Forza Motorsport is now an Olympic sport… sort of

In lieu of the now-cancelled Special Olympics (as well as the actual Olympics); and with bans on competition, travel and training ongoing, the Special Olympics has partnered with Xbox to host an online Forza Motorsport 7 Tournament to be livestreamed from May 30.

Viewers will be able to tune in on Microsoft’s official YouTube, Mixer and Twitch accounts to watch 35 athletes from 11 US states compete on the virtual tarmac.

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The Special Olympics decided to hold the eSports event whilst “looking for new ways to connect, compete and just have fun” while many of their athletes are under local stay-at-home orders.

It’s not the first occasion that Xbox and the Special Olympics have partnered up, with Xbox having hosted the first video game tournament at the Special Olympics USA back in 2018.

It may also prove to be another step towards eRacing being included within larger cornerstone sporting events worldwide.

The notion of eRacing on the Olympic stage in particular isn’t a new idea, as the International Olympic Committee stated back in 2017 that: “competitive eSports could be considered as a sporting activity”.

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The 2018 Asian Games also trialled a competitive eSports inclusion, and Gran Turismo Sport is currently an ongoing feature within Japan’s annual National Sporting Festival.

Over the past few months especially, we’ve witnessed various real-life racing disciplines turning to online alternatives, which has certainly accelerated eRacing’s visibility to a far wider populous.

Virtual racing’s Olympic future may not be here yet, but in light of recent trends, it may soon be on the horizon – whether you like it or not.