A 25-year-old professional gamer has been handed the role of simulator driver for the McLaren Formula 1 team, following a recent eSports competition.
World's Fastest Gamer was a competition organised by McLaren to find the best virtual racing driver, with the ultimate prize of becoming their simulator driver and helping to develop their F1 cars.
Rudy van Buren, a sales manager from Lelystad in the Netherlands, fought off more than 30,000 competitors to win the crown, coming out on top in an exacting four-hour final assessment using McLaren’s state-of-the-art F1 simulator, beating fellow countryman Freek Schothorst, a 20-year-old science, business and innovation student from Amsterdam.
Van Buren is no stranger to racing both on and off the track though, having raced karts aged eight, ultimately winning the Dutch Karting Championship in 2003. However, due to a lack of funding, he was forced to quit at the age of 16.
"You search for a replacement because you’ve still got that racing feeling inside you," he said. "You want to go on but there’s no option or route available. That burn inside to win, doing a lap quicker and quicker, lap after lap, it’s a feeling that you can’t express.
"Every boy that starts karting dreams about F1, and at a certain point that dream just vanishes. Now by winning World’s Fastest Gamer, I can relive that dream.
"This has been the most incredible experience and words can’t describe how I feel right now. To think that I came to the McLaren Technology Centre for the very first time last week but am leaving here today as McLaren’s newest employee is mind blowing.
"I can’t thank everyone enough for giving me this amazing opportunity; just being here, meeting the team and competing with some amazing people has been an unforgettable experience. It really has been the toughest job interview I’ve ever faced, but with such an incredible reward at the end of it. Now I can’t wait to get started!"
McLaren executive director Zak Brown added: "First, my congratulations to Rudy – he really showed the mettle, determination and ability to succeed.
"This was an outstandingly tough contest, one where we went to great lengths to stretch our contestants beyond their limits, and he’ll be a real asset to the organisation as we develop and refine our 2018 car throughout the next season."
