Le Mans 24-hour Virtual Race

Le Mans ,24-hour endurance racing, will be kicked off this weekend in Le Mans, France.  This race is the real deal to prove how tough is the racer, car engine, strategy, etc. I have watched the race last year and somehow, it took lots of energy and kegs of beer to stick with the race. I know some of you agree with me…

Yesterday, I happened to discover the new way of watching this race without wasting too much of beer and you can actually enjoy it with your pals.  Michelin (the main sponsor of Le mans)  and French motoring association Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO-the organiser of Le mans) have launched this multi-player online strategy Le Mans Virtual Race !! We can now participate in one of the world’s most celebrated motorsport events without donning a racing suit or even demonstrating exceptional driving talent. Oh, how cool is that.

Go to this www.racemyday.com (what a name) and register. Basically you will be a team manager of whatever team you name of. Team managers choose their drivers, configure their car (open or closed prototype, colour, number) and develop their strategy (including aerodynamic features, choice of tyres, number of stints and pit stops). While players will be able to define their strategies in advance, they also need to stay focused during the race so that they can respond to changes in race parameters as well as weather conditions at the Circuit de la Sarthe, provided in real time by France’s National Weather Service.

As I registered, there are over 5,000 teams participated. The race will open in 2 days. There will be practice days before the D-Day. Oh, this is fun!! And the winner of this year get a ticket to join 2011 Le Mans with Michelin team.. haha not bad. But I am not so sure if that comes with the plane ticket though.

I think this is another fun way to watch sports. So far, there are few sports events who used this online game strategy to get the audiences to be engaged in the game. FIFA Fantasy (the winner gets a CAR), the Roland Garros tennis tournament, and the Tour de France. The last virtual Vendée Globe round-the-world yacht race attracted more than 300,000 skippers.