Inaugural Racing Prodigy draft selects 12 iRacers to compete in real-world competition
July 10th, 2024 by Justin Melillo
On July 6, just over a year after the Racing Prodigy program was announced, 32 drivers qualified through the first season of the Prodigy Racing League waited to hear their names called by one of its six official teams to secure a contract to race in real-world competition.
Through the two round of qualifications and the Golden Ticket process, 15 iRacers entered the first-ever draft last weekend. From those qualified 15, 12 were selected over the four draft rounds, with at least one iRacing-qualified driver selected to each of the six teams.
Over the last year, there have been numerous opportunities to collect the Racing Prodigy’s Golden Tickets through iRacing. The Mazda Spec MX-5 Golden Ticket Series, Powered by SuckerPunch, was a seven-week series earlier this year that invited qualified iRacing members to compete for a number of Golden Tickets.
In total, 32 tickets were given out for drivers to compete in real-world competition during the Fall of 2024 and the Spring of 2024. Those 32 drivers from 14 different countries were scored on a number of factors, including what they did on and off the track, and the six participating teams utilized these factors into a four-round draft this past Saturday.
Some of the drafted names may be familiar to iRacing eSports followers. Their sim-to-reality stories will continue as they compete on their teams during the Prodigy Three (P3) Championship, which is the first real-world racing series sanctioned in the Prodigy Racing League.
Here are the six official teams and the iRacing qualified drivers who were drafted by them:
SuckerPunch Prodigy Racing Team Fueled by Fans
- #1 Thomas Bellemin, 19, United States
- #13 Brandon Hawkin, 26, Canada
G2 Prodigy Racing Team
- #11 Roope Kurkipää, 18, Finland
Outlaws Prodigy Racing Team
- #15 Edoardo Leo, 17, Italy
TC Prodigy Racing Team
- #4 Gustavo Ariel, 22, Brazil
- #16 Garrett Lowe, 22, United States
- #21 Dino Filippa, 26, Argentina
Guild Prodigy Racing Team
- #8 Will Redford, 19, United Kingdom
Williams Esports Prodigy Racing Team
- #6 Siro Zambra, 18, Switzerland
- #7 Nathan Saxon, 27, United States
- #18 Kamden Hibbitt, 15, United States
- #19 David Dalton Jr, 26, United States
Eight drivers still have a chance to be reserve drivers, including three drivers qualified through iRacing. They are:
- Matt Caruana, 18, United Kingdom
- Jordan Johnson, 25, United States
- Dominik Lukomski, 24, Poland
The vote for reserve drivers is open to the public, happening this week. The six top-voted drivers will be selected.
For more information on the Prodigy Draft and the drivers included, visit racingprodigy.com/prodigy-draft-july-2024/. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.
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