F1 Esports champion Brendon Leigh is set to take part in an event at the 2018 Race of Champions which is being held in Saudi Arabia and will could see him go up against a variety of legendary drivers in real life ROC.
Last year the ROC featured active F1 drivers Sebastian Vettel and Felipe Massa, former F1 drivers David Coulthard and Jenson Button, Indy 500 winners Helio Castroneves and Juan Pablo Montoya and Le Mans legend, Tom Kristensen.
The winner of the “eRace of Champions” will progress to the main event and join the ‘Worlds Fastest Gamer’ Rudy van Buren, who has already qualified for the main event as the ‘virtual world champion’.
“It was one of my first objectives I discussed with (ESPORTS+CARS boss) Darren Cox – to get into real racing cars,” said Leigh.
“I could never have imagined it would be an an event like this. I am excited but also nervous as it will be my first ever time in a real racing car. As F1 esports champion, I’m aware that the spotlight will be on me.”
Darren Cox added that it is all about “maximising the opportunities for our drivers.”
“This type of crossover has been done before but when the opportunity arrived to do it at the Race of Champions I asked Brendon if he fancied giving it a shot. His answer was an instantaneous yes, although I have told him to treat this as a fun event while we finalise his significant esports plan for 2018.”
The Race of Champions will be held on 2/3 February 2018 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia within Riyadh’s King Fahad International Stadium, and will be broadcast to an international TV audience.
