Team VVV Racing Game Awards 2018: Best Automotive Esport

Founder & Website Editor

Posted on 15/03/2018

It's fair to say we were absolutely spoiled with racing games in 2017, in what was a landmark year for the genre. In the space of just one month, we witnessed three contenders from major franchises jostle for position in a spectacular race to the finish line. After a long four year wait, Gran Turismo made its belated debut on PS4 with the release of the online eSports-focused Gran Turismo Sport, but it faced stiff competition from its Xbox rival franchise. Forza Motorsport 7 boasted the most comprehensive car selection of any racing game released this generation, as well as crisp 4K graphics and a new, more engrossing career mode.

Taking on these two racing game goliaths was Slightly Mad Studios’ racing simulation Project CARS 2. As the least established IP, Project CARS 2 was the ambitious underdog with huge potential, promising to be most authentic racing simulation ever made with a diverse variety of racing disciplines, an innovative dynamic weather system, and an unrivalled track selection. Annual licensed games such as MXGP 3, MotoGP 17, WRC 7, and F1 2017 also all saw significant improvements that elevated them above typical incremental updates, while futuristic racing fans were treated to the long-awaited comeback of the WipEout series with the release of WipEout: Omega Collection.

You can view the full list of nominations for the Team VVV Racing Game of the Year Awards 2018 here.

Best Automotive Esport

This year sees the introduction of the Best Automotive Esport Award, recognising progress in expanding Esports and developing the genre. This award takes three main aspects into account. Structure: in terms of the transparency of entry and the range of options to enter. Exposure: the amount and style of exposure within its remit. Media: this is a core aspect that relates directly to Team VVV and other gaming publications being able to cover the event without restriction and with the access necessary for transparent coverage. And Execution: how the event was displayed and presented to the audience.

WRC 7

Run by the ESL and with the finals hosted by Hyundai, this saw the second year of a major Esport event by the WRC. Given the quality of the WRC 7 game, this gave greater credibility to proceedings. Unfortunately, the event did not invite gaming media due to media restrictions, so we weren’t able to cover it.

Entry options were also quite limited as press releases were not made available, so we were not able to keep up and inform during the qualifying rounds. The event was fun to watch, but the presenters lacked chemistry: it all felt a bit awkward and the final was ultimately confusing to follow. The game also lacked replay cameras and overall coverage. The potential was there but it didn’t quite come together coherently. Next year promises lots of improvements and we expect both the ESL and WRC to take note.

F1 2017

Undoubtedly the biggest event in terms of Esport exposure, F1 shows true potential with professional replay cameras in-game matching the official sport, creating an authentic TV atmosphere. This gave the organisers ‘Gfinity’ lots to work with, but there is a range of areas for improvement.

If you were in the right F1 community, you’d be in the know, but outside of that exposure of the qualifying events could have been clearer. Media access was virtually non-existent, offering zero access and transparency to any games industry publication. Certainly, this was our experience from Gfinity, Codemasters and F1, and we hope to see this improve.

The final event weekend was very exciting. However, the commentary was too forced and over-emphasising, thus devaluing the gameplay – a common trait when commentating video games that harks back to the ‘shoutcaster’ style. Also, like WRC, the combination of guest presenters was like chalk and cheese with two completely different era’s clashing. All finalists were also able to use any viewpoint during the race, which doesn't seem suitable for competitive Esports racing. Overall, there is certainly, room for improvement in all areas.

McLaren’s Worlds Fastest Gamer

Introducing organiser Ideas and Cars run by Darren Cox of GT Academy fame, McLaren had a slow start to the year. The initial launch event proved somewhat aimless previewing the direction of the event. It promised a lot, but the first half of the competition failed to deliver. More transparency and options for entry would have solved this.

However, as the competition progressed, it found its stride and brought through a range of top-class racing talent and easily the most consistent bunch of racing gaming stars in any racing Esport event. The finals culminated in a range of tasks that tested the abilities of these sim racers to the limit and ultimately delivered in triumphant style. Media access was good too. The event was delivered in a transparent fashion and the finals gave a feeling of real motorsport that the other events failed to deliver in quite the same way.

MotoGP Esports

Milestone made considerable progress in MotoGP 2017, and this added polish was the perfect timing for Dorna to introduce their MotoGP competition. Indeed, the finals were spectacular, if you had the opportunity to see them. Trouble is, there's a good chance you missed it. Like F1, media access was non-existent for games media, the communication on the qualifying events could have been better, and the overall competition was dominated by Italian and Spanish contestants, or at least that is what the finals represented from our perspective. In truth, very little access resulted in a competition with much potential, but almost zero support for the winner. There was a lot of potential but there's a lot for Dorna to do in terms of communicating its content to gamers and keeping a transparency on the competition.

Winner: McLaren’s Worlds Fastest Gamer

Despite that slow start, McLaren brought everything together in professional style and ultimately their winner. Rudy Van Buren has gone on to produce fantastic results in the Race of Champions and even posing with the drivers at the launch of their 2018 F1 challenger. More than just a games competition, Rudy will actually be involved in testing his skills to the limit on a daily basis and is the only competition winner to get this form of consistent position within a company.

The media access was open and transparent throughout, and kinks in the early part of the year will no doubt see better organisation following the appointment of Director of Esport: Ben Payne. There is still room for improvement in terms of organisation and coverage, but credit where it's due. McLaren is not only the first automotive company outside of the core competitions to invest in Esport on this scale, they also made it a worthwhile goal with truly universal appeal across the different entry formats. All of this makes McLaren’s Worlds Fastest Gamer our winner of Best Automotive Esport in this year’s Team VVV Awards.

Do you agree with our winner? Let us know in the comments below. Check back soon for more Team VVV Awards 2018 coverage on the website and YouTube channel throughout March.