New esports racing series revealed - the Project CARS 2 NZ Championship

LetsPlay.Live (LPL) has announced today the Project CARS 2 NZ Championship, a nationwide esports racing competition to find New Zealand's fastest racer!

The Project CARS 2 NZ Championship will feature the eight fastest racers from qualifying, as they compete for their share of a $10,000 cash prize pool.

A physical qualifier will take place at the SKYCITY Auckland Welcome Room on Saturday, April 21 from 10am-2pm. The event will have racing simulators set up with Project CARS 2 and the top six racers, based on the fastest lap times on the day, will qualify for the series.

The remaining two places in the championship will be up for grabs to all New Zealanders who can submit their fastest lap times online via screenshot submission along with the hashtag #ProjectCARS2NZ.

The Project CARS 2 NZ Championship will consist of an eight week series beginning May 1st and will be broadcast live on SKY Sport and streaming service twitch.tv. The series will feature 12 of the world's most famous racetracks as racers compete from LPL Studios in racing simulators.

Brendon White, CEO of the New Zealand Xtreme Motorsport Series will join the commentary team for the series. He said esports is quickly becoming popular with younger audiences and is hugely relevant in today's market. "Simulation driving is such a crucial part of racing driver and car development these days, especially for guys like Earl [Bamber] and Brendon [Heartley]. Esports is the gateway to getting as close to being on track at a fraction of the cost of the real thing."

Duane Mutu, Director at LPL, believes this will be one of their most exciting events yet. "After the success of our last racing simulation tournament, I am very excited to bring this event back for motor racing and esport fans alike. Our last driving championship was the highest rated LPL esports event ever, so I think this eight week series will be a real crowd pleaser."

Contestants can find more information about this competition at LetsPlay.Live.

The event is open to all New Zealand residents who are aged 16 years and over.