iRacer Pablo López Named to Mazda Road to 24 Shootout Roster
November 10th, 2016 by Kevin Bobbitt
Spain’s Pablo López has been selected to represent iRacing.com in the annual Mazda Road to 24 Shootout on November 15-16, 2016 at the NOLA Motorsports Park, in Avondale, LA. The 29-year old resident of Santiago de Compostela was selected based on the driving skills that have taken him to more than 80 online racing wins as well as for the marketing savvy that has made him one of the world’s most widely-recognized sim racers.
Nicknamed “GoPro” for his prolific use of the action camera on his various social media platforms, López is seeking to follow in the footsteps of fellow iRacer Glenn McGee who won last year’s Mazda Road to 24 Shootout and the accompanying $100,000 scholarship. McGee quickly emerged as one of the top rookies in the 2016 Battery Tender Mazda Global MX-5 Cup Presented by BF Goodrich Tires, taking seven top ten finishes en route to eleventh in the standings.
“For my career this means stepping-up to another level,” says López. “I will push myself to the limit to achieve what Glenn achieved and represent iRacing and the sim racing community alongside Mazda. It’s such a great feeling, something you dream about so many times. Now it’s so close, thanks to Mazda, iRacing . . . and some hard work sim racing! When the email from iRacing arrived telling me I was the guy I cried of joy for 15 minutes. I couldn’t believe it.”
López’ path to the Mazda Road to 24 Shootout was anything but easy. A heavy work load as a driving coach at the Madrid Gaming Experience limited his ability to qualify for iRacing’s Global MX-5 Combine Cup event, a 19 lap race on the virtual Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca that served as the qualifier for the Mazda Road to 24 Shootout. Starting 38th in the 40 car field, López carved his way to tenth position and that performance, coupled with his outstanding marketing video, made a compelling case for the iRacing selection committee.
“Pablo put forth an incredible effort not only in the iRacing Global MX-5 Combine Cup but throughout his sim racing career,” says Kevin Bobbitt, iRacing.com’s Director of Marketing. “We’re really excited for him and, on behalf of the 65,000 iRacers around the world, wish him nothing but success.
“A big thanks to Mazda for again including one of the world’s top sim racers in the Road to 24 Shootout. As Glenn McGee showed, the skills and experience gained in sim racing really do translate to ‘real world’ racing. I’m confident Pablo will uphold that tradition in the 2016 Mazda Road to 24 Shootout.”