The world’s first e2Real sports league puts two Prodigy Passes on the line with latest sim racing esports tournament
The winner will earn a trip to compete at Prodigy Week held at Atlanta Motorsports Park, and another top 500 finisher may be selected
JACKSONVILLE, FL, July 13, 2023 – Racing Prodigy™, a groundbreaking sports, entertainment, and media property, today announced the third tournament of season 1 of the Prodigy Racing League™ (PRL™) will be held on the racing simulation game iRacing. As part of the e2Real™ sports league, the PRL iRacing FF1600 Cup Challenge will begin on Monday, July 24, continuing Racing Prodigy’s mission to make motorsports more accessible using esports as a pathway to real-world racing.
In the PRL iRacing FF1600 Cup, sim racers will compete in the Formula Ford 1600 on the short track layout at Okayama International Circuit starting in a Time Attack format. By the end of this first stage, which concludes July 30, the top 40 drivers will advance to the semi-final races that will be live streamed on Racing Prodigy’s Twitch channel on Saturday, August 5 starting at 1:00 pm EDT. The top 10 in each race will move on to the final on August 6 to compete for the Prodigy Pass – an all-expense paid trip to compete in Radical SR1 race cars at Atlanta Motorsports Park and the opportunity to earn a paid racing contract.
Premium sim racing equipment from Official Partners SIM-LAB, GRID Engineering, and Asetek SimSports® will be awarded to podium finishers, as well as a random participant.
To be eligible to win, racers must have a valid iRacing account, pay a $9 entry fee, register at www.RacingProdigy.com, and be at least 13 years old by the final day of Time Attacks.
iRacing is one of four game titles, along with Street Kart Racing, RaceRoom, and rFactor 2, that will combine to host 12 PRL esports tournaments running into October. Winners will train and compete at Prodigy Week™ part 1, October 30 to November 1, at Atlanta Motorsports Park. Each racer will receive expert instruction on racing technique, fitness, and communication.
Tournament participants who do not win, but finish in the top 500, are able to submit an entry to potentially be selected by the Prodigy Search Committee for another chance at securing a Prodigy Pass for a trip to Atlanta to pursue their dream.
The first tournament of season 1 – the PRL iRacing GR86 Cup Open Challenge – concluded on July 2, and saw Brazil’s Gustavo Ariel named the very first Prodigy Pass winner. The tournament saw sim racers representing 65 countries, including the U.S., Australia, Germany, India, the Netherlands, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Guatemala, Lebanon, Nepal, and South Korea to name some, with nine counties in the top 10.
The league’s second tournament and the first iOS mobile simulation competition, currently underway, the PRL X30 Miami Cup with Street Kart Racing, will conclude on Saturday, July 29. Street Kart Racing is free to play throughout the entire tournament.
Racing Prodigy’s CEO David Cook is eager to see another Prodigy Pass winner crowned, as the burgeoning league continues to give sim racers an opportunity to branch into real-life racing. “Watching Gustavo’s reaction and showcase of emotion when he won our first tournament was a huge moment of pride for all of us involved with Racing Prodigy. Along with the fans watching along on Twitch, it was remarkable to witness and a true testament to the passion these racers have,” said Cook. “I can’t wait to see who becomes our next Prodigy Pass winner on the mobile platform and to start our third tournament as we continue to give racers the chance to get behind the wheel of a real race car, with the goal of embarking on a new career with us.”
Following the first Prodigy Week part 1, Racing Prodigy plans to host a second Prodigy Week in early 2024 with an additional 35 Prodigy Pass winners, creating a pool of 50 of the world’s most talented drivers from which PRL teams will draft. The plan is for those drafted to receive a paid contract to compete in PRL’s first real-world racing series in the United States, to be launched in 2024.
