Ferrari has announced that it will hold its own esports championship, which will feature professional and amateur sim drivers, between September and November. The top prize will be a spot on the Ferrari Driver Academy Hublot Esports Team in 2021.

Although the first season of the championship will be limited to European citizens, later seasons are expected to be open to international participants. The limited entry is due to coronavirus concerns and travel restrictions. The championship will run from September to November.

The Championship will be played using Assetto Corsa, a sim racing game created by the Italian video game developer Kunos Simulazioni, which released Assetto Corsa Competizione, a new title with the official Blancpain GT Series license, last year. Participants will use the exclusive Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo. Ferrari Driver Charles Leclerc, who participates in esports and real races, will be available to provide tips for the selected competitors.

The competition will feature two categories: Pro Series and AM Series. The fastest overall racer will be invited to join the Ferrari Driver Academy Hublot Esports Team in 2021. Registration began on August 7. Participants must then qualify for the AM Series, a first round of the championship that will be held in September.

There will be four weekly qualifiers in September. In the preliminary AM Series round, 24 AM drivers will compete. The top 12 will then join the other sim racers invited by Ferrari in the PRO Series, which will feature 12 participants per category for a total of 24 competitors to race in October. After being narrowed down to the final 12, three additional races will ultimately determine the overall winner.

The Ferrari Driver Academy partnered with Hublot last December. The collaboration between the two brands dates back to 2011 when they released the luxury Hublot-Ferrari watches. Although Ferrari has not held a Driver’s title since 2007, when Kimi Raikkonen won, they did claim their first F1 Esports Series win last year with Italian driver David Tonizza.

Source: KeenGamer

READ NEXT: Formula E Driver Fired For Using Esports Pro To Compete For Him In Virtual Race (And He Still Didn’t Win)