Barrichello, Magnussen and esports racer Siggy take wins in The Race All-Star esports racing series

- F1 heroes score victories aboard 1970s era Brabham BT44 virtual Formula 1 car

- Esports racer Siggy takes the crown in The Race All-Star Cup - Fully Charged by ROKiT Phones

- Series to make global television debut reaching more than 300 million homes

LONDON, April 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ex-Formula 1 stars Rubens Barrichello and Jan Magnussen plus esports racer Kevin Siggy were the big winners in today's Legends Trophy esports races and The Race All-Star Cup - Fully Charged by ROKiT Phones.

The Torque Esports Corp. GAME MLLLF organised series held its fourth round of virtual competition today with more than 80 drivers from around the world competing on an rFactor 2 virtual version of New Orleans' NOLA Motorsport Park.

In addition to today's racing being live-streamed on YouTube and Twitch, the virtual race events will be shown on television for the first time next week – reaching more than 300 million homes.

CNBC International, MTV Finland, Dubai Sports, El Garage, CNBC Asia, Claro Central America, DD Sports India, and CNBC Latin America are among the networks to showcase the premier esports racing event which is playing a key role in entertaining fans around the world in the current COVID-19 induced "stay at home economy."

The virtual race event continues to attract major stars with Brazilian ex-Ferrari Formula 1 racer Barrichello joined by 2009 F1 World Champion, Jenson Button, and fellow Grand Prix racer Vitantonio Liuzzi.

The first Legends Trophy race of the competition was dominated by Danish ace Magnussen – an ex-Formula 1 racer himself and father of current Grand Prix driver, Kevin Magnussen.

The second Legends Trophy event was a reverse grid affair with two-time Formula 1 champion and two-time Indy 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi starting on the pole.

After a frantic opening lap, Barrichello was able to push his Brabham BT44 into the lead and was never headed during the final.

"I need to thank the guys for crashing out on the opening lap! They left the track empty for me, so it was super," Barrichello said.

"I didn't have a lot of time to practice for the first race, so my lap in qualifying wasn't very good, but I was having fun! And then on the last lap, I had a coming together with Helio (Castroneves).

"But the second race it was smooth. As soon as I saw I was pulling a gap, I just concentrated on just not making a mistake because in this car it's so easy to make a mistake. But it was really fun, I hope we can do more."

Magnussen, also a four-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner with Corvette Racing, excelled during the qualifying session and went from pole to victory lane in the first event.

"I've done a lot of practice since the last race at Silverstone last week. Last time it was so much more difficult," said Magnussen.

"I did a lot of laps, and I'm quite happy. There was a little bit of mayhem in the first two or three corners, and I didn't get off the line very well.

"I wasn't expecting to drive away so easily. I don't know what was going on behind, but I got a good gap on the first lap and managed to hold on to that."

More than 40 professional racers, plus 20 top-level esports drivers did battle for The Race All-Star Cup - Fully Charged by ROKiT Phones with Slovenian racer Kevin Siggy coming out on top.

The sim racer triumphed to lead home Bono Huis and series front-runner and inaugural World's Fastest Gamer winner, Rudy van Buren.

"I was kind of surprised by Bono's pace, and I was expecting him to catch me in the final," Siggy said.

"I was lucky I got a good start, and from there, I just needed to manage my pace. I was a bit annoyed I wasn't a little faster in qualifying, but I was still happy to get pole.

"It was important to get a good start and then get away from them by six or seven-tenths and then just manage my pace."

About Torque Esports
Torque focuses on three areas - esports data provision, esport tournament hosting and esports racing.
Torque aims to revolutionize esports racing and the racing gaming genre via its industry-leading gaming studio Eden Games which focuses on mobile racing games and its unique motorsport IP, including World's Fastest Gamer (created and managed by wholly-owned subsidiary IDEAS+CARS, Silverstone UK). With the proposed acquisition of simulator company AiS – Torque offers gamers everything from free-to-play mobile games to the highest end simulators.
Building on the leading position of Stream Hatchet, a wholly-owned subsidiary, Torque also provides robust esports data and management information to brands, sponsors, and industry leaders. Its tournament organizing arm, UMG, has recently added a digital tournament platform to its portfolio of assets in its ever-growing ecosystem.
For more information, visit www.torqueesport.com.

SOURCE Torque Esports Corp.