Renault Enters Esports Through Partnership With Team Vitality
French multinational automobile manufacturer Renault announced entrance into the esports industry this week. Its motorsport and special vehicles division Renault Sports is partnering with the French esports organization Team Vitality. The newly formed Renault Sport Team Vitality team plans to compete in Rocket League and, potentially, Formula 1 in 2018.
Renault going for the young demographic
Announced at Esports BAR Cannes, the new partnership should help Renault reach a young, video-gaming crowd. Philip “Paschy90” Paschmeyer, Victor “Fairy Peak” Locquet, and Sandro “FreaKii” Holzwarth will represent the new team during this year’s Rocket League Championship Series Europe. The organizations agreed to the partnership for two years.
Additionally, Renault is initiating discussions with Formula One to join F1’s esports series competition.
“This partnership is a tremendous opportunity for the Renault brand to be exposed to new and younger audiences,” said Renault VP of Global Brand Strategy and Marketing Communications Bastien Schupp. “The combination of Vitality’s esports vision and expertise with our successful history in motorsport is a great partnership. As a discipline, esports have a promising, far-reaching future and we’re looking forward to connecting people from Renault Sport Racing to these young gamers and being a part of it.”
The partnership will give the new team members access to Renault Sport Racing’s Formula 1 factory located in Enstone, England. Players will have the opportunity to not only train with drivers and tech staff but also meet experts on the demanding F1 environment.
Team Vitality, on the other hand, will contribute its competitive gaming industry know-how to support the new team during their training sessions and beyond. The mix of experience from various fields should greatly improve the new team’s abilities.
Team Vitality gaining exposure
As part of the agreement, the Team Vitality logo will now appear on Renault’s F1 cars. It will help the team gain exposure within the esports industry and outside it.
“Vitality’s DNA is to be seen as a French front-runner that is competitive in the international arena,” said Team Vitality Founder Fabien “Neo” Device. “At Vitality, we stand to learn a great deal from Renault Sport Racing and how it prepares for Formula 1 races. At the end of the day, many of its methods are the same as those we employ in esports, namely data and performance tracking, physiotherapy, fitness training and mental training.”
Team Vitality also recently raised €2.5million in fresh funds, hinting at possibilities for expanding into more games.