If you have ever watched the likes of Sébastien Ogier or Tommi Mäkinen expertly navigating a mucky welsh dirt track at top speed and thought ‘yeah… I could do that’ now is your chance to prove it.
Skoda Motorsport have just launched their eChallenge series; a virtual competition where anyone with a gaming console or Windows PC can compete against professional rally drivers.
Players and professional drivers alike will pilot a Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo around various stages throughout the season, starting with ‘Rally Argentina’ on 22/04 and finishing on 26/04/2020.
British Game Developer Codemasters
The eChallenge series will be hosted via DiRT Rally 2.0, a rally simulator made by British game developer Codemasters, who have worked on racing video games since the days of Colin McRae Rally on the PlayStation 1.
Anyone with a copy of DiRT Rally 2.0 and a PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or Windows PC, can take part. Each participant’s time will be recorded on an online leader board which will be updated at the end of each event.
Real rally drivers will join the competition to lay down their best times on the myriad of virtual stages. Among them are the FIA WRC2 Champion from 2017, Pontus Tidemand (SWE), European Rally Champion (ERC1) Chris Ingram (GBR), Slovakian Rally Champion Martin Koči (SVK) and rising star Oliver Solberg (SWE), who races for Skoda Motorsport in the FIA World Rally Championship.
‘E-game Ambassador’ Petr Semerád
Skoda’s ‘e-game ambassador’ Petr Semerád is a current favourite, having put a vast number of hours into refining his skills in DiRT Rally 2.0 prior to the eChallenge series announcement.
The winner of the eChallenge series will receive ‘attractive prizes’, although what these prizes are have not been confirmed yet.
Michal Hrabánek, Škoda Motorsport CEO, is excited about the event; “Not only the fans, but also the teams themselves can’t wait for rallying to resume. That, however, could take some more time, so we’ve decided to create our own online version of the Rally Argentina. The professional rally drivers from our customer teams with ŠKODA FABIA Rally2 evo cars will not only compete against each other – anyone can challenge them.”
#BEATSKODAACES
The ŠKODA Motorsport eChallenge will be covered regularly under the hashtag #BEATSKODAACES by ŠKODA Motorsport’s social media channels.
Skoda Motorsport’s eChallenge kicks off on 22 April 2020 with Rally Argentina, as the real FIA World Rally Championship has been postponed due to COVID-19 quarantining measures.
This first online stage will be open for five days to all DiRT players, to sign up follow this link.
