Bono Huis, from Faraday Future Dragon Racing, won the inaugural Visa Vegas Formula E racing car simulator race event held at the Venetian Hotel on the final day of the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas – winning $200,000 in the process.
Dutchman Huis won the 28-lap race in Las Vegas, but not without some help from a mid-race crash which took out amateur simulator racer Graham Carroll and some end-of-the-race controversy when Finn Olli Pahkala thought he had won the race.
Although, the virtual ‘eRace’ did not count towards the Formula E championship, it did pit 20 Formula E race drivers against 10 gamers with matching equipment – with all wearing flame-proof race suits as if driving actual cars. The gamers earned their places in a Road to Vegas challenge and were paired with the 10 Formula E teams.
Pahkala had crossed the virtual finish line first but was later found to have gained an advantage through a software glitch that enabled him to use the sport’s ‘fanboost’ feature for longer than permitted. This resulted in race stewards handing Pahkala a 12-second penalty after a post-race investigation – demoting him to third behind Mahindra Racing’s Swedish racer Felix Rosenqvist [the 2015 European F3 champion and best-placed Formula E driver].
Additionally, Huis, 21, also took an additional $25,000 for securing pole position – but the lowest finisher was guaranteed $20,000.
The race start was also delayed, and distance reduced, after encountering technical issues and Brazilian racing driver Lucas di Grassi was unable to start when his simulator failed to work properly.