Verstappen, Montoya lead world-class 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual driver line-up

The driver line-up for the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual has been revealed, and it’s filled with Formula 1, GT, IndyCar and touring car stars racing alongside the best esports drivers in the world.

The leading racing esports event held its inaugural event in 2020, won by Louis Delétraz, Raffaele Marciello, Nikodem Wisniewski and Kuba Brzezinski, returned in 2021 with an expanded Series that included four rounds proceeding the 24-hour extravaganza.

50 cars will take to the grid at Circuit de la Sarthe, 29 in the LMP category and 21 in GTE. Each team has four drivers per car, with two from the world of motorsport and two from racing esports.

Heading the charge is 2021 Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen, fresh from the title showdown in Abu Dhabi. He joins Team Redline in car #123 alongside IndyCar racer and Spa round winner Felix Rosenqvist, VCO ProSIM Series winner Maximilian Benecke and Atze Kerkhof.

In the LMVS Guest Car car, father and son combination Juan Pablo and Sebastian Montoya take to the grid and are joined by Le Mans Virtual Cup victors Luca D’Amelio and Christopher Högfeldt.

The grid is filled by many high-profile motorsport drivers such as Formula E race winner Oliver Rowland, Porsche GT works driver Matt Campbell, Formula 2 race winner Sérgio Sette Câmara, NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Sage Karam, W Series racer Beitske Visse, WTCR race winner Néstor Girolami and 2021 Super TC2000 touring car champion and Sebring round winner Agustín Canapino.

2021 IndyCar Series champion Álex Palou will also be present, driving the #966 Team Fordzilla entry with Luke Browning, Nuno Pinto and Pablo López Padín.

The very best of racing esports is also represented, with 2020 British GT race winner and 2021 GT World Challenge Europe Esports Sprint Series victor James Baldwin entered in a Veloce Esports car alongside former BTCC racer Mike Epps, Isaac Gillissen and Eamonn Murphy.

Two-time F1 Esports Series Pro champion Jarno Opmeer will also be present, teaming up with Formula Pro Series champion Bono Huis, Mercedes-AMG DTM driver Daniel Juncadella and Ross Gunn for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports entry.

In GTE, the W Series will enter a team – the first time the series has ventured outside of its own single-seater championship – with a BMW M8 driven by Fabienne Wohlwend, Ayla Ågren, Emily Jones and Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya.

“Our entry into the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans virtual race reflects our long-term commitment to the world of esports and creating opportunities for the world’s best female talent in motorsport, both on and off track,” highlighted Catherine Bond Muir, Chief Executive Officer, W Series.

Former DTM champion Bruno Spengler will race for BMW Team BS+COMPETITION, while rally driver Sindre Furuseth joins Proton Competition – highlighting the diversity of talent included in this year’s running.

You can watch the race live on Traxion.GG’s YouTube, Facebook and Twitch channels from 5 am PT / 8 am ET / 1 pm GMT / 2 pm CET on Saturday, 15th January 2022 with qualifying the day before.

2022 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual LMP entry list

2022 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual GTE entry list

*Approved substitute drivers not on full-season roster

Image credit: W Series