The 86th 24 Hours of Le Mans is on the horizon, and while race car drivers will be put to the ultimate test on the Circuit de la Sarthe, gamers will be participating in their own gasoline-fueled test of endurance in a 24-hour marathon of Forza 6. The marathon comes as part of a partnership between Porsche, Microsoft, and Automobile Club de l’Quest (ACO) and will actually run simultaneously to the real 24 Hours of Le Mans race. The official name of this online test of endurance is formally known as “Forza Racing Championship (Forza RC) Season 3: The Porsche Cup.

As you might have guessed by the official name, those who actually make it through qualifying and become finalists will get to race virtual versions of the Porsche 919 Hybrid. Prizes include real-world money, and there’s even a title in ACO’s newest category: “Official Endurance Esports.” The thing is, however, that if you really want to participate you need to head over to the signup page now as qualifying has already begun. The only requirements are a working Xbox One and a copy of Forza Motorsport 6. Well, that, two working hands, and a girlfriend that’s not going to nag you the whole time. Qualifying comes to an end on May 28th, so you still have some time. When the final race kicks off, it will be streamed via YouTube, Twitch, and Beam for the whole world to see.

Oh How Far We’ve Come

Back in the Day, I used to spend my free time playing Gran Turismo – that was my game. Then came along Xbox and the original Forza Motorsport and I feel in love. The graphics were better than anything we had at the time, and the attention to detail was absolutely wild. It was the closest thing to a racing simulator you could get your hands on without shelling out a fortune, and the fact that car damage was actually realistic was everything I had ever hoped for. Even the little things like brake rotors that heat up during braking were what set the Forza brand apart from the rest. Back then, I used to say that it would be so cool if we could participate in real online races, and now we can. Sure, previous versions of Forza were online-capable, and you could race against your friends, but nothing quite as in-depth and exquisite as this. This is like a digital 24 Hours of Le Mans, and that’s pretty damn cool if you ask me. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to game that much anymore, but if I did, you better believe I’d be putting in the work right now to do my best to qualify.

Have you taken your qualifying run yet or are you going to? If so, what was it like? If you don’t make qualifying will you watch the live stream of the official race on June 17 and 18? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.