World's best racers getting started with eSports

Miguel Faisca and Graham Carroll are among the best talents in the world when it comes to virtual car racing in online sims.
World's best racers getting started with eSports

Miguel Faisca is one of the best racers in the world, but he's more famous for competing in virtual racing rather than the real thing.

In 2013, Miguel beat 900,000 people from around Europe to be crowned the best racer in video game Gran Turismo 6.
Winning the tournament helped him secure a job racing real cars, and he says there is a lot in common between the two industries.

Image: Miguel Faisca tests out a simulator at Silverstone

"There's a lot we can learn with the virtual stuff," Miguel told Sky News.
"Nowadays all the simulators use lasers to scan the tracks, making it more realistic.
"Everything from curbs to trees is included, and you can learn the circuit using the simulation. The sensation of driving the virtual car is getting closer and closer to reality."
McLaren has certainly bought into the concept; it's been hosting a competition that will reward the best virtual racer with a contract at the company.
The racers themselves don't even need to attend in person, and instead compete in the tournament from home.

Image: Graham Carroll competing in McLaren's World's Fastest Gamer racing tournament

This provides a much cheaper entry point into the sport as a career according to Graham Carroll, who is one of the competitors.
"I grew up doing karting from the age of seven and at 16 I started doing Formula Ford, becoming Champion in 2008," he said.
"But then I needed £200,000 to go racing and it all just fell apart there. I didn't have the money or sponsors to do it so I just looked for the closest thing possible, which was online sim racing."
In addition to racing contracts, eSports racing tournaments are also offering significant cash prizes, with a recent Las Vegas tournament boasting a $1m prize pool.