Despite being a decade old, Assetto Corsa is still a viable platform for esports thanks to its exceptional driving physics and reliable servers. Later this month, Assetto Corsa will host the 2024 Virtual Drift Masters, which is teaming up with G2A.com as part of a new partnership.
G2A.com partners with Virtual Drift Masters
This year’s championship marks the start of a long-term partnership between the Virtual Drift Masters and G2A.com. This isn’t the digital games retailer’s first foray into esports, with G2A supporting over 100 events and 70 teams to date.
Last year, the company also partnered with Drift Masters Grand Prix, which saw the Grand Finale watched by 55,000 fans. G2A.com says the partnership will enable the company to “cater to a wider, more mainstream audience with the expansion of offerings beyond gaming into the vast realm of digital entertainment.”
“G2A.COM's roots are in gaming, we are an all-digital company, associated with e-sports for a long time, and we are now enhancing to sports, and connecting these two worlds – online and offline, so it was natural for us to engage in this project,” saidMona Kinal, Chief Marketing Officer at G2A.COM.
“Moreover, drifting is very entertaining, it brings pure emotions, and attracts the diverse audiences we want to reach. We observed the popularity of motorsport games, so Assetto Corsa is not a coincidence. Many drivers started their careers playing this driving simulator. We want to invite people to the world of digital entertainment, and this is the Gate 2 Adventure for v-drifting fans.”
2024 Virtual Drift Masters schedule
This year’s Virtual Drift Masters Championship kicks off on 26 April, with the world’s best sim drifters showing off their sideways driving skills in six rounds. Each event will run alongside the real Drift Masters championship on the following dates, with the first round kicking off in Valencia:
- · Round 1: Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia on 26 – 28 April 2024
- · Round 2: Mondello Park, Ireland on 17 – 19 May 2024
- · Round 3: Powerpark Huvivaltio, Harma, Finland on 21 – 23 June 2024
- · Round 4: Bikernieki Circuit, Latvia on 12 – 14 July 2024
- · Round 5: Mariapocs, Hungary on 09 – 11 August 2024
- · Round 6: To be announced on 30 – 01 September 2024
The partnership is just the start of a long-term plan to introduce tutorials helping beginners master the art of sideways driving, a drifting academy, and opportunities to meet and compete with Drift Masters drivers.
After using Assetto Corsa for the fourth year running, next year's Virtual Drift Masters event will likely be hosted in Assetto Corsa 2, which is now known as Assetto Corsa Evo.
Will you be watching the tyre-shredding action in this year’s Virtual Drift Masters Championship? Let us know in the comments below.
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