Motorsports・Sports
"Gran Turismo" e-Motorsports Event by HRC. Why Racing Teams Are Passionate About It
Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) held the e-Motorsports event "Honda Racing eMS 2023" using the racing game "Gran Turismo 7". With e-Motorsports events already being held by rival manufacturers such as Toyota and Mazda, the timing of Honda's entry into the e-Motorsports scene is by no means an early one. Why did HRC decide to hold the event at this time? What is the purpose? We interviewed the "eMS Project Team."
HRC is known for its blue, white, and red tricolor
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Honda Racing Corporation
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Yoshitomo Oka
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Honda Racing Corporation (HRC)
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Kai Kikuchi
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Tomohiko Izumi
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Hiroko Einaga
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HRC's e-Motorsports event was born; Brought together four people from different fields
“Honda Racing eMS 2023”, Honda's first full-scale e-Motorsports event, was held on December 10, 2023. It was born from the passion for racing of Yoshitomo Oka, the director of Team HRC, which competes in the Super Endurance Series.
When Oka transferred from Honda to HRC in October 2022, he immediately proposed the project. He had always been concerned about the high hurdles to participating in and watching races and was interested in e-Motorsports as an easier way to experience the sport. Wouldn't e-Motorsports events allow more people to be interested in motorsports? He wants to lower the hurdles for people to participate in motorsports and help expand the scope of motorsports. He thought that it would be the mission of HRC, which makes racing its living. However, when he first proposed the project, some people in the company asked him, "Isn't there a difference between a game and real life?" Some people were skeptical, saying, "HRC is a racing company."
Oka, the team leader, is also the director of Team HRC, which competes in the Super Endurance Race. Now that the season is over and he has settled down, he wants to wash his car, go to the gym, and play "FORTNITE," he says
Although he managed to get the team started, there was only one member, Oka. So, he started looking for members who could promote the project together. The first person he approached was Tomohiko Izumi, who has long been dedicated to the planning field.
Izumi transferred to HRC in April 2022. He is responsible for external negotiations with partner companies and others involved in the event
I was initially an office worker in Aoyama, Tokyo headquarters, and when I was transferred to HRC, I was surprised to receive such an invitation since I had never been exposed to the research institute culture, even though I was from a different field. Honda typically has an engineer at the top of a project working in tandem with a salesperson (laughter).
The next member to join the team was Kai Kikuchi, who was engaged in the procurement of racing parts. He has enjoyed radio-controlled cars since he was a child, and his skills are on a national level. He is also an e-sports player who has competed in the Gran Turismo World Championships. Hearing this, Oka decided to invite Kikuchi to join. The fact that there happened to be an e-sports expert within the company accelerated the project.
Kikuchi has loved cars since childhood. This motorsports enthusiast says that no matter how late at night it is, he cannot stop watching F1 in real-time, from free practice to the race
Since e-Motorsports was just a hobby for me, only a few people in the company knew that I played it. On the other hand, many people in the e-Motorsports community knew I was working at HRC, so I was often asked, "Why doesn't Honda hold competitions?" Therefore, when I received this offer, I was excited about the future development of this project. Still, I had to exercise restraint at the same time because even if it was a hobby activity, I could be a company representative.
Oka and Izumi started from scratch with e-Motorsports. Kikuchi's knowledge of e-Motorsports was a significant factor in the team's ability to move forward with the project with a sense of speed in the approximately one year since they launched the team.
The team's workroom has two play machines, including a racing simulator set (a controller device connected to a game console). A gaming PC (left) and a PlayStation 5 (right) are connected, creating an environment where various games can be played
The simulator set was prepared in-house not only for game analysis but also to allow the company's upper management to experience the appeal of e-Motorsports. Because of this, the number of people within the company interested in e-Motorsports is steadily increasing.
The fourth member, Hiroko Einaga, had never even touched a game controller before joining the eMS team. Oka felt the need for a perspective other than that of a video game fan, so she was singled out.
Einaga was unfamiliar with video games but now finds Gran Turismo very interesting
I didn't know that much about motorsports itself. But after I became the executive secretary in motorsports during my time in the Secretarial Division, I became interested in racing. I even started visiting San Marino and the Czech Republic to watch the races. The story of how I joined the team began one day when Mr. Oka invited me to see him in his workroom. Before I knew it, I was already a member of the team (laughter). It's great that it's easy to control a full-fledged racing machine and that it can be enjoyed by a wide range of people, from adult men, the primary participants, to women and children.
In one corner of the team's workroom, miniature cars, Super Endurance parts, trophies, and event posters are displayed, as the team's desire is "to generate fun ideas and not forget to be playful"
The eMS team staff is not dedicated to only the team. Therefore, the four team members have their day jobs and work for the eMS team at the same time. Each member finds satisfaction and enjoyment in the team's activities, which is why they can devote their energies to the team despite their busy schedules.
e-Motorsports are essential to the future of motorsports
A whiteboard in the eMS team's workroom. Members smile and say, "It's just doodles," but it is a crucial notebook of ideas
HRC has four principles: “to realize sustainable motorsports,” “to contribute to the four-wheel business,” “to expand the Honda brand with HRC,” and “to broaden the scope of motorsports.” And all of these things align with the hidden power of e-Motorsports. Although it costs a lot of money to drive in motorsports, we want people from all walks of life to enjoy it. For example, most people cannot drive in a real Super Formula machine, but in a game, they can drive every day at any time they wish, right?
