Racing Prodigy Unveils Format for Inaugural Prodigy Draft at the Williams Racing Fan Zone Presented by Kraken on July 6

JACKSONVILLE, FL (June 27, 2024) – Racing Prodigy™, a sports, entertainment, and media property making motorsports more accessible, revealed its plans today for its inaugural Prodigy Draft on July 6 inside the Williams Racing Fan Zone presented by Kraken at the iconic ‘Below the Lights’ at Piccadilly Circus, London. Kicking off at 2 pm BST (9 am EST), six teams will each draft four drivers led by Williams Esports Prodigy Racing Team, who was recently announced as the first official team for the upcoming real-world Prodigy Three Championship series.

The Prodigy Draft showcases 32 drivers from 14 countries – aged 15 to 46 including two female drivers. Those drafted will receive paid contracts from Racing Prodigy and compete in its P3 Championship within the PRL launching in October 2024 in the United States, allowing drivers from all walks of life to pursue their dreams of a real-world racing career.

Each team will be given five minutes in the first round to make their selection and three minutes for rounds two through four. Before the draft, fans will have the unique opportunity to become one of the Team Principals of the SuckerPunch Prodigy Racing Team Fueled by Fans by registering on the Racing Prodigy website; they will vote to determine the SuckerPunch Team draft picks in rounds 2 and 3. Following the draft, all fans will have an opportunity to select six reserve drivers from those not drafted. During the racing season, teams will have the option to send any driver down to call up a reserve.

Projected first-round draft picks who will be in the Williams Fan Zone include Gustavo Ariel (Brazil), Laurens Beerten (Belgium), Will Redford (UK), and Edoardo Leo (Italy).

“Racing Prodigy continues to take major steps forward in our drive to make motorsports more accessible for not only drivers but for the fans globally,” said Racing Prodigy CEO David Cook. “Our inaugural class of drivers have proven their skills and passion to build a sustainable racing career, and we can’t wait to see them perform on the tracks this fall. We can’t think of a better stage for our draft than the Williams Fan Zone.”

The Prodigy Draft will be streamed live on Racing Prodigy’s YouTube channel.

As part of Racing Prodigy’s partnership, the Williams Fan Zones worldwide will host sim racing events for attendees to showcase their skills for a chance to earn golden tickets to Prodigy Week, qualify for the Prodigy Draft, and potentially race for their prestigious team in the Prodigy Racing League. Promotions will be held at all Williams Fan Zones, which take place in city centers in the week building up to F1 grands prix, including locations such as Melbourne, Tokyo, Miami, Montreal, Barcelona, Singapore, Austin, and Las Vegas.

The first season of esports in the Prodigy Racing League welcomed over 100,000 participants from more than 100 countries. These competitors, representing all walks of life, engaged in virtual racing competitions, demonstrating a high demand from drivers seeking a viable path to a real-world racing career.

The racers earned their golden tickets to test their skills at Prodigy Week in fall 2023 and spring 2024 either by winning an esports competition on iRacing, RaceRoom, rFactor 2, Street Kart Racing, or by being selected by a Prodigy Search Committee. During Prodigy Week, drivers were coached and judged in fitness, media interviews, skid pad, autocross, racecar data review, and competing in Radical SR1 race cars on the main racetrack. In total, they completed more than 2,000 laps or nearly 4,000 miles.

The 32 drivers from 14 countries who qualified for the Prodigy Draft include (name, country, age):

Racing Prodigy partners include Advanced SimRacing, Atlanta Motorsports Park, iRacing, Max Papis Innovations (MPI), Mazda North American Operations, PitFit Training, Primal Racing School, RaceRoom, SuckerPunch, Street Kart Racing, The Racers Physio, Toyo Tires, Williams Esports, and Women in Motorsports North America.