The FIA, motorsport’s global governing body, has approved the creation of an esports regulatory framework at its latest FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting.
The first-of-its-kind framework, known as the FIA Esports Code, will be used to regulate sim racing competitions as well as provide legal frameworks for national events to take place.
According to a release, the creation of the FIA Esports Code is the first framework focused on sim racing to be created by a sporting federation. The FIA noted that ‘fundamental elements’ from the International Sporting Code (ISC) have been adapted to make sense within the world of virtual motorsport.
The creation of the framework forms part of the FIA’s Vision 2030 initiative comprising of five key areas that include uniting the motorsport community and ensuring sustainability within all forms of activities sanctioned by the Federation. More details on the initiative are expected to be revealed in 2025.
Throughout 2024, the FIA has expanded its presence within esports and the sim racing sectors. In May, it collaborated with sim racing platform iRacing to launch the F4 Esports Global Championship which features a licensed recreation of a FIA Formula 4 car alongside drivers competing for a share of a $25,000 (~£19,588) prize pool.
In October, the Federation began a process to identify game developers for a partnership relating to the inaugural Olympic Esports Games. The goal is to create or adapt a sim racing title to be used at the event taking place in Saudi Arabia next year. Details on any selected developers haven’t been revealed.
Interest in sim racing exploded in 2020 following the COVID-19 pandemic bringing all real-world motorsport to a halt. With real-world events taking place regularly once again, seeing the FIA creating frameworks to regulate esports events is a significant step to ensure consistency is maintained by sim racing organisers and drivers competing.
