time around.

The participation process will be broken down into two rounds: Berlin and Rome.

From open qualifying, which begins on 14th April, the top 88 drivers will be placed within qualifying races, before the top 22 from those enter the two rounds.

Rasmussen defends Formula E: Accelerate title in London
Reigning champion, Frede Rasmussen, 2022

At each of the Berlin and Rome rounds, there will be hot lap qualifying, qualifying duels and a race.

The top 11 from across the two events make it to the in-person final, which is once again held at the ExCel London centre during the weekend of the London E-Prix. Here, there will be a Main Race and a top-six reverse grid Charge Race.

Last season, this final was also live-streamed on the Formula E YouTube channel.

The prize pool will be divided into €10,000 for each of the two rounds and the London final, plus an additional €10,000 split up based upon the overall standings.

2023 Grid Finder 2023 Formula E Accelerate

Grid Finder will be handling the registration process, which is open now, following its recent work with the F1 Creator Series. From the second round, the online management of the races will be handled using its soon-to-be-launched suite of league management tools.

“Working with Formula E is a huge step forward for the platform,” said Grid Finder Founder, Thomas Stapley-Bunten to Traxion.GG.

“It’s great news for the team that has been working flat out for months to build our league management tool.

“This is a strong signal to other tournament organisers. What Formula E has seen is good enough for it to get on board with us early.”

The first of the Berlin qualifying races is set for 18th April, running through to the LAN-based final on Saturday 29th July 2023.

Gen3 Formula E car in rFactor 2

The announcement of the Formula E | Accelerate competition also seemingly confirms the latest Gen3 specification electric race cars for the rFactor 2 simulation.

The Studio 397-developed platform has been the official sim of the series since March 2022 and currently offers the first and second-generation vehicles plus official liveries.

A graphic for the esports competition appears to reveal the latest vehicle in-engine for the first time, while Formula E’s tweet confirms the use of Gen3 for the competition.

These latest vehicles are the quickest Formula E open-wheelers yet, with power of up to 350kW, compared to 250kW previously. Thanks to a twin-motor set-up, they can regenerate up to 600kW of energy. They are also 60kgs lighter and do not feature any rear brakes.

Rene Rast, NEOM McLaren Formula E Team, leads Maximilian Gunther, Maserati MSG Racing, Sao Paulo ePrix - Simon Galloway, Motorsport Images
Rene Rast, NEOM McLaren Formula E Team, leads Maximilian Gunther, Maserati MSG Racing, Sao Paulo ePrix – Simon Galloway, Motorsport Images

So far there hasn’t been official confirmation from Studio 397 or owners Motorsport Games, although this wouldn’t be the first time new content for rFactor 2 has been previewed via Formula E | Accelerate – the London circuit was first used by the competition last year before being released to all.

Full disclosure – Traxion.GG is part of Motorsport Games and the Motorsport Games family of brands. All Traxion.GG content is editorially removed from Motorsport Games video game development and created by a dedicated team.

Images: Grid Finder, Motorsport Images