In 2024, Kazan will host Games of Future, a new top tournament at the intersection of real sports, e-sports and technology, with a prize fund of $25 million and an expected number of views of about 3 billion. Participants will play Counter-Strike and laser tag, fight in Mortal Kombat and live, launch drones and even speed through Mario. This is only a small part of the events, which will bring together 2,000 athletes from all over the world.
There is still a year before the tournament, but for now Kazan has hosted Phygital Race races — hybrid races on ice and online, launching a whole series of competitions in phygital disciplines that precede the Games of Future 2024.
In total, eight teams took part in the competition, each with two people. From the KAMAZ-master team, the winner of the Dakar 2015 rally Airat Mardeev, the champion of the Silk Way Rally Anton Shibalov, as well as Bogdan Karimov, Sergey Krenev and other famous athletes took part in the event. The participants were treated to virtual races on Lada Kalina NFR R1 in the Assetto Corsa computer game and real karting on ice. And all this in the format of a relay race of five stages: karting - Assetto Corsa - karting - Assetto Corsa - karting.
From the first minutes in the final of the phygital races, surprises began. The qualification winners, the Ni Racing team, quickly lost their position after the start, and Sergey Krenev from KAMAZ took the lead. He confidently passed his 20 laps, despite the complexity of the track and the vagaries of the weather, withstood the attacks of his rivals and was the first to pass the virtual relay baton to his partner Bogdan Karimov.
“I drew conclusions after the last races, started correctly and took the lead from the last row. On this surface, you need to drive steadily and accelerate at the right time. If you drive very quietly, you won't be able to win,” Sergey Krenev commented on his race.
In the virtual part of the relay, the leadership was first taken by Aidar Nuriev from Namus Racing, who had repeatedly competed on the Kazan Ring track at various races and knew its peculiarities. Alexander Smolyar, the pilot of the SMP Racing team, followed him. He made several attacks, and on the fourth lap his Lada Kalina was able to take the lead.
Airat Mardeev: Phygital Games is a big project, it has already been confirmed that the International Games will be held in Kazan in 2024. It is planned that more than 2,000 participants will be involved in them.
The organizers want to connect two worlds: real existing sport and digital. We, as representatives of motor sports, the first part was winter karting on a specially prepared ice track, the second - on the virtual track "Kazan Ring".
The competition is a relay race. There are 2 people in the team, I was paired with Anton Shibalov. The first of the participants starts on a kart, drives 20 laps, enters the pit lane, runs to the simulator zone, passes the baton, only then the second one starts on the simulator. Then we change places and so 5 sections.
Very interesting format and scale of the event. The most famous commentators of Russia were presented, special guests - Vitaly Petrov, Sergey Sirotkin. Among the participants was Alexander Smolyar, SMP pilot, in sim racing and in real Formula 3 racing. Very fast pilot, one of the top sim racing pilots. It was very interesting to compete with him in his element.
Many thanks to the organizers for a wonderful event.
