Wolverhampton and Gulf Racing together for the virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans

Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club and the Gulf Racing team have made an exciting collaboration for the 24 hours of Le Mans, a virtual version, which involves the branding of the Porsche 911 RSR GTE with the Wolves logo in gold and black.

Russell Jones, Wolves' general manager for marketing said: ''This is a great opportunity for Wolves to enter the world of motorsports and expand our eSports portfolio. This partnership offers us the opportunity to reach a brand new audience and align the Wolves brand with one of the most iconic car competitions in the world. We are looking forward to joining forces with Gulf Racing and we are looking forward to spending a highly competitive weekend".

The 24 hours of Le Mans, one of the most tiring and oldest motorsport endurance races in the world - dating back to 1923 - this year will not take place regularly due to the pandemic but, as well as for other MotoGP and F1 races, it will be held only virtually. In fact, pending the actual race which was postponed to September, between 13 and 14 June, a series of teams made up of professional pilots and eSports champions will put themselves in the driving position for the virtual 24-hour race, which will be broadcast live on TV and online all over the world.

The competition, organized by ACO, FIA WEC and Motorsport Games, will be attended by 50 teams that will also include high-profile F1 stars such as Max Verstappen, Lando Norris but also former world champions such as Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso among their drivers.

The GR Wolves Racing team will consist of two professional drivers, Ben Barker and Andrew Watson and two "sim drivers" (virtual drivers), Adam Maguire and the Italian Eros Masciulli.

Gulf Racing team manager Owen Daley explained the driver selection process: ''We needed a team of four, with a minimum of two professional drivers with FIA race licenses and a maximum of two sim drivers. Ben has participated in Le Mans many times and previously he had also won the support race, so he and Andrew wanted to do it and then we integrated them with two sim drivers. Adam is a very fast pilot with an excellent reputation, so we have been happy to guarantee his services. He therefore recommended Eros, who impressed us: they are both fantastic guys and we are delighted that they are on board".

Full transmission and streaming details will be made available by the weekend, but the race, which kicks off on Saturday at 14:00, will surely be live on YouTube, Eurosport and Motorsport TV.