FIA Vice President announces online race series to connect with global community and attract new wave of young competitors

Mohammed Ben Sulayem today launched the UAE’s first official digital motor sport series to connect local enthusiasts with the global community of online racers and attract a new generation of competitors.

Sulayem, President of the Emirates Motorsports Organisation, announced the EMSO Digital Motorsport Series as an important new initiative to help safeguard the sport’s future in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The first of two online competitions to be staged this year, the six-round EMSO Summer Series, will get underway on 12 June, with a Winter Series following later this year on dates to be confirmed shortly.

The two series will be combined into the UAE Digital Motorsport National Championship to be launched in 2021.  The winner of that Championship will represent the UAE in the FIA Digital Cup, part of the second edition of the FIA Motorsport Games, taking place in Marseille in October 2021.

“I’m proud to announce this new motor sport discipline in the UAE and to give an opportunity to gamers across the Emirates to compete in an official national series,” said Sulayem, FIA Vice President for the MENA region and Secretary General of the UAE National Olympic Committee.

“Our main goal is to attract a younger generation of competitors and to bring motorsport to the wider community by making it more accessible and affordable.”

Sulayem also announced that both the EMSO Digital Motorsport competitors’ licence, and event entry, will be free of charge, with the series open to all UAE residents of seven years or older who have access to PlayStation 4.

Participants must be active PlayStation Plus members during the competition period and should register on the official EMSO website. The Series is opened to participants with all kind of gaming experience and is not limited to expert gamers only.

EMSO Digital Motorsport will use the FIA Official licensed product, Gran Turismo Sport, which has more than 9.3 million users who have together contested more than 937 million races since its release in October 2019.

Digital Motor Sport is one of the FIA’s fastest growing disciplines, having been certified by the sport’s world governing body since 2018. This dedicated worldwide community of online racers often produces real-life racing drivers.