While the esports world continues to entrench itself further and further into legitimacy, there are still some people who don’t view this booming universe as anywhere near equal to other traditional sports. Perhaps the following news may change this perception completely — with leading sim racing hardware brand Fanatec signed up as title sponsor for GT World Challenge Powered by AWS (previously known as Blancpain GT3 series) globally, sim racing will soon directly influence the outcome of a real-world championship for the very first time in global motorsports history.

Drivers competing in the Fanatec GT World Challenge will be able to earn championship points with sim racing results from Assetto Corsa Competizione, the official video game of the GT World Challenge. The initial plan is to host esports contests during all five rounds of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup and Total 24 Hours of Spa. Each Pro and Silver team will have to nominate a driver who races at the real-world championship to also participate in a virtual race that awards championship points. What this means is that going forward, top race drivers have to train up their skills not just on the tarmac, but in the virtual world, too. Details of the rules are yet to be announced, but this is looking a lot like a watershed moment in the history of motorsports.