Like other sports, Formula E is trying to fill the gap left by events being shut down across the world due to the coronavirus pandemic.
While the likes of Football and Formula 1 have embraced the virtual world, holding in-game events between their players, Formula E is embracing a more realistic race simulator: marbles.
The Envision Virgin Racing team has partnered with Jelle’s Marble Runs, the YouTube channel of Marbleympics fame.
It has now started the Marbula E series – which sees marbles (named after real teams) racing each other on scale versions of real tracks. There are qualifying heats, grandstands and even commentary from Formula E’s Jack Nicholls.
The marble races go online at the same time as the real races were scheduled, and the first – the Paris M Prix – is live.
It’s much shorter than a regular Formula E event, and you won’t find features like FanBoost for obvious reasons.
Still, there’s a surprising amount of action considering it’s just a few round rocks rolling about (still, there’s zero-emissions so that’s good).
You can watch the whole race below:
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