15TH SEPTEMBER 2023
------THUNDERBOLT MOTORSPORTS HEADQUARTERS, CANTERLOT CITY------
It was a beautiful morning in Canterlot City, and the time was 9:00am. Most of the city was already at school or work, but some were only now arriving. Among these was the head of Thunderbolt Motorsports, Soaring Surfer, who was driving his recently acquired Lamborghini Urus, wearing a black three-piece suit with a red tie. They would be one of many new teams on the grid this year of the first season of the FIA's newest series, the Road Car World Championship.
This series was basically a mix of Formula 1, World Endurance Championship, and Super GT. Here, the cars would be similar to those in Super GT, and also to the LMGT3 cars in the World Endurance Championship, but the races were only around two or three hours long, like those in Formula 1. It would have a total of 18 races, with the first race on 16th March 2024, and the final race on 16th November 2024, lasting exactly eight months.
However, Thunderbolt was the first truly brand-new team that would enter the series, having been founded only two months earlier. All of the other teams had participated in at least one other motorsports series. One team had even raced in Formula 1, and another had won Le Mans. They had to make a statement, and Surfer had an idea of how to. He and his marketing team had been working on this idea for a long time now, and would pitch it to the representatives of a few automotive companies today. If all went well, the team would probably be able to race in the 2024 season. If not, well, he didn't want to think about that.
Surfer pulled his Urus into his parking spot at the Thunderbolt Motorsports headquarters, and walked in. The headquarters was a modern building of 15 storeys, all glass windows. A sign at the top of the building, read 'THUNDERBOLT MOTORSPORTS', in large white letters, and emblazoned above it was the team's insignia, a yellow thunderbolt. He went in, and walked straight into the elevator, and pressed the button for the tenth floor. Despite him looking calm on the outside, on the inside, he was nervous. He was taking one of the biggest gambles in motorsports history, so he wasn't surprised about it.
As he walked into the conference room, he was met by the representatives sent by the manufacturers. A lot of them had an annoyed look on their face, but some also had a curious look on their faces, wondering what the team had to pitch to them. Among them was also a familiar face. Among them was Hot Rocket, the team's only driver as of now. She was one of the few woman drivers to enter an official FIA series, and boy, she was good. Surfer had noticed her while on a scouting tour. He was in Brazil, and had witnessed a touring car race at the Interlagos Circuit.
Despite all of the other drivers in that race being men, Hot Rocket had successfully taken first in that race, driving a humble Honda Civic. After doing a little research, he found that that Hot Rocket was burning up the racing scene in Brazil, but wasn't getting any offers into any FIA series, as she was a woman, despite having acquired an FIA racing license. Surfer had recruited her right away, as he could see high potential in her, and he didn't have any regrets.
Apart from being a good driver, Hot Rocket also had the advantage of being very good-looking, with vibrant blue skin and amazing black hair, she always attracted attention at Thunderbolt's press events. Sometimes, Surfer thought that her beauty was what had made the FIA allow their team into the series once they had a second driver and cars in the first place.
Anyways, time to get to cut to the chase, thought Surfer as he began speaking. "Alright, everybody. Thank you for having me. I'm sure you're wondering what this sales pitch I have to show you here today is. Well, here's the head of my marketing team, to show you." said Surfer, as the marketing head turned on a projector. Multiple video clips began playing. All of them were rather similar. They all showed streamers and content creators playing video games. All of them were playing only one game. It was definitely a racing game, due to the fact that the people on the screens were using steering wheel setups, and were driving cars in it.
That was when one of the representatives asked, "Well, Surfer? Why are you showing us videos of people playing video games?"
"Well, Sir, there is a reason why. You see, this one game, RaceWorld, is one of the top trending video games on the planet right now. Close to 100 million people play this game. It has given them a love for cars and driving. In this game, the experience of driving a real car has been meticulously recreated by its developers, along with close to fifty different racetracks, to give the ultimate driving experience to its players. Its the closest thing to racing a real car and living out your dreams in reality." said the marketing head.
"Okay, but what does this game have to do with Thunderbolt Motorsports?" asked another representative.
"Ah, that is a good question. You see, my first job relating to cars was repossessing from buyers who had defaulted on their payments. Most of them always said, 'Fine, take the car. I don't want it anymore'. That is still true today. Normal people don't want to drive their cars and waste gas. They'd prefer sitting in the back of a taxi, and be driven everywhere by someone else. Normal people don't regard their cars as fun and adventurous toys. RaceWorld players do. Majority of RaceWorld's players are die-hard gearheads, who regard a car as something to play with. Something to have fun with. It is a large untapped demographic of car buyers, that we can reach." said Surfer.
That was when one representative asked, "And how do you propose we do that?
"By creating a contest. We offer the best gamers in the world the chance to compete in real motorsports. Through a RaceWorld contest, we recruit one good driver from the virtual world, from behind their console or computer, put one of those gamers on a real racetrack, and turn them into a champion. If we can do that, whichever brand supplies us the cars for the 2024 season will basically have reignited the love of cars and driving, in 100 million people." said the marketing head.
At this sentence, all of the representatives began talking among themselves. A few even started laughing among themselves. Surfer couldn't blame them. Who in their right mind would let a kid who played video games in his bedroom into a racing car? But it was the only way for Thunderbolt Motorsports to get some attention on the track. It was also the only way to get their cars and another driver, since all of the other good drivers had been swiped by other teams, and the only ones left were the bad drivers. They couldn't compete with only one driver.
"Well, thank you for having me, gentlemen. Good day." said Surfer, as he left the conference room, and headed towards the elevator. He got in, and hopped in the elevator to the fourteenth floor. At 9:45am, he arrived at his office, and hoped that his plan would work. Just as he sat at his desk, his receptionist came in.
"Mr. Surfer, one of the representatives would like to see you. Apparently, his company wants to make a deal with you." said the receptionist.
"Alright, send him." said Surfer. The receptionist dutifully obeyed, and the representative walked in. His ID card wore the logo of Porsche.
"Hi, Mr. Surfer. I represent Porsche. I was amazed by your idea. Do you really think that gamers can be real-life racers?" asked the representative.
"Well, I played the game, and it's remarkable, actually, to see how close it comes to simulating driving a real racing car." said Surfer.
"I'm sure you understand what might happen to Thunderbolt Motorsports if one of the gamers in your cars gets hurt? We would all be responsible."
"Yes, I know. It is a big gamble for my team, but I'm willing to take the risk."
"I just had a talk with my superiors, and the company sees some potential in your idea, to increase the sales of Porsche vehicles to car enthusiasts, and we are willing to supply you cars, in this case, the brand new 992 generation of the 911 GT3 R, for the 2024 season of the FIA Road Car World Championship. But there is a condition." said the representative.
"What is that?" asked Surfer, happy that his idea had worked, and that the cars were being supplied by such a renowned brand like Porsche.
"Well, we want you to recruit a certified chief engineer and training driver, to make sure that this is safe. Do you accept these terms?" said the representative, pulling out the contracts, and keeping them on Surfer's desk.
"I accept." said Surfer.
"Good. Let's sign the paperwork, and I'll let my superiors in Germany know." said the representative. Surfer let off a sigh of relief. He was happy that his idea had worked, and they would be getting their cars. But now came the big part. Getting the drivers, and training them. This was going to be a stressful next few months for him and the team.