24h Le Mans
For the first time ever at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, gamers will chase victory in their own sim-racing finale held over race week! Here we present one of the teams competing in the event: Tyre Wall Racing.
After coming out on top at the qualifying round held at the Belgian circuit, Aaron Martin-Pilkington (TUS Mellish), Koei Matsusaka (Ayrton Goki) and Hyuk Jung (TX3 Bilysoo) form ‘Team Spa’. They come respectively from Great Britain, Japan and South Korea, and are more than determined to take the first ever Le Mans Esports Series crown.
28-year-old AARON MARTIN-PILKINGTON (TUS MELLISH) first came to Le Mans for the 2017 ForzaRC final. He had qualified but ending up swapping his game pad for the commentator’s mic’. He’s hoping to make up for that this year. He has been playing car racing games since he was a kid: “One Christmas when I was seven, my Dad made me a racing rig where I would play Sega Rally on the Sega Saturn. My passion for circuit racing came from Gran Turismo 1 and 2. I poured endless hours into getting Gold Trophies in each Class License.”
21-year-old Koei Matsusaka (Ayrton Goki) is pretty much a rookie. The Le Mans Esports Series final is his first major competition. He started on Drift King Shutokou Battle '94 and rFactor, and remembers racing on the full 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit on Gran Turismo 4: “Yes, I raced Le Mans on Gran Turismo 4 when I was 9 years old. I often killed NPC cars like Shoji Shingo (Initial D).” [NPC or non-player characters are controlled by the video game's artificial intelligence] He will have to demonstrate sharper skills when he competes against “real” gamers this time.
21-year-old Koei Matsusaka (Ayrton Goki) is pretty much a rookie. The Le Mans Esports Series final is his first major competition. He started on Drift King Shutokou Battle '94 and rFactor, and remembers racing on the full 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit on Gran Turismo 4: “Yes, I raced Le Mans on Gran Turismo 4 when I was 9 years old. I often killed NPC cars like Shoji Shingo (Initial D).” [NPC or non-player characters are controlled by the video game's artificial intelligence]. He will have to demonstrate sharper skills when he competes against “real” gamers this time.
TX3 Bilysoo is a member of the TX3 crew formed in 2008 and now a partner of Team LDLC. With Lightning and Wesley, he focuses on Forza Motorsport. He was a ForzaRC finalist in 2018 and, aged just 17, is one of the youngest competitors at the LMES final. He preferred not to reply to our questions about his gaming background and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Is his reluctance a sign that he’s fully focused, ready to make a big impact at the event? Find out at 11:00 this Saturday:
PHOTO: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES DU MANS, 2019 LE MANS ESPORT SERIES: with liveries created by TX3 Topher, the Tyre Wall Racing team is ready to go and is aiming high!
