Paris (AFP)

Motor sports, which made the bet a few years ago to invest in esport, touch the dividends thanks to the multiple virtual races which allow them to continue to exist at the time of the coronavirus.

Formula 1, World Rally Championship, MotoGP ... everyone goes there for their confrontation on their official video game between their headliners in the real world, in parallel with the championships for + sim racing + specialists.

A necessity to maintain a presence in the media and on social networks, while the sport is at a standstill and its actors confined.

"One of the objectives of this type of activity is to support our business partners", whose names also appear on the edge of the virtual tracks, adds Formula E CEO Jamie Reigle.

But if other disciplines only discover it today, "historically, there is a real link" between mechanical sports and esport, points out Nicolas Besombes, sociologist and vice-president of the France Esports association.

"The International Automobile Federation (FIA) was one of the first to invest in the world of esports, not only as a marketing tool but also for training and detection, because simulation is part of motor sports", he explains.

- Bargain -

Accustomed to developing their cars in the life-size simulators of their stables, many pilots also have cutting-edge equipment to practice virtually at home.

"It's a great way to keep your reflexes and a competitive spirit," said the Portuguese Antonio Félix Da Costa, leader of the Formula E Championship, converted during his confinement.

Winner of two virtual Grand Prix organized by F1, Charles Leclerc appreciates being able to "be himself" when broadcasting his races live on the Twitch platform, much more than during a "real" GP.

The Monegasque Ferrari and his companions Lando Norris, Alex Albon and George Russell or even MotoGP pilots Fabio Quartararo, Maverick Vinales or Alex Marquez ... the rising stars of motor and motor sports, sometimes opposed to surprise guests like the footballer Thibaut Courtois and golfer Ian Poulter offer their disciplines new visibility in the virtual world.

To quote only F1, the second GP "at home" of 2020, won by Leclerc, was "one of the most popular events we have ever mounted", assures its esports manager Julian Tan.

A boon knowing that "the stake for the sports federations which invest in esport is to rejuvenate and widen their + fan base + and to reach new markets, in particular in Asia, where the video game is a great channel of diffusion of the brand, "recalls Besombes.

"For the first time, we have the feeling that they manage to get people who follow video games and start to take an interest in F1 thanks to these virtual competitions," notes the specialist.

- "New fans" -

In the absence of competition in the real world, + sim racing + also benefits from an unprecedented exposure, both online and thanks to the retransmission of these races by the channels which broadcast F1, MotoGP or Formula E normally.

"The situation is giving birth to new esports fans who arrive to follow their heroes," said Jamie MacLaurin, co-founder and sporting director of the Veloce Esports team, of which French Formula E driver Jean-Eric Vergne is a partner.

Veloce and Vergne were among the first to smell the opportunity and set up, "in only a dozen hours" after the cancellation in extremis of the Australian Grand Prix in mid-March, the first in a series racing with Norris at the head of the gondola.

"It is very exciting this opportunity to find new audiences, but we will have to see how many remain when the real sport resumes", wonders already MacLaurin, who anticipates a "small drop in audiences".

"If I were to guess, but it's a response from Normand, I think there are some that will win loyalty and that a large majority, as soon as life resumes its course, will no longer have time and will always prefer real practice, "says Besombes.

© 2020 AFP