The racing was virtual, but the competition was very real during the inaugural Jim Beaver eSports eShort Course World Cup presented by General Tire.
More than two dozen of the world’s top sim racers, off-road champions, and crossover motorsport superstars took to the virtual track on Saturday April 11, for the inaugural Jim Beaver eSports eShort Course World Cup presented by General Tire. When all was said and done, Cam Pedersen held off intense challenges from real-world off-road racing veterans like Mitchell deJong and Connor Barry to best the field in all four races, earning $500 for the win, a $500 bonus for sweeping the event, and a free set of General Tires.
As live events continue to be on hold as stay-at-home orders remain in place across the country for the coronavirus outbreak, motorsports fans have started turning their eyes to the digital world, with sim racing becoming a place for fans to get their fix of live action. Similarly, drivers are also turning to the virtual world to feed their competitive hunger and help keep their skills sharp for when their seasons return.
But for a professional Sim Racer like Cam Pedersen, this is the opportunity these drivers have been waiting for; a chance for the world to see how competitive the world of iRacing truly is.
“The Jim Beaver eSports eShort Course World Cup was everything I could have dreamed of as a Sim Racer. If someone were to have asked me in the summer of 2017 when I first started in iRacing that I would be considered as one of the top Sim Racers in off-road dirt on the service, then add having the privilege of racing against some of the biggest real-world motorsports names like Travis Pastrana, Chad Reed, Greg Biffle, and Alexander Rossi, I would have called you crazy. It’s not every day that racers of that level and prestige are in one place at the same moment doing something that I have had the pleasure of becoming particularly good at, which is Racing the Offroad Pro Trucks in iRacing.”
“Going into the event, the only goal I had in mind was to achieve 4 podium finishes as I thought that would be enough to clinch the championship points. Getting less than 10 minutes to qualify for each race meant I had to hit my marks and not make any mistakes. Doing that with over 20 other trucks on the track made it difficult to say the least. The qualifying was very close, which meant I could not make any mistakes during the race, or whoever was behind me would capitalize instantly. Knowing this kept the level of awareness rather high throughout the event. Having the goal of winning all 4 races also seemed a little out of reach when you look at the raw talent of other fellow sim racers such as Mitchell deJong, Dave Bodio, Josh Edmundson, and Connor Barry, just to name a few. So having said that, achieving a clean sweep of all 4 races felt nothing short of overwhelming when looking at the star-studded field of drivers for Jim’s event.”
“Many of my friends and family members got to witness what I have spent most of my free time practicing for, for that I am grateful. Then after seeing the view count of the race, which currently has over 150,000 views on social media, makes this opportunity feel like a breakthrough moment in my iRacing Career. I will cherish this win for a very long time. A very big thank you goes out to Jim Beaver and General Tire and all other who had a hand in creating this event and having it grow to measures I did not were possible. I’m looking forward to the future of what iRacing holds for me and will not take moments like this win for granted.”
Watch Cam’s amazing performance below and stay tuned to the General Tire Facebook page because plans for future events put on by Jim Beaver eSports will be announced in the coming weeks.
