Australian-based motorsport media outlet Speedcafe has reported that the SRO’s global GT World Challenge championships will not feature Fanatec sponsorship this year.
Since brokering a deal with the SRO Motorsports Group in 2021 Fanatec has sponsored every mainline GTWC series, including its flagship Intercontinental GT Challenge. The partnership initially found success during the COVID-19-enforced 2020 esports boom, when SRO briefly switched its focus to virtual racing.
However, in subsequent years Fanatec has faced several challenges, with poor customer service and financial difficulties leading to a tumultuous power struggle. Finally, insolvency was declared last year.
The German sim racing peripheral manufacturer was taken over by Corsair, however, with the American hardware giant assuring customers that Fanatec was still a going concern and would benefit from its global reach:
“We know that some of the community are not happy about the current state of Customer Service,” stated Corsair CEO Andy Paul at the time.
“I get this – I hear you; we are committed to improving this… We run a global support and logistics operation, and we will be integrating Fanatec into this, giving you better service and more transparency,” he continued.
Fanatec in SRO Esports
Fanatec became a ubiquitous presence in the GTWC paddock, launching the on-site Fanatec GT Pro Series in 2021. This esports championship uniquely allowed professional racing drivers to score points toward their real-world championship, with a further event – dubbed the SRO SIM Pro Series – held for the best sim racers on the planet.
Held in the gargantuan Fanatec Arena containing around 30 on-site simulators, the venture was likely run at huge expense, with its disappearance in 2024 coming as no surprise given the Landshut-based business’s financial struggles.
It is not yet known whether Fanatec’s sponsorship deal had simply run its course or whether the contract was broken, but a source from the SRO Motorsports Group has intimated that another partner will be announced for 2025 in due course.
What do you think about Fanatec no longer sponsoring GT World Challenge events? Let us know in the comments below.
Featured image courtesy of SRO/GT World Challenge
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