{"id":1909890,"date":"2026-04-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1909890"},"modified":"2026-04-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T21:00:00","slug":"its-official-assetto-corsa-rally-is-now-an-fia-supported-esport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1909890","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s official: Assetto Corsa Rally is now an FIA-supported esport"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Words feel a rather blunt instrument to express how good\u00a0Assetto Corsa Rally<\/em> is, though we\u2019ve\u00a0tried<\/a> to wield them\u00a0many times<\/a> to make that point. Meaty and meticulous, it feels convincing to drive in a way that actually instils primal fear. It\u2019s the perfect platform, then, for professional esports competition.<\/p>\n

The FIA agrees. And so it comes to pass that the game\u2019s publisher 505 Games announces that the motorsports organisation has chosen\u00a0Assetto Corsa Rally<\/em> as the official title for its new FIA Esports Global Rally Tour competition \u2013 think F1 esports, only with (hopefully) fewer server dropouts and even more discarded bumpers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The new competition \u201cwill include both online qualifiers and regional shootouts”, says the announcement, \u201cand marks a major milestone in the global evolution of rally esports aligning with FIA\u2019s commitment to inspire future generations while doubling global participation in motorsport”.<\/p>\n

In other words, they\u2019re hoping it\u2019s a rung on the ladder to real racing, as well as a spectator sport and cultural moment in its own right.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That\u2019s certainly not unrealistic. We\u2019ve seen plenty of virtual racers cross over into real motorsport and thrive, not least one Jann Mardenborough, the subject of\u00a0Sony\u2019s 2023\u00a0Gran Turismo<\/em> biopic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What happens next? Well, a series of regional comps designed to find the best rally drivers out there.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cBeginning on May 12,\u201d says the announcement,\u00a0\u201ca global online qualifier hosted on Assetto Corsa Rally<\/em> will select 56 top drivers worldwide: 16 from Europe (combined North and South) and 8 from each of the other five participating regions MENA, North America, South America, Asia\u2011Pacific, and Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n

From there, a long and quite complicated succession of knockout events runs right through the year, finally culminating in a grand final at the FIA Awards on 12 December, in which the very best two of those initial 56 battle it out onstage. The prize, you ask? \u201cInternational recognition, prestige, and a place on the global esports stage.\u201d The conspicuous lack of any money mentioned may give the established esports drivers pause for thought.<\/p>\n

Given that we\u2019ve yet to travel more than 10km in Assetto Corsa Rally<\/em> with an intact windscreen, it\u2019s unlikely you\u2019ll see us on that stage. Though, never say never.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Words feel a rather blunt instrument to express how good\u00a0Assetto Corsa Rally is, though we\u2019ve\u00a0tried to wield them\u00a0many times to make that point. Meaty and meticulous, it feels convincing to drive in a way that actually instils primal fear. It\u2019s the perfect platform, then, for professional esports competition. The FIA agrees. And so it comes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,237],"class_list":["post-1909890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-topgear-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1909890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1909890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1909890\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1909890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1909890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1909890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}