The season finales of the Logitech G Challenge for 2020 started with a bang as the EMEA Champion was crowed on Saturday. Thousands of virtual racers entered the 2020 tournament for a chance to win a once in a lifetime driver training experience with F1 star Lando Norris, but in each region there can only be one winner. If you missed the action, catch up at Logitech's Twitch channel. Expect spoilers in the report below.

Building on the success of previous Logitech G Challenge eracing competitions, ​Logitech G,  alongside McLaren, today announced the 3rd Annual​ Logitech McLaren G Challenge 2020​.

“Over the last few months, we’ve seen an explosion in eracing,” said Jim Hoey, head of G Challenge at Logitech G. "With the Logitech McLaren G Challenge 2020, we’ve upped the ante. The season has been extended to include even more adrenaline-fueled racing, and the drivers will be battling for bigger prizes. We can’t wait to get started.”

The stakes have been raised for this year's G Challenge. This year’s winner will earn a​ four-day all-expenses paid trip to London, where they’ll get a behind-the-scenes experience at McLaren including a tour of the McLaren Technology Centre, coaching from internationally-renowned race car driver Lando Norris, a drive in a McLaren supercar and a VIP experience at the F1​® British Grand Prix 2021.

For Veloce Esports driver, James Baldwin, sim-racing was a chance to fulfil a lost childhood dream. James’ early racing story was a familiar one of great talent, but limited resources. After success in karting, his real racing career hit a bump in a road when he reached Formula Ford in the UK, but didn’t have the sponsorships to sustain his time in this incredibly expensive profession. Little did he know that his fairytale was just beginning.

James turned to sim-racing to sustain his passion for speed, and quickly found success online and in league racing. When Project CARS2 arrived, his attention turned to the world of esports, where in 2018 he reached his first finals in the A1 Esports League, before winning the Renault Esports Series at Silverstone. 

His success caught the attention of the Veloce team and he has gone from strength-to-strength under their guidance and training. He led Veloce to the Finals of the 2019 Playseat SMS-R Series where they finished second, and then to the Le Mans Esports Series finals which they won. Personal accolades followed with a reserve driver spot on the Alfa Romeo Racing F1 Esports team, an amazing win in the eRace of Champions, and to cap off an outstanding year, victory in The World’s Fastest Gamer. 

That last title has opened up new doors for Baldwin’s racing career. In 2020 he is returning to real racing with Team Rocket RJN, to drive a McLaren 720S GT3 in the GT World Challenge Endurance Series. We caught up with James this week to find out how he’s coping with the pressure ahead of what will surely be the biggest year of his life.

Last week we saw a big announcement from one of the world’s fastest Project CARS esports drivers as Isaac Gillissen confirmed that he has left VP-Gaming to sign for Veloce Esports.

Isaac was one half of the VP-Gaming team (alongside Darwin Daume) that won the Pro Class championship in 2019’s Playseat ® SMS-R Series. Not only that, but he also found individual glory in the Logitech G Challenge, where he won both the European and Global titles, and he reached the Finals of McLaren Shadow.

His speed and consistency was too good for rival teams to ignore, and Veloce came knocking to sign Isaac for 2020. Now he will have to prove himself all over again in a team packed with big names.

We caught up with Isaac this week to find out what inspired him to switch teams, see how he’s getting along with his new teammates (including former rivals like James Baldwin), and ask him about his ambitions for the future.

It's been an awesome year for Project CARS esports legend, Isaac Gillissen (VP Isaac21). The Dutch sim-racer has stood out from the crowd in the Project CARS esports scene to become arguably the fastest driver of 2019. He was one half of the VP Gaming squad that took victory in this year's SMS-R Championship, and he also scored some superb individual victories by winning both the European and World Finals in the Logitech G Challenge.

The G Challenge win in Las Vegas gave Isaac a shot at this year's McLaren Shadow project - McLaren's annual event to find the latest gamer to join its official esports team. The winner will also receive some real world driver training and motorsport opportunities along the way.