Lamborghini announces its very own esports team for virtual racing events

Lamborghini first dipped their toes into the world of esports with The Real Race in 2020. Since the success of their virtual racing competition, the company is now diving headfirst into virtual racing with the Automobili Lamborghini Esports Team. 

Not content with only running the track in the real world, Lamborghini is seeking to dominate on the virtual tarmac now too. Launching with a strong Italian presence in an attempt to stamp the team’s name onto the virtual scene.

Starting with a team of three racers, the Italian supercar makers have pulled no punches with the pedigree of the drivers they have chosen. Jordan Sherratt, Gianfranco Giglioli, and Giorgio Simonin are the talented crew selected to fly Lamborghini colors.

The team has announced they’ll be coming out of the gates hard,  aiming for the trophy in the SRO-hosted GT World Challenge Esports Sprint Series. The top title in the simulated racing world.

All three drivers have extensive track records in high-end competition. The South-African Jordan Sherrat destroyed the competition in 2021’s ‘The Real Race’, Lamborghini’s open-access virtual competition, coming 1st in 9 of his 10 races. This catapulted him straight into the Lamborghini team, a dream long held by the F4 racer.

As stated in an interview with Traxion.gg, Jordan said “To become the official driver, that’s pretty much my goal. I’ve always worked towards that, even in the real world.” The driver even linked his early experiences gaming on console to his current success:

“I used to play Gran Turismo for fun back on the PlayStation 3 back in the day. I had the G27 wheel which was huge back then in 2013 or 2014. I used my old wheel last year. That’s how I got into sim racing.”

• Read More: F1 2022 leak reveals supercar plans and players are furious 

Beyond Sherrat as captain, both Gianfranco Giglio and Giorgio Simonini have the experience to go the distance. Simonini won the Sim Grid World Cup 2020 as well as placing 4th in the SRO Esports 2020 championship, making the 22-year-old Italian an exciting pick for both his country and the sportscar brand.

Lamborghini

Lamborghini use simulated racing as an opportunity to test set ups and equipment for real world use.

Putting his name on the map back in 2020, Italian-Venezualan Giglio took out 5th place in The Real Race of that year as well as taking the title at the Porsche Esports Carrera Cup Italia.

• Read More: F1 esports driver becomes first to switch game for real-life racing in Formula 2 

Commenting on the importance of the formation of the new esports team Lamborghini’s head of motorsport Giorgio Sanna had this to say: “After several decades of development in the industry, simulated racing is getting closer and closer to its real-life counterpart and now has nothing to envy from professional motorsport,”