Williams Esports has put out an announcement in response to criticism for unsportsmanlike behaviour they displayed throughout a latest sim racing event.
Sim racing streamer Pablo Araujo, aka PabloGz, published a video displaying a few of Williams Esports’ behaviour in a latest Daytona 24 iRacing event, together with proof of them driving over an apron the qualifying, in addition to parking and driving slowly within the pit lane to decelerate rival drivers.
After Pablo referred to as out the esports division of the British racing staff on Twitter, Williams Racing advisor and former bodily race driver, Jenson Button, responded.
Button defended the sim racing staff, saying that if the identical had been to occur in actual life racing (reducing a nook), they’d lose a lap in qualifying, not get banned.
PabloGz additionally mentioned he hopes iRacing ‘watch it and perceive why we’re requesting reside stewards for these occasions, and likewise some skilled groups rethink what they do to win a race’.
Williams Esports staff supervisor Seb Hawkins congratulated the staff on Twitter after Williams completed first within the GTP Daytona race and third within the GTD.
Some responded to those tweets calling Williams cheaters and threw abuse on the staff, and Seb has since privated his Twitter account.
The incident raises a debate round sportsmanship in esports and sim racing, and whether or not behaviour like this constitutes dishonest or not.
Posts on the F1 subreddit and the sim racing subreddit have seen many racing followers touch upon the matter and deplore Williams Esports’ behaviour.
One skilled professional sim racing supply instructed Esports Information UK: “That is actually poor sportsmanship from Williams. You may do that in actual life like Jenson says, however nobody does it. It was a shambles how they carried out themselves – I’ve not seen something like this earlier than. The principles are free in sim racing however nobody else did what Williams did [during the tournament].”
The supply additionally mentioned that curiosity in sim racing has kicked up a notch in latest months, with the ESL R1 €500,000 digital racing circuit being introduced – and Williams Esports are one of many collaborating groups inside it.
Williams not too long ago mentioned conventional esports orgs getting into sim racing via this league, like FaZe, will provide ‘large potential’ and produce extra eyes to the sim racing scene.
There have been different separate scandals in sim racing, corresponding to this, the place a driver was caught utilizing a grip hack within the F1 sport, permitting him to have higher grip on the observe than different drivers – clearly dishonest.
Williams Esports reply with an announcement
Williams Esports printed the next assertion on Twitter simply now, saying they’re investigating the incidents and that they don’t condone social media abuse.
“We’d implore the sim racing neighborhood to respect all groups, drivers and each other on-line,” Williams Esports mentioned.
We’ll goal to replace this text with any extra developments to the scenario.
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Dom is an award-winning author who graduated from Bournemouth College with a 2:1 diploma in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller within the late ’80s, he has written for a spread of publications together with GamesTM, Nintendo Official Journal, business publication MCV in addition to Riot Video games and others. He labored as head of content material for the British Esports Affiliation up till February 2021, when he stepped again to work full-time on Esports Information UK and as an esports guide serving to manufacturers and companies higher perceive the business.
