Following its launch in September, Motorsport UK’s officially endorsed British Formula 4 Esports Championship starts tomorrow (14th October) and its full entry list has been revealed.
The United Kingdom’s four-wheeled motorsport governing body has recently committed to the virtual racing scene, with Paul Crawford now its Esports Manager.
Its first foray into organised esports events will utilise popular sim racing platform iRacing and will see a 24-car grid for its opening round. The gird will mix F4 competitors with sim racing experts.
Among the entrants are the winners of the ROKiT Racing Star F4 programme, where Monica Boulton Ramos and Deagen Fairclough won the opportunity of real-world drives on British F4 next season. As part of their training programme, they will compete here first.
Reigning British F4 champions JHR Developments will field two cars, one for Chris Aoun and James Armstrong, while junior formulae stalwarts Arden YRDA has selected Ted Bradbury and Kyan Gohill. They will be up against renowned professional racing esports teams and drivers.
Dion Gowda, who will compete in the real-world championship next season with Carlin, will join in as part of a four-strong line-up for Ford’s esports team – Team Fordzilla. He will be joined by GT Pro Series race winner Peyo Peev, Oliver Stepanov and 2021 ADAC GT Masters Esports GT4 champion Emre Cihan.
Apex Racing Team has entered Peter Berryman and Jamie Fluke, the duo part of the squad’s VCO ERL Fall and Summer Cup-winning performances earlier this year – both in single-seaters and using iRacing. It also has a second team for rising stars Luke McKeown and Stanley Deslandes, entitled Apex Racing Academy.
Mira Schmitt and Azzy Iredale will join in for Prismatic Motorsport – a virtual racing outfit that aims to elevate trans talent and advocate for greater inclusion within esports.
Munster Gaming Rugby, TeamSport Century Sim Racing, Mensah Racing and Kimura Performance complete the grid that will be competing for a share in a prize pool that includes a Simucube Pro 2 wheel base, training at Darren Turner’s Base Performance Simulators, Virtual Reality Racing Club coaching, a Noblechairs seat and £6,000.
“The calibre of the entries certainly reflects the quality of the twelve teams we’ve attracted to the championship, and the action on-track promises to be nothing short of thrilling when we hit a virtual Donington Park tomorrow night,” said Crawford.
All entrants will drive identical iRacing IR-04 cars, with six rounds and 12 races to decide the eventual champion. Live coverage will be on the RaceSpot TV YouTube Channel.
2022 ROKIT BRITISH F4 ESPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP CALENDAR
- Rounds 1 & 2 14 October Donington Park (National)
- Rounds 3 & 4 21 October Oulton Park (Island)
- Rounds 5 & 6 4 November Knockhill
- Rounds 7 & 8 11 November Snetterton (300)
- Rounds 9 & 10 25 November Silverstone (National)
- Rounds 11 & 12 2 December Brands Hatch (GP)
2022 ROKIT BRITISH F4 ESPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP ENTRY LIST
- Apex Racing Team – Peter Berryman and Jamie Fluke
- Apex Racing Academy – Luke McKeown and Stanley Deslandes
- Munster Gaming Rugby – Alx Spetz and Josh Lad
- Racing Star – Monica Boulton Ramos and Deagen Fairclough
- TeamSport Century Sim Racing – Ethan Critchley and Pete Harrod
- Team Fordzilla – Emre Cihan and Oliver Stepanov
- Team Fordzilla Hybrid – Peyo Peev and Dion Gowda
- JHR Developments – Chris Aoun and James Armstrong
- Arden YRDA – Ted Bradbury and Kyan Gohill
- Mensah Racing – Lewis Appiagyei and Carl Chase
- Kimura Performance – Ryan Micallef and Matt Caruana
- Prismatic Motorsport – Mira Schmitt and Azzy Iredale
Images: Motorsport UK
