NEWS ALERT…
September 13, 2022 – Silverstone, UK – The opening round of the 2022-23 Le Mans Virtual Series season is fast-approaching and the premier endurance esports championship has once again attracted top level attention from major automotive marques, elite esports teams and top-level drivers from both the real and virtual worlds.  The full entry list for the 8 Hours of Bahrain on Saturday, September 17 can be found HERE.
 
The 40 team entries are split between two categories – LMP (using an ORECA 07 LMP2 model) and GTE, with teams free to use either an Aston Martin Vantage GTE, BMW M8 GTE, Ferrari 488 GTE or Porsche 911 RSR GTE.  These manufacturers join with Alpine and Mercedes-AMG in supporting esports teams in the series.
 
A mix of ‘pro’ drivers from the real motorsport world and elite competitors from the sim racing scene will be racing together to represent their teams in the 8 Hours of Bahrain.  Among the names who will be on the grid are Formula E racer Sergio Sette Camara for Nextview Vanwall Burst, former 24 Hours of Nürburgring winner Sami-Matti Trogen in the Williams Esports entry, James Baldwin for AMG Team Petronas Esports, gamer-turned-real world racer Dylan Pereira for Proton Coanda Esports and former DTM Champion Bruno Spengler who continues his long-time association with BMW competing for BMW Team BS+COMPETITION. 
 
Joining them are 2021 Le Mans Virtual Series champions Jeffrey Rietveld and Michal Smidl for Team Redline, Josh Rogers and Mitchell deJong for Porsche Coanda, Yuri Kasdorp for Oracle Red Bull Racing, plus 2021 Le Mans Cup Champion Christopher Högfeldt who graduates to the premier grid with R8G Esports.  Add into the mix sim racing stars such as Michi Hoyer, Kevin Siggy, Bono Huis and many more and fast and furious racing action is guaranteed.

120 drivers will be competing from around the world on the all-new virtual Bahrain International Circuit, s vying for victory.  Full season entries are eligible for the US$250,000 prize fund, with monies being split evenly between the LMP and GTE classes.

Tune in to see the opening round of the Le Mans Virtual Series season, the 8 Hours of Bahrain, on Saturday, 17^th September with the broadcast beginning at 12h30 BST (13h30 CEST/07h30 EST). 
  
Supporting this year’s Le Mans Virtual Series will be some of the world’s most high-profile brands, including: Thrustmaster as Official Hardware Partner, Rolex as Official Timepiece Partner, Total Energies as Official Energy Partner, Goodyear as Official Tire Partner, LEGO® Technic as Official Engineering Partner and Algorand as Official Blockchain Partner.

Le Mans Virtual Series is a global, elite esports series made up of five rounds which bring together endurance racing and sim racing’ top teams to compete on some of the world’s most famous racetracks. International FIA-licensed real-world drivers are teamed up with elite esports squads to take on endurance classics for a total prize fund of US$250,000, culminating in the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual.  Le Mans Virtual Series is a joint venture between leading racing game developer, publisher and esports ecosystem provider of official motorsport racing series throughout the world, Motorsport Games, and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) – the creator and organizer of the world-famous 24 Hours of Le Mans and promoter of the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC).