The Search For World-Class Racing Drivers Is On

Oct. 4, 2011 - PRLog -- Ever played F1 or Grand Turismo, and dreamed of becoming a top racing driv¬er but always thought it was out of your league, due to the high costs involved? For two wannabe champions, within six months, that dream could soon become a reality. High-tech racing sim, V1 Championship, will select its top 20 entrants, and, over one weekend, put them into real cars with the best instructors to compete for a chance-of-a-lifetime opportunity to make their dream come true. Prizes for the two overall winners are guaranteed entry in to the 2012 Formula BMW Talent Cup (which includes year's intense racing tuition in BMW FB02s), and a full season in the 2012 UK Renault Clio Cup, mentored by BTCC legend Jason Plato. Both prizes are worth €100,000 each.

V1 Championship adds a brand-new dimension to racing games: developed with racing specialists, Brain in a Jar (Driver: San Francisco), this state-of-the-art sim utilises the same tech as the US Air Force in order to evaluate not only potential champions’ driving aptitude but also their psychometric profile. The sim correlates the data, and will feed back to participants, offering invaluable training advice. V1 Championship has many unique features, including Flexitrack trainer, which aids mastery of difficult corners and chicanes, and RaceSense to help hone and perfect participants’ control inputs.

The initial stage of the selection process is a driving simulation combined with psychometric analysis, which is done online. The driving simulator is an exciting racing game in its own right and allows participants to master the art of high speed driving. Where it differs from other racing games and simulations is that within six months, successful participants could be competing with top drivers in two of the best championships. The later stages of the selection are the real-world training programmes, physical tests, fitness and driving assessments. The two ultimately-successful candidates will be offered a place in either the 2012 season of the Formula BMW Talent cup, or the UK Renault Clio Cup. The FBMW Talent Cup, with its comprehensive training programme, is one of the leading pathways to a career in Formula 1, while the UK Renault Clio Cup is the perfect training ground for a career in Touring Cars.

For the past four years, V1 has been assessing drivers for various organisations, and has worked tirelessly with professional driver funds to develop a series of highly accurate interactive tests designed to uncover new racing talent. During this time V1 has gained an unrivalled understanding of what makes a great driver. In 2010, the V1 team built its own simulator, incorporating the physiological and psychometric measures developed for the pro market.

Commenting on V1 Championship, BMW Motorsport Director, Mario Theissen, said:
“We are pleased to welcome a driver of the V1 Championship into the 2012 season. The promotion of junior racing drivers has always been close to our hearts and remains an important component for us. The Formula BMW Talent Cup will allow us to continue our consistent promotion of talented juniors in Formula BMW at a lower budget and more track time than ever before. Having followed the V1 Championship development during the last four years, we are now excited to be working together with them and their prospective drivers.”

Jason Plato, BTCC Champion, added:
“I’m particularly pleased to be involved, and offer my support to V1 for their soon-to-be launched second racing simulation game which focuses on a support race within the BTCC family.  I am a great advocate of recognising and nurturing new talent and this simulation championship will deliver a shortlist of potential candidates.  The winning candidate, selected after going through a rigorous interview and judging panel, will be tutored and mentored by myself in the lead-up to the 2012 season where I will impart as much practical advice as I can about not only the racing mentality required to win, but the circuits, appreciating the car, and understanding the finer nuances of engineering, to ensure the winning driver has the very best opportunity to be in amongst the pack. This is truly an exciting and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for someone to forego the usual climb into this level of motorsport and therefore makes it even more of a must-have for anyone with an aptitude to drive at this level.”  

Both the V1 Formula and V1 Touring Car online racing championships are available for immediate download. Both simulators may be downloaded from: www.v1championship.com  

Notes to Editors

A demo is available for review purposes: http://www.v1championship.com/beta/V1ChampionshipDemo.zip
   
For further information, assets, and to arrange interviews or Q&As, please contact: Nicôle le Strange nicole@nicolelestrange.com  / 07901 552 839

About V1 Championship
V1 Championship Limited has been honing its assessment criteria since its launch in 2007, and has devised a series of virtual and real-world tests designed to identify future motor racing champions. These have been extensively tested in real-world racing environments and allow the company to accurately predict the abilities of drivers before they even step into a car.
This expertise is now being utilised to find undiscovered talent. Correlating users’ ergonomic outputs from the online simulation with psychometric testing gives V1 a very accurate assessment of a driver’s potential. Real-world testing then allows V1 to make the final judgement.
Formula BMW and Renault Clio have been selected to give the drivers exiting the online process all the skills they will need, both on and off track.
The overriding motivation for V1 is to find genuine talent, wherever it may be, regardless of financial status or background. We believe that too many future motorsports competitors with genuine talent never realise their potential because of the absence of opportunities open to them. Our intention is to open the door and allow them to realise their dreams.
By using the Internet and an online racing simulator, we are able to engage the next generation of talent, and instantly level the playing field, giving every individual an equal opportunity to shine. This way, money counts for nothing while dedication, enthusiasm and raw talent count for everything.

About Formula BMW Talent Cup
BMW is promoting junior racing drivers with the Formula BMW Talent Cup. This programme systematically prepares participants for a successful career in motorsport and offers drivers considerably more time on the track than most international junior racing series. As a driving ambassador for Formula BMW, BMW Motorsport works driver Dirk Adorf (DE) will be on hand to offer the participants advice and support, as will an experienced team of international experts consisting of other BMW works drivers, instructors, and fitness and mental coaches. Participants in the Formula BMW Talent Cup will take part in theory and practical training. On the agenda are media training, fitness and mental coaching, while six events will see them out on the track in a Formula BMW FB02. The 2011 event venues are in Germany, Sweden, France, Spain and Portugal and the season ends with the Grand Final against the backdrop of the DTM in Oschersleben, Germany. The winner of the Formula BMW Talent Cup will be awarded a season in a professional junior Formula series, such as the ATS Formula 3 Cup, financed by BMW Motorsport.

About UK Renault Clio Cup
Renowned for its thrilling wheel-to-wheel racing, the ELF Renault Clio Cup with Michelin series is the UK’s premier one-make saloon-car championship. Using cars based on the road-going Clio Renaultsport 200, the series is a prominent support race on the British Touring Car Championship benefitting from live comprehensive television coverage on the ITV Sport network. It remains the most direct link for aspiring Touring Car drivers with around one third of the BTCC grid comprising of former Clio Cup racers.