This coming weekend in Singapore (25 June), 31 motor sport Esports players from all around the world will go wheel-to-wheel for the honour of being awarded an Olympic Esports Series Trophy, as the culmination of a virtual and simulated sports competition.

Created by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in collaboration with the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and game publisher Polyphony Digital Inc, the motor sport element of the Olympic Esports Series 2023 got underway earlier this year, when more than 150,000 participants – both amateur and professional – took part in a ten-day online qualifier on Gran Turismo 7.

The ten players that posted the fastest lap times duly secured their spot, following approval of their respective National Sporting Authorities, in the live Olympic Esports Series 2023 Motor Sport Finals – a highlight of the recently-announced Olympic Esports Week 2023, a unique four-day festival showcasing the very best of virtual sports.

This inaugural event will take place at Singapore’s Suntec Conference and Exhibition Centre from 22-25 June and will be streamed globally on Olympics.com and across Olympic social channels, with finalists competing in front of fans for the honour of winning the prestigious Olympic Esports Series 2023 title.

The ten players that advanced from the initial online stage will be joined by 20 more selected by local ASNs. Further qualifying rounds, in-person this time, will then narrow the 30 finalists – each drawn from a different country, from Lithuania to Lebanon and Botswana to Brazil – down to 11.

Alongside one more player from Singapore, these participants will subsequently do battle in the Live Event Final – taking the form of a 50-minute race – in a bid to clinch the coveted trophy.

“As a discipline, Esports really established itself during the recent pandemic, and while some predicted that its growth would slow once life began to return to normal, quite to the contrary, it has accelerated,” commented Niroshan Pereira, President of the Esports Commission at the FIA.

“One of our key goals is to grow motor sport’s global fan base, and Esports – as an accessible, grassroots discipline – offers a golden opportunity to reach a new, young and enthusiastic audience.

“As a governing body, we also share the core Olympic values of excellence, respect and friendship, and we look forward to seeing the Olympic Esports Series 2023 Motor Sport Finals play out in just such a spirit and to celebrating the 2023 winner in Singapore this weekend.”