January 21st, 2023 at 8:00 a.m. by Claus Ludewig – double world champion Max Verstappen was not very enthusiastic about his participation in the virtual 24-hour race in Le Mans. The F1 champion described the event as a “clown show”.
Since the beginning of the global coronavirus pandemic, e-sports have also become more public, after previously being reported intensively mainly in Asia. In times of lockdowns and exit restrictions, digital offshoots of real sporting events also celebrated their debut. For example, the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual has been around since 2020, with driving in the PC racing game rFactor 2. The new edition of the 24-hour race took place at the weekend, in which the double F1 world champion Max Verstappen also took part. In his opinion, it was a “clown show”.
Virtual Le Mans 24-hour race: What happened?
Numerous technical problems caused a lot of frustration for the Dutch F1 world champion. The issues have resulted in several red-flagged race abandonments, as well as disconnections, which have led to Verstappen retiring. As an F1 racing driver, Verstappen has a tight schedule, but would like to devote himself to sim racing, as he explains in an interview with the Washington Post. After all, sim racing is also a kind of preparation for real racing drivers.
In order to be as close as possible to a real 24-hour race, there are strict regulations for the virtual edition. Each team consists of four drivers, with at least two professional racers per team. Various setup work is carried out in rFactor 2 and the online race takes place with day/night changes and under various simulated weather conditions. Riders who have suffered a disconnect usually get their laps back. In the case of Verstappen, however, this did not happen because fewer than four vehicles were affected by a disconnection. Verstappen was so angry at being in the lead that he dropped out of the race. According to the executive producer, the technical problems are said to have been related to DDoS attacks. Next year there will be a new edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual. Team Redline is going into the race as the defending champions, as Max Verstappen’s sister car won this year’s edition. Professional racing drivers Felipe Drugovich and Felix Rosenqvist as well as Luke Bennett and Chris Lulham took the wheel in the number 2 Redline car.
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Collection of anger at virtual Le Mans race in rFactor 2:
In the lead, Max Verstappen had a disconnect at the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual. According to the executive producer, the technical issues were said to be related to DDoS attacks. However, in Verstappen’s case, it didn’t return the laps as is usually the case with a disconnect. The double F1 World Champion was so pissed off that he dropped out of the race in rFactor 2.
Sources: PCGamer, TwitterWashington Post
