Motorsport Games Hires Gérard Neveu, Former WEC CEO

Motorsport Games announced yesterday that they made a news-post worthy hiring. While many may think this doesn’t make a huge amount of difference it’s worth noting that without the early influence for licensing from Divina Galica, iRacing would have struggled to get a foothold as quickly as it did. Motorsport is, in reality, a very closed group. Her friendships and contacts in the industry were massively useful and helped the software to be taken seriously… That will apply with Mr Neveu as well.

Here is the official news release:

MOTORSPORT GAMES WELCOMES GÉRARD NEVEU AS MOTORSPORTS ADVISOR
Industry Expert Who Staged Largest Virtual Racing Event in History to Enhance Company’s Authentic Connection to the World of Motorsports

MIAMI, FL — April 7th, 12pm UK, 2021 — Motorsport Games Inc. (NASDAQ: MSGM) (“Motorsport Games”), a leading racing game developer, publisher and esports ecosystem provider of official motorsport racing series throughout the world, today announced that highly experienced motorsport promoter Gérard Neveu will serve as Motorsport Games’ Motorsports Advisor, acting as the primary conduit between Motorsport Games and the world’s motorsport series and larger motorsport industry as a whole. Neveu will be responsible for developing, enhancing and executing projects and agreements between Motorsport Games’ esport business and the motorsport industry, while ensuring maximum authenticity across Motorsport Games’ virtual offerings along the way.

Well known and highly respected throughout the motorsport world, Neveu comes to Motorsport Games after a successful 10-year stint as CEO of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). In 2020, together with Motorsport Games and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), he staged the blockbuster 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual esports race that garnered TV audiences of 14.2 million and over 131 million digital impressions during the event. The largest virtual racing event in history, the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual connected 200 of the best-known real world and esports racing drivers across 30 different countries for 25 hours of live production.

“With Gérard’s extensive experience, we are certain he will ensure our brand remains genuine and continues to resonate and grow within the industry, all while creating world-class entertainment and content,” said Dmitry Kozko, CEO of Motorsport Games. “At Motorsport Games, motorsport isn’t just part of our brand, it’s in our DNA. Industry experts like Gérard enhance our authenticity and ensure we are thinking big, creating the most exciting new business opportunities for our Company and for our fans.”

“Motorsport Games is becoming the go-to leader in the virtual racing space – I’m excited to work with the team to build upon the company’s existing major live events and continue to help spread the joy of virtual racing with fans around the world,” added Gérard Neveu. “Virtual racing and esports have become major parts of the future within the world of motorsport and I’m honored to get to be a part of the phenomenon. By connecting real life motorsports with virtual racing events, we can create a whole new community that goes beyond just watching on TV, to actually participating in world class racing events.”

Motorsport Games has gained a reputation of excellence and has quickly evolved into the partner of choice for many racing series throughout the world. Motorsport Games has licenses to develop and publish games and esports based on NASCAR, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the British Touring Car Championship. In addition to its plans to acquire rFactor2 and Studio 397, the company has recently announced the acquisition of KartKraft, the leading kart racing simulator, and its plans to purchase mobile games developer Digital Tales.