What are FIA Motorsport Games?
The FIA Motorsport Games aim to create an inclusive environment that promotes respect, unity, and opportunity for all, starting from grassroots Karting Slalom to the elite levels of motorsport. In this global event, athletes from different countries represent their nations with pride, adorned with national flags and symbols. They compete in various racing disciplines, with a single entry per discipline per country. The top performers in each discipline are recognized with Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals. Their passion for the sport and the honor of representing their country drive them to achieve victory and stand on the winning podium.
Opening Ceremony
The opening Ceremony was held near the Vieux-Port, at the Mucem in Marseille on Wednesday, 26 October. A truly unique venue to host all athletes from around the world.
After having a look at the amazing Venue we started to get to the main stage for the introduction of each nation. A total of 72 nations and 463 drivers.
DAY 1 - Qualification
Mistral Hall was the venue for the Fanatec eSport part of the World Motorsport Games. Absolutely stunning venue for hosting such an event. Located next to the racing track you could actually hear race cars storming to the chicane and onto the Mistral Straight.
The organization of the event was at a top-notch level. Each driver had a Fanatec eSports Rig in their hands. All Fanatec equipment included:
- Fanatec Podium DD2 Wheel Base
- Clubsport V3 Pedals
- RennSport Cockpit V2
- Podium Mounting Brackets
- PODIUM STEERING WHEEL FANATEC GT WORLD CHALLENGE
We were split into 3 groups of 19 drivers each and given 1 hour to get used to the rig and practice.
After one hour of practice and getting used to the new setup each group had 15 minutes to get the times to the leaderboard.
Let’s just say that it wasn’t my day since I only managed to get one good lap since on both of the other attempts I got stuck in traffic and one lap was invalidated. This got me 1.54.000 on the time sheet. That was P7 in the group but I was very disappointed with the performance since it was almost a second off my best time on this track. That meant I would be starting in P10 for the quarter-finals race.
Rodrigues, driving a McLaren 720S GT3, stopped the clock with the fastest time of 01:52.470. The second quickest was Chris Harteveld of the Netherlands, who ran 0.257 of a second slower than Rodrigues.
DAY 2 - Quarter Finals
Quarter Finals time. Starting in P10 I got myself sandwiched between two drivers and unfortunately had a big incident in T2. I suffered some damage and dropped to the last place on the grid. But, got me back to race pace and with consistent drive got back into P11. But that wasn’t enough to get into the semi-finals since only 10 drivers were going through. But on the last lap the Italian Driver ran out of fuel and I got promoted into P10 that led to semi-finals.
DAY 3 - Semi Finals and Finals
After two days it was time to get into the semifinals and try to make it into the finals. Because of my quarter finals drive, I was starting the race in P15 and only 10 drivers are going to make it into the finals. That alone had to be a stunning drive to get those five places, needless to say without any incidents in 1-hour race.
I got myself a decent starting positing and nothing was impossible. Again, the start was chaotic with multiple drivers getting involved in major incidents. But at least once, I got lucky to make it out of that mess intact, lost a place but the car was good to go.
🚨 #FanatecEsports
— FIA Motorsport Games (@fiamgames) October 29, 2022
🟢🟢🟢 We are green for Semi-final 2 in @fanatec Esports. The opening lap is CRAZY
📺 Watch live now at: https://t.co/OSRJKIQesd
-#FIAMotorsportGames pic.twitter.com/JkK0ZfV72d
The race was long but still, there was very little time to make some progress. At one point I thought that was it and this is where it ends for me.
But there was time and for most of the race, I was waiting for other drivers to make mistakes so I can make the most out of it. So I was sitting back for a while, just taking it easy and not rushing into any unnecessary battles.
All of a sudden, an incident is in front of me and I’m up in one place. There is hope I guess.
I made a solid effort from that point on and caught the Israeli driver in front of me in P10. If was almost time to get into the pits but I didn’t want to wait and made the move that is going to get me into the finals.
The pitstop went well, I had a couple of seconds of damage on the car from the start but I decided not to prepare the car since I wasn’t losing too much time. Now, the Swedish driver was behind me and slowly closing up, but at the same time, I was closing the gap with the French driver.
With a few minutes to go, I decided it was time to go for a move and get that P9 and I had to make it clean, and that’s exactly what happened.
SOMEHOW I MADE IT FROM P15 to P9.
FINALS !!!
👍 #FanatecEsports
— FIA Motorsport Games (@fiamgames) October 29, 2022
The 🥇 Gold Medal race is underway! The opening lap was CRAZY!
📺 Watch the @Fanatec Esports final at: https://t.co/SThcIbPZmD
-#FIAMotorsportGames pic.twitter.com/FtsjCWlU7e
The start of the race was pretty good, I stayed clean and managed to grab a few places.
James Baldwin was absolutely flying and led from start to finish.
As for me I got into P16 and stayed there for the whole race and literally drove my own race without any close battles. Still, in the end, finals are finals.
Baldwin won the race after winning the quarterfinal and semifinal contests. He won the gold medal by 2.942 seconds over Team Netherlands’ Chris Harteveld, with Alberto Garcia Gomez of Team Spain coming in third.
Amazing comebacks in the race included standout efforts from two competitors who were medal hopefuls. After winning his semi-final, Kadlek of Team Czech Republic began from the front row but fell to 14th on the first lap due to contact. At the checkered flag, he was fifth to cross the finish line.
Igor Rodrigues of Team Brazil was the fastest qualifier, but he was also thrown off the course on the first lap, dropping him to 20th place. At the finish line, his comeback surge had him in tenth place.
Full Report
DAY 4 - Closing
The last day was mostly for enjoying the remaining events and supporting our team Croatia which was fighting for the medal in Autoslalom. Iva and Nenad Damarija got into the the fight for a bronze medal after losing the semifinals battle.
They were running the bronze battle really well. Almost no mistakes but in the end just one cone meant they were losing the fight for bronze. The gap of 2.9 seconds and one pushed cone is worth 3 seconds. Crazy, but well done for P4 in the world.
GT Sprint
One of the most amazing things was the grid walk on the last day of the World Motorsport Games. GT Sprint was about to get started and we had the chance to see the cars and take some nice shots.
Final Thoughts
A truly unique experience representing my country and setting a foundation for the future.
With all being said I would like to thank everyone for their support and also our team leader Zdravko Novosel and team members Iva and Nenad Damarija.
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