Real emotions for a virtual season start.

The wait was finally over last weekend: The FIA ABB Race at Home Challenge, held together with UNICEF, started its first virtual race in Hong Kong – and unleashed real emotions.

Both drivers of the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, Neel Jani and André Lotterer, along with chosen sim racers entered the new virtual race series by FIA completely free of jet lag last Saturday. The first race for pros and e-sport participants of the Race at Home Challenge was about to start. It was the sim racers who got to set the bar – and proved their talent right off the bat. A thrilling race for victory developed early in the course of the race. It was a race between two familiar faces: The current champion of the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup, Joshua Rogers, upped the pressure in a Porsche 99X Electric from his second spot on the leading Petar Brljak. Just one round before the race was over, Joshua Rogers performed a clever maneuver in one of the many curves of the circuit and took the lead. Not only did he score a victory, but an additional 25 points in the championship ranking.

Meanwhile, the digital Race at Home Challenge delivered just like motorsport fans know from real the Formula E: gripping moments in a thrilling race. Beginning from the first curve after the start with several collisions that put the mid-field in disarray. Porsche driver Neel Jani, initially in a promising position, lost a few spots in involuntary collisions. Throughout the race, he managed to gain them back with his driving abilities. The high pace remained until the end of the successful pursuit in Hong Kong. Neel Jani ended the exciting first race of pros on position 12. Team colleague André Lotterer wasn’t as lucky: Due to a technical failure of his simulator, he could not finish the race.

Both runs already prove: The ABB Race at Home Challenge takes virtual motorsport close to real race feelings. And that without the jetlag. But with real emotions.