Keeping sport going through COVID-19

The spread of coronavirus has led to sport events across the globe being cancelled and many professional leagues being suspended and postponed.

For fans, this has been devastating, but for those working in the industry, it has meant a rethink in how they do things and a renewed focus on digital parts of the business.

Motorsports is a great example of this. As workshops closed and teams were forced to stay home, Porsche were quick to react and adapt. Events happened without spectators and Formula-e had six races in one location for the first time. And one area that has really changed is Esports.

Virtual racing, also known as sim (simulated) racing, has been building momentum in recent years but the pandemic has created the perfect storm. While traditional racing schedules faced disruption, digital versions of events continued as normal.

Porsche saw an opportunity and the Esports team entered the virtual version of the world’s oldest long-distance race, 24 hours of Le Mans. The business also set up a virtual edition of its Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup series for the teams and drivers, until the postponed start of the real season.

It was the first time drivers would have raced ‘virtually’ like this. We caught up with the team, to find out how it works and what role technology can play:

As the pandemic continues to disrupt and restrict people’s movement, Porsche is already concentrating more on simulator sessions for racing drivers so that they can practice from home.

There is also a focus on continuing to run meetings digitally and, perhaps most importantly, creating new experiences for fans, such as virtual meet and greets with drivers and engineers.

Interested in hearing from the drivers about how they adapted to lockdown? And find out more about the virtual version of this year’s 24 hours of Le Mans.