The eighth annual CAR Liqui Moly Virtual Le Mans Challenge is nearly upon us. Once again, eight teams comprising some of the fastest virtual racers in South Africa will descend on the Canal Walk Shopping Centre to battle for the Virtual Le Mans Floating Trophy and the grand prize of a trip to the Malaysian Grand Prix in 2015 – kindly sponsored by F1 Grand Prix Tours.
The event will be hosted on Gran Turismo 6 (PlayStation 3), which means that even though all the teams are assembled in one place – Canal Walk shopping centre in Cape Town – the racing happens online.
All you need to enter is to have an existing PlayStation Network (PSN) account so one team member can qualify. You will also need enough credits to purchase the racecar (mentioned below) on the game. Please note that you must also be able to purchase and tune a racecar on the day of the event.
Qualifying for this year’s CAR Liqui Moly Virtual Le Mans Challenge will happen in a more realistic format than before: the aim of the 30-minute qualifying session is simple – lap the current Circuit de la Sarthe in the fastest time possible.
Realism for qualifying and the event will be on a maximum setting, but to ensure only the fastest teams qualify for this year’s event, the qualifying sessions’ weather setting will be left on dry – that however, will not happen on raceday.
The teams with successful entries will be notified about regulations for the qualifying session on Friday 16 May.
Please note that this year we will NOT be flying any teams to Cape Town for the event. If you qualify and can make it to Cape Town at your own expense, then you may do so.
No entries will be accepted after midday on Friday 16 May 2014.
The requirements are
- That each team, consisting of three members, be able and willing to participate in qualifying and the event.
- That each team has an existing PSN account so that they can be invited to qualify and compete on race day.
- That each team and its members must be at Canal Walk Shopping Centre (if you qualify) between 10h00 and midday on Saturday 14 June to draw for seating positions, and ensure enough time for setting up, free practice, and pre-race qualifying. Teams will also be required to rank their drivers from one to three on raceday.
- This year, the in-car view will NOT be necessary during the actual event. Teams will be allowed to use any view they choose and change whenever and as many times as they prefer.
- All cars will be raced with the paddle-shift systems on the Logitech G27 race systems provided. This year, the force feedback on the Logitech system will be set to the maximum amount.
- Driver changes happen at two-hour intervals during a 20 minute pit window. The window opens ten minutes before the driver’s two-hour stint is complete, and stays open for ten minutes after that. The driver change MUST happen inside this window.
- ABS is the ONLY driver aid allowed this year.
- If your TV, PlayStation, Logitech G27 system or any other element of the race station malfunctions during the 24 hours, consider yourself retired, or try to fix it yourself.
- The winner is the team to complete the most number of laps in the 24 hours starting at 15:00 on June 14, 2014.
- On the day of the event a break will be needed halfway through the race in order to reset systems as dictated by the current GT6 tolerances The winner will be the team with the most combined laps of the two sessions.
- GT6 will be set to full accident damage and changeable weather conditions, so if you crash, or spin off and damage your vehicle – then you’ll have to make it back to the pits, where the vehicle will repaired.
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- Also, please bear in mind that you have to be able to travel to the Canal Walk shopping centre in Cape Town, on June 14 at your own expense.
- All entries (that is, if you agree to the requirements listed here), will be accommodated for. Simply list your team name, the names, ages and contact details of each team member (three per team please), as well as the PSN username of at least one team member and send it to [email protected] for us to confirm your entry. Make sure your entry is as detailed as possible please!
- This year, competitors will all use Peugeot’s 908 HDi LMP1 racecar. Teams are required to use a base car (no livery) and coat it in the colour of their choice. Teams are also obliged to perform full modifications (maximum power) to their racecar, to ensure that all teams are competitive and to extract maximum concentration from the drivers.
- Please also keep in mind the following: The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Participation in the competition constitutes acceptance of rules.
CAR would like to thank our sponsors Liqui Moly, F1 Grand Prix Tours, Hisense, Joe’s Easy Diner, Cape Union Mart and TW Steel for helping to make Virtual Le Mans a reality once again.
Lets race!
