The next edition of the eRace of Champions (eROC) competition will give 4 sim racers the chance to compete in real race cars against some of the world’s best drivers in connection with the Race Of Champions World Final.
The 2022 eROC competition kicks off with an Invitational event featuring eight premier pro racers including reigning eROC Champion, James Baldwin, and an international roster of Champions in F1 Esports World Championship, rFactor GT Pro Series, iRacing RX World Championship, rFactor Formula Pro Championship, ADAC GT Masters Championship, and WRC Esports World Championship.
The eight-driver invitational will be broadcast on January 13th through eROC partners, OverTake. The winner of this qualifier along with 3 other sim racers will be invited to the eROC World Final to be held on the new ROC Snow + Ice track both in the game and on the actual track built on the frozen ocean in Pite Havsbad, 60 miles from the Arctic Circle in Sweden on February 2-3, 2022.
Additional qualifiers, open to anyone anywhere in the world, will be held on 14, 16, 18 and 20 January and culminate in a final qualifier to be broadcast on January 27, 2022. In total 4 sim racers including the Top Swedish Qualifier will earn an all-expenses paid trip to Sweden and a chance to compete against some of the world’s best drivers in the real ROC competition.
Launched for the 2018 Race Of Champions in Riyadh, eROC brings together the very best of virtual track design, pro competitors, and opportunities for the general public from around the world to qualify and compete virtually and in real race cars at the ROC WORLD FINAL.
Hosted by the resort destination, Pite Havsbad, the upcoming ROC Snow + Ice WORLD FINAL will be held February 5-6 on the frozen Baltic Sea just 60 miles from the Arctic Circle. Organizers have already confirmed a roster of world-class drivers from across the world of motorsports, featuring drivers with the most titles/wins from premier events and racing series including 24 Hours of Le Mans, NASCAR Cup Series, FIA World Rally Championship, and the Indianapolis 500.
Pro sim racers confirmed for the invitational event include reigning eROC Champion, James Baldwin (GBR), ADAC GT Masters Champion, Moritz Lohner (GER), rFactor GT Pro Series Champion, Jernej Simoncic (SLO), WRC Esports World Champion, Lohan Blanc (FRA), F1 Esports World Champion for Mercedes, Jarno Opmeer (NED), iRacing RX World Champion, Jon Robertson (GBR), League Champion for BMW, Kevin Siggy (SLO), and rFactor Formula Pro Champion for Mercedes F1, Bono Huis (NED).
"ROC is always pushing the boundaries with new innovative competition formats to make the event more interesting for drivers and fans. eROC is the perfect platform, to merge the Virtual & Real Racing World and give everyone around the world a chance to make their dreams come true," said Race Of Champions President Fredrik Johnsson. "The new ROC Snow + Ice track with a different grip level will increase the demands on car control. It will be very interesting to see who comes out on top of the world’s best SIM racers and then how they fare in the real cars on the frozen ocean!”
On January 13, the eight pro drivers will face off in a series of knock-out qualifiers, with the winner advancing to the eROC Final on location in Pite Havsbad, Sweden. Racers will have the privilege to discover first-had the brand new virtual ROC Snow + Ice track of Pite Havsbad. The virtual event will be broadcasted at 4pm CET on the January 13th on Overtake.gg
"2019 in Mexico was like a dream," said reigning eROC champion, James Baldwin. "I was thrown into the deep end going from the sim to sitting in actual race cars side-by-side with the best in the world. Everything just took off for me from there."
For the next chapter in the development of eROC's development of sim racing open for all, eight additional virtual qualifiers, open to the public, will take place on January 14, 16, 18 and 20, with winners of each of these advancing to a Final Qualifier on January 27th, 2022.
Overtake will nominate a qualifier while the very best Swedish entries on each evening will also face each other for a fourth invitation to the eROC World Final.
All 4 finalists will take part in the eROC Final on February 3, 2022 which will be streamed live.
A unique winner-takes-all format that gives competitors the opportunity to test their talents against competitors they would never typically encounter, ROC draws many of the most successful racers from global motorsports. Past ROC events have brought together superstars from all of the premier leagues in global motorsports including Formula One, Le Mans, Nascar, IndyCar, World Rally and Rallycross.
Held on February 3, as a lead up to the two-day ROC WORLD FINAL on February 5-6, this year's eROC is expected to be the most hotly contested event since sim racing was introduced by ROC at the 2018 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, when Enzo Bonito claimed the eROC title.
"The level of sim racing has definitely gone up over the past two years," Baldwin continued. "ROC is one of my favorite competitions, I just need to get through qualifying and get to Sweden."
"It's great to see that the best players in e-sports and virtual racing can challenge some of the world's best drivers on the frozen sea here at Pite Havsbad," says Tobias Lindfors, CEO and owner of Pite Havsbad Group, who believes that the e-sports venture is an important parallel event to the real competition.
Sign up at www.raceofchampions.com/eroc-2022 starting from Thursday 13th, to join the four qualifying events which will take place January 14, 16, 18 and 20, with winners of each of these advancing to a Final Qualifier on January 27th, 2022. The only requirement to participate in the eROC competition is a download of Assetto Corsa.
