Introducing the Inaugural NMA Esports Driver of the Year Competition!
How did the competition work?
The competition was held on iRacing – arguably the most realistic racing simulator on the market, giving students the best opportunity to apply all their knowledge learnt in their respective courses to the game.
Every month, all the drivers joined an exclusive Discord channel hosted by Director of Motorsport, Dr. Kieran Reeves. For each event, the rules were simple:
- GT3 Cars Only
- Open Set Up – this allowed students to apply everything learnt on the BSc (Hons) Motorsport Engineering Degree, or the MSc Advanced Motorsport Engineering Master’s program onto the track!Â
- All License Classes Accepted
- Every Race featured a mandatory Pitstop
Each event was 2 hours long, consisting of;Â
- Practice: 20 mins
- Qualifying: 20 mins
- Race: 1 Hour
A Look At The Calendar
The championship featured a diverse selection of renowned circuits from around the world. Take a look for at the calendar below!
Who Came Out On Top?
After 7 hard fought rounds, it came as no surprise who the winner was! A huge congratulations to BSc (Hons) Motorsport Engineering Student, Lewis Edwards, who dominated the championship from start to finish! Lewis displayed immense speed and consistency throughout the competition, making him a well-deserved winner!
Despite Lewis’ Hamilton-esque dominance, the rest of the grid remained competitive. Noah Monette kept Lewis on his toes all season long, and just behind, there were just 50 points separating 3rd Placed Harry Tiller, and James Billington, who finished in 6th.
Kudos to Alexandros El Magkout who joined the competition late, and as a iRacing rookie and still finished in 7th position! To view the final standings, check the leaderboard below!
A big thank you to every single student that raced with us this season, whether it was was the full calendar or just a few races! Each race was filled with excellent racing, as well as many spins and LOTs of chaos (mostly caused by our Deputy Director Wayne Gater!), however it was excellent to see all the students apply their skills and knowledge creating setups for their cars and applying it on the track.
To watch highlights and all the action from the season, head over on our YouTube channel.Â
Stay tuned for more updates and future competitions, and once again, congratulations to Lewis Edwards on his outstanding victory!
Take a look at some of the best pics (and liveries) from the season below!
