The anticipation is ramping up. Three months on from the nail-biting climax of last year’s campaign, the start of the 2021 MotoGP™ eSport Championship is nearing with the first phase of the acclaimed series – the Pro Draft – kicking off next week.
Four Online Challenges await gaming hopefuls from around the world as they vie to score enough points to make it into the Draft Selection, the stage which determines which competitors get selected for the all-important Global Series (and for which current MotoGP™ team)!
The Challenges will run through March and April with the first getting underway on 18th March. On each occasion, gamers will have four days to set their fastest times.
And the first Online Challenge packs a punch! You had the chance to vote for which legendary MotoGP™ rider and machine would be chosen for Challenge #1. Mick Doohan and the 1995 Honda NSR500, Max Biaggi and the 2002 Yamaha M1 and Dani Pedrosa and the 2007 Honda RC212V all faced off in a final head-to-head in which 200,000 votes were lodged across different social media platforms.
The winner of the final vote was triple world champion and 31-time MotoGP™ race winner Dani Pedrosa!
As well as gamers using vintage names and machinery in this challenge, they will also be pushing to post the fastest possible time at a vintage MotoGP™ track: Laguna Seca! The host of the American Grand Prix between 1988 and 1994 and then 2005 to 2013, its short, sharp layout is as fun as it is challenging. It also contains one of the most iconic corners on any circuit on the world: the Corkscrew.
When competing in each Online Challenge, gamers will be classified in one of two categories: those from Europe and those from the Rest of the World. The gamers setting the fastest times will be awarded points. At the end of the fourth Online Challenge the 16 gamers with the most points in the European classification and the six from the Rest of the World classification will make up the 22 riders that qualify for the Draft Selection.
The results of each Online Challenge is accumulative. The top 45 gamers from each world region (the best 15 per platform) will be awarded points depending on their finishing position using the official MotoGP™ scoring system.
As ever, there are a host of stellar prizes on offer, including a brand new BMW M235i xDrive Gran Coupé for the outright Championship winner!
Keep your eyes posted on esport.motogp.com, as well as all of our social media platforms including YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Twitch, and Facebook for updates regarding this year’s Online Challenges. They will feature a host of new features, including all-important set-up advice with some of the fastest gamers in the world!
So with that in mind, register now for free at esport.motogp.com and get practicing!
