Triathlete and columnist Jeanette Ipapo-Tuason, and CEO of Tuason Racing JP Tuason
A racing school in the Philippines digitized its activities turning them into virtual racing and esports, embracing the “new normal” due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic which postponed the holding of sporting activities indefinitely.
“We knew we wanted to be in the digital space as early as 2019. So we pushed forward all our digital events such as the young driver program online with a skew to help our frontliners,” JP Tuason, founder, and CEO of Tuason Racing said in a statement.
Tuason Racing took the opportunity by launching “motorsports in the virtual world,” in spite of simulated or virtual racing being relatively new in the e-gaming industry.
“There has been a continuous surge for online games during the lockdown. More and more people are doing games since there are limited live activities to do,” Tuason said.
“[The] racing school will lead the way in providing [a] professional league for players to enhance their skills on the track and on online platforms,” he added.
The digital arena will allow online race series, leagues, and other programs, such as Toyota’s The GR Supra GT Cup, to continue despite the adjustments in the “new normal.”
“We have decided that the whole [of] 2020 will be work-from-home. We have moved to the digital arena by creating online race series … and in August, we are launching another online league on a PC platform along with a complimentary spectators program where they can make their own teams and win prizes,” Tuason explained.
The racing school aims to pioneer its new normal racing events later this year which will feature “contactless racing.”
Tuazon nonetheless remains optimistic that the Philippine motoring industry will “recover and learn new things” from the Covid-19 health crisis.
“It will recover as mentioned. Companies are evolving. It won’t be called car companies but mobility companies… they will surely find new ways. There will be some casualties but life goes on, and those that will survive will thrive but probably not the same way we have seen in the past,” he stressed.
Tuason Racing, the pioneering racing school in the Philippines, aims to provide a complete ladder to motorsports and driver’s training by providing lessons in karting, circuit racing, formula car racing, and responsible motoring program. Francis David Perez