Along with practically every other sporting event in the first half of 2020, The Isle of Man TT was canceled earlier this year as a result of COVID-19.
It was a particular point of upset for yours truly, having already paid for flights, accommodation, and tickets. Boo!
Thankfully