It is fun to be able to control a machine that we don't have the opportunity to drive in real life. First of all, we have to own a machine to drive it, and driving it on a circuit is unlikely. Being able to safely and securely experience such a simulated experience is appealing. The only thing needed to visit circuits worldwide is the game's loading time (laughter).
HRC will make it an event for "Casual Gamers"
In preparation for the "Honda Racing eMS GT Grand Final 2023" on December 10, online qualifying was held within "Gran Turismo 7" from late September to late October. The number of competitors exceeded 200,000. At this point, this was an opportunity to introduce HRC and Honda to people worldwide. Even more surprising was the U17 division. Over 75,000 competitors gathered, even though they were not yet old enough to obtain a driver's license.
I am glad that so many people took up the challenge of qualifying. It was also a success that we gave away a livery of CIVIC TYPE R CNF-R, which is currently competing in Super Endurance with Team HRC, as a participation prize in the game. Among the participating players, there must have been many who had never heard of Super Endurance. But the Super Endurance livery might be an excellent opportunity to get them interested, and from there, they could watch the actual race, maybe... That would be great!
CIVIC TYPE R CNF-R, given to all participants
Garage for changing rides and settings in the game.
One concern in organizing an e-Motorsports event was that it needed to catch up in launching to the market. Therefore, the eMS team decided to think through HRC's objectives of “expanding the base” and “increasing awareness of HRC.” To attract people who are less interested in cars, and "Casual Gamers" in the game, HRC has set a bar low enough for anyone to participate in an e-Motorsports event.
On November 3, an e-sports event for “Gran Turismo 7” was held at the Japan Mobility Show. Entry was for same-day participation only, but the event quickly filled up, and there were even standees
At the start of the project, we analyzed various competitions, including those of Toyota and Mazda. Considering what kind of competitions HRC should hold, we decided to have the finals at an offline venue where anyone could easily participate and watch the competitions. That's why we held the finals at the Welcome Plaza in Aoyama Tokyo office. While real motorsports events require spectators to travel to the circuit, e-Motorsports events have fewer restrictions, and our strength is that we can go to the venue to meet the spectators and the participants.
At the Japan Mobility Show event, we did not set any contact penalties in anticipation of many beginners participating so that they could experience the fun of racing. On the other hand, for the event on December 10, where serious players who had passed the qualifying rounds gathered, we set up a race judging team and strictly enforced race control. By requiring the use of three different types of tires for the race, pit stops occurred at least twice, and we designed the regulations to bring the fun of motorsports, which also involves race strategy, to the forefront.
Because we launched to the market relatively late, we were able to analyze our competitors and the industry in detail. We searched for the “HRC style” of aiming for an event that all participants can enjoy.
Even the interior of the machine was faithfully reproduced
Some team members laughingly say they were "forcefully invited" by team leader Oka, but it was impressive to see how everyone seemed to enjoy talking about the project
The December 10 "Honda Racing eMS GT Grand Final 2023" was meant to be a touchstone, and e-Motorsports events will continue to be updated in the future. And they are also considering challenges using game titles other than "Gran Turismo"
There are not only full-fledged racing games like "Gran Turismo," but also more casual ones, aren't there? If we hold events with such games, we can meet different people and get to know them better. Also, as a future goal, we would like to have events on a global scale. Since this was our first event, it was limited to Japan, but in the future, we would like to hold global events, including actual real events, and interact with people from all over the world.
HRC captured the top spot in F1, so we would also like to aim for the top spot in e-Motorsports.
Among e-sports, e-Motorsports have a high affinity between real and virtual, and some sim racers (e-Motorsports drivers) have gone from being sim racers to being professionals. In the future, e-Motorsports and motorsports will increasingly become more inseparable. In the Future e-Motorsports activities by racing companies and mobility product manufacturers, including HRC, will be closely watched.
Honda Racing eMS GT Grand Final 2023 On-site Report
The Honda Racing eMS GT Grand Final 2023, held on December 10, brought together meritocrat competitors from all over Japan. The venue was filled with excitement at the high-level, heated racing with ubiquitous overtaking.
The venue was so lively, filled with standees even near the entrance
The CIVIC TYPE R CNF-R that competed in Super Endurance was displayed. A crossover between the real and virtual worlds
After the race, Oka, who was covered in this story, took the stage. He called out to the competitors and spectators, "Let's do e-Motorsports together, everyone," as if eager to see the further development and growth of e-Motorsports
A group of competitors included drivers who had won world and national championships, popular streamers, and other talented drivers from all over Japan
Original article issued on December 15, 2023
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Naturally, there would be opposition to HRC because we have made a living from real racing and have achieved results. Still, considering the future of motorsports, we must address coexistence with e-Motorsports. Over about a year, I repeatedly approached upper management and finally got the project underway.