Digital Autosport of Ukraine (DAU)

The Ukrainian Digital Circuit Racing Championship is the official digital motorsport competition. It is held under the auspices of the Automobile Federation of Ukraine (FAU), which is an active member of the International Automobile Federation (FIA). The goal of the championship is to develop eSports on the territory of Ukraine. The event is promoted by the FAU as Digital Motorsport Commission (DAU), established in March 2020.

The 1st Ukrainian championship, held under the auspices of the FAU, was on 10/31/2020-12/06/2020. The competition was organized by the DAU in an amazingly short period of time. There were received much more applications for participation in the races than planned - more than a hundred (118 in total). After preliminary qualifications, 20 fastest pilots were selected before each stage. The first stage was held on the Italian track Monza.

HISTORY OF ORIGIN AND MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE

DAU was established in the spring of 2020 by the Automobile Federation of Ukraine. The commission was headed by Irina Kravets, and Dmitry Kostyuchenko took the post of head of the digital racing committee. In total, the commission included 9 people, each of which deals with organization, public relations, promotion and advice on relations with the FIA.

Consideration of racing incidents is handled by a panel of judges, which includes multiple champions of Ukrainian motorsport. This approach ensures the professionalism and impartiality of judgments for digital pilots. In 2020, 2 official championships have already been held in Ukraine. All pilots who officially took part in the competition received free racing licenses.

In 2021, a sim racing school was opened. Separately, in collaboration with the largest digital, analytical platform "Race Department" DAU held an off-screen series of competitions on the "Assetto Corsa" platform. In total, in 2020, for the first time in the history of Ukraine, 2 official Digital Motorsport Championships were held:

• Ukrainian Virtual Rally Championship - 5 stages.
• Ukrainian Championship in virtual circuit racing - 5 stages.

As well as,

• International competition "24 Hours Spa".
• New Year's race "Catch up with Santa Claus in the Audi TT".

The following year, more than 40 pilots joined the DAU. The 1st round of the 2021 Championship with real, qualifying races took place on January 31. Now the competitions are held not in the game, but in a real racing simulator, on the "iRacing Motorsport" platform. The plans of the Commission for the 21st year included 5 stages within the framework of the "Ukrainian Virtual Circuit Racing Championship", 2 endurance races ("24 Hours of Le Mans" and "500 miles of Indianapolis") and a series of "Friendly Races".

The following year, more than 40 pilots joined the CCA FAA. The 1st stage of the 2021 Championship took place on January 31.

Now the competitions are held not in the game, but in a real racing simulator, on the "iRacing Motorsport" platform.

In 2021, endurance races were held (Nurburgring 24 Hours, Indianapolis 500 Mile, Watkins Glen 6 Hours, Coca-Cola 600, Spa 24 Hours, Charlotte Motor Speedway 4 Hours) and a series of Friendly racing.

Also in 2021, the Ukrainian team was announced to participate in digital format at the FIA World Games (FIA Motorsport Games), which traditionally take place at the end of October each year. Ukrainian athletes planned to try themselves at the 1st in the history of the "Olympics Virtual Series" - held by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in conjunction with the FIA.

The further plans of the DAU include a constant increase in turnover and popularization of Ukrainian motorsport in the whole country, by adding new types of motor racing and disciplines (racing series):

• Autocross;
• Drifting;
• Drag Racing;
• Open Wheels.

Almost immediately, in addition to the 2020 circuit racing, rally competitions (RBR-UERC) were held as part of the championship.

WHAT IS CYBERSPORT

eSports is a competition of teams or with individual participation of a racer, held on the basis of video games. In addition, it received the name as "electronic" or "computer" sports. Derived from the English word "esports".

Esports in the world is divided into certain classes that differ:

• quality parameters of the tracks;
• modification of cars;
• game goals;
• games with developing experience:
• simulators from the 1st person;
• strategic games (RTS);
• shooters;
• car simulators;
• flight simulators;
• team role-playing games with elements of tactics and strategy.

This list is constantly updated.

The Ukrainian eSports Federation holds its own championships. The popularity of this type of competition in the country is growing every day. In addition, eSports tournaments are organized all over the planet, including international ones.

One of the most significant events, like the Olympic Games, is the World Cyber Games (WCG) international tournament, which was held in different countries from 2000 to 2013. After the change of ownership (previously owned by Samsung) championship was restarted in 2019.

Esports is constantly covered in the news on many Internet resources. Thanks to this, it is possible to attract new participants to the game and sponsors that finance competitions.

FIA MOTORSPORT GAMES

This is a unique multi-disciplinary racing event in which racers compete in esports in various disciplines in the colors of their national flag.

Organized by SRO Motorsports Group (who hosted the Blancpain GT Series and other championships) in partnership with the FIA, the inaugural event was first held in 2019. This event has already entered the history of eSports. Then Rome acted as the host city, and the nearby Vallelunga circuit hosted the racing event itself.

The grand opening ceremony in the Italian capital was followed by a 3-day esports competition in Vallelunga, where the participants competed for "GT Cups".

The 2nd Esports Championship event was scheduled for 2021. Additional disciplines were added to its schedule. Marseille as host city. The venue for the competition is the Paul Ricard circuit. Unfortunately, in the middle of summer, due to restrictions caused by COVID-19, the 2021 competitions were canceled.

One way or another, given the speed of development of world esports and racing simulators in particular, the prospects for FIA Motorsport Games are very bright.

GENERAL REGULATIONS AND DAU SCORING

• Conducting competitions

The Championship stages are held according to the approved calendar, indicating the exact date, schedule (according to the Kyiv time zone, including GMT). Weather conditions, together with the time of day in the simulator, are determined specifically for each stage and are indicated in the calendar compiled by the responsible persons. The calendar and schedule are published
on the official website of the DAU, the FB page and the official Discord channel "Digital Autosport of Ukraine".

Each stage follows the classical scheme:

• Qualification;
• Main race;
• Completion of the race and interviews with the winners;
• Publication of results.

The dates and times of the races of the Ukrainian Digital Championship can be changed by the responsible persons, about which they are obliged to inform the registered participants at least 48 hours before the start.

• Cars

The races are held on touring cars, determined by the responsible persons of the commission or directly by the participating teams. Drivers may be allowed to change racing car up to 2 times during the Championship. The logos of the Promoter, DAU, sponsors, racer must be placed on the car.

• Scoring system

At the end of each championship, drivers receive points according to the following scheme:

• Points awarded to pilots participating in individual races

Points are awarded after verification and final approval by the judges of the results of all riders, taking into account the accrued penalties, if any. In case of equality of points scored at the end of the championship, a higher place is awarded to the pilot who occupied high positions at all stages. Drivers who finish outside of 10th place will not be credited. The driver who sets the fastest time on any leg receives 1 extra point. For the most favorable position of the car, the driver receives another +1 point. At the last stage, points are multiplied by odds.

• Coefficients for multiplying pilot points

In general all competition processes are regulated by the rules established by the DAU. A complete list of existing rules can be found on the official website of the commission.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

A person who is a member of the DAU and meets the following requirements is allowed to participate in the championship:

• citizen of Ukraine or any other country;
• the participant has a valid FIA driver's license category "DRL" or another pilot's license category "D", valid in the current year;
• has a stable connection to the Internet;
• uses steering wheel.

The Digital Racing Championship is run on the iRacing platform ("support races" may take place on other platforms). Anyone who has a DRL license and a D license issued by the FIA can take part in it. Applicant must have an active account and subscription in this simulator, as well as be a registered participant on the Discord server.

FAU LICENSE CATEGORY "DRL"

Since these are official tournaments of the Championship of Ukraine, it is necessary to complete a number of formal procedures within the framework of the processes approved by the Automobile Federation of Ukraine:

• fill out and submit an application of the established form;
• become a member of Automotive Federation of Ukraine LLC (FAU) by paying membership and charitable fees for a license;
• after passing all the established primary procedures, the participant will get a digital DRL Racing License, which is issued free of charge for a pilot who has any category “D” license from the FIA;
• after joining the DAU, obtaining a DRL license, the participant will have an opportunity to apply for registration on the Discord channel, after which he will be admitted to the championship.

For detailed instructions, you can refer to the official website.

Viewers can follow the championship, broadcasts and results on:

• Official website of the CCA;
• Discord channel;
• Youtube channels of the CCA FAA and partners;
• Social networks (FB, Instagram).

IRACING MOTORSPORT

iRacing is a racing simulator. Races in various disciplines (F1, Touring, Rally, Drift, Rallycross, the list is constantly growing) are held online. The platform has the most advanced physical model. This is the only "hardcore" "simulator" developing today at an accelerated pace.

Improved:

• physical models;
• the basis of the physics of the racing simulator;
• the system of holding championships is developing;
• new models of cars appear regularly;
• the tracks are being finalized to organize a more realistic race;

It is possible to use iRacing Motorsport after purchasing a subscription (subscription registration). The developers of this online esports video game first published information about their Motorsport Simulations in 2008.

To create 3D models of the tracks, the developers used laser scanning, which gives the highest accuracy of the results. The development of the behavior of cars on the track takes place in the closest cooperation with the engineers of manufacturing companies.

We can safely say that iRacing professionally and very responsibly approaches the production of its own content, strengthening the gaming industry and eSports. Virtual races are fully licensed, which guarantees unconditional quality and explains the paid subscription. Of course, it is possible to participate in races for free, but you can play for free only in a test version.
All online races and training sessions are held online, on the publisher's servers. iRacing is presented in Steam (an online digital distribution service for computer games and programs). It completely mimics:

• real cars;
• tracks;
• events taking place in the competition.

The game is very similar to real racing. It is able to captivate the participant no less than a real sports car. This racing simulator only works on a PC (personal computer). On consoles (Xbox, PlayStation (PS)) - does not function.

ADVANTAGES OF THE UKRAINIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

Any amateur participant or cyber-athletes of any age living on different continents can take part in the race on a virtual machine. Starting from the stars of world motorsport ending with absolute beginners.

During the final races at the Championship of Ukraine 2020, there was a live broadcast of interesting guests from all over the world, including Jack Keetley.

DAU actively keeps up with the times, regularly broadcasting on YoutuBe and Discord with an active and constantly growing community. CCA prioritizes new time trends:

• the latest methods of working with the target audience;
• new marketing tools to empower companies;
• the concept of "e-sports as one of the most important components of the brand of automakers";
• a clear vision that virtual championships are becoming more relevant and in demand every day.

AWARDS AND PRIZES

In 2021, the CCA FAA received the "HYIP of the Year" award as part of the national competition "Ukraine Smart Awards".

PARTNERS AND AUDIENCE

The periodical automobile magazine Avtocentre and the Ukrainian national channel about the world of automobiles Perviy Avtomobilny became the general partners of the digital circuit racing championships taking place in Ukraine, along with the DriveContact infosite. This choice of partners allows more intensive development of unusual for the local market, interesting and unique sport throughout the country.

The audience of Ukrainian digital motorsport is constantly growing. By mid-2021, more than 3.2 million people have already been covered. The competitions are broadcast live on the First Automobile Channel. Both star guests from the world of real motorsport and world stars of sim racing are attracted to the broadcasts. This approach and audience growth indicators please both the organizers and the participants, who are making a lot of efforts to develop motorsport in Ukraine.