On January 26, ISPO Munich 2020 opened its doors again for thousands of visitors. There is a special novelty, because in the eSports area, a round of the Formelaustria eF1 Championship was held for the first time. The second live event of the popular virtual Formula 1 series in Central Europe took place in Hall C6.
The Formelaustria eF1 Championship is an eSports online championship. The 20 fastest drivers in Central Europe compete online on Sony Playstation 4 in Codemasters' F1 2019 racing simulation. The drivers have to optimize their own setups, memorize the track and complete 100% race distance without any driving aids! The procedure is like a real F1 Grand Prix: First the drivers compete against each other in qualifying for the coveted pole position. In the race, the battle for victory is influenced by strategy, mandatory pit stops, dynamic weather and safety car phases.
In 2020, the eF1 Championship was in its second season after the series made a great debut the year before. On a total of nine race weekends, the drivers fought for the coveted crown of the champion. Defending victor was the Austrian Dominik Hoffmann, who was also the top favourite in Munich. This time the race was held on the legendary Silverstone Circuit, the "Home of British Motorracing". The former Royal Air Force airport is one of the most traditional circuits in the entire F1 calendar and is known for its weather capers.
After an exciting day of racing, the winners were announced. Defending champion and top favourite Dominik Hoffmann from Team Mercedes-AMG Petronas could do justice to his title and secured 1st place of the 4th seasonal race with a time of 80:24.315. This enabled the Austrian to further extend his lead in the championship. The final of the eF1 Championship will then take place live in Vienna at the end of July. With a delay of 20,320, the German Sven Knöller from Team Williams crossed the finish line on second place. Roy Arnouts finished third for Red Bull Racing.
The eF1 drivers are of course the stars on site, but promoter HM Sports, an Austro-British Sport Consulting Agency, which has been working in Formula 1 for 17 years, has come up with something very special and invited the Austrian DTM star Ferdinand Habsburg. The Aston Martin driver was live on site on Sunday (26.01.). All fans and visitors of the ISPO Munich 2020 were of course invited to visit the eF1 Gaming Zone and not only watch the race and get autographs, but also get the chance to compete against our pros in the simulator!
For all fans who watched the race from home on the Formelaustria YouTube livestream, there was also something to win. During the broadcast, the commentators asked the raffle question several times. The spectators could then email the correct answer to eF1@formelaustria.at and win two tickets for a race weekend at the Grand Prix of Austria 2020 or the Grand Prix of the Netherlands 2020!
