Sebastian and Andy Priaulx had a tough race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual, and were eventually denied a good result by some frustrating broadband issues and then finally a steering failure.
The father and son duo joined esports racers Mike Epps and Olivier Fortin in the number 15 car for the race that ran from 14.00 BST Saturday to 14.00 BST Sunday. There were 50 cars entered with drivers representing 36 different nationalities. The feed for this race has been shown worldwide on television channels and streaming platforms.
The entry was the product of a lot of work by the team and its drivers.“People may think sim racing is just a matter of sitting in front of a rig, but nothing could be further from the truth especially for this fantastic race. There has been a lot of work put in by the Multimatic-Zansho team and it has been fantastic for both of us to be involved,”said Andy, who has been on the podium at Le Mans in the past.
Explaining what happened he continued:“We had two internet cut outs due to the bad broadband signal in Guernsey, and then finally suffered a steering failure on our rig in the early hours of Sunday morning.
"Seb started the race and put in a fantastic stint just behind Fernando Alonso and ahead of Jenson Button. I was very proud of him as he stayed in his top position for all of his stint, dealt with the pressure and has some valuable experience for when he eventually drives the race proper.
"Sadly due to the internet problems he was not able to show his real ability. However, our team-mates are continuing and hopefully will be able to finish the race. While we can’t wait to get back to the real thing on racing tracks, we have enjoyed sim racing over the last few months and this 24 hour race has been fantastic. Congratulations to the organisers for their hard work.”
Sebastian added: “I’m absolutely gutted that after weeks of preparation and hard work from myself and everyone in the Multimatic Zansho team, it was technical problems that cost us the chance to challenge for a big result in such a prestigious race.
“It has been such a fantastic experience for me though. A huge thank you to Multimatic Motorsports for the opportunity to compete in the event, and to the brilliant team at Zansho Simsport for all their support and guidance throughout this journey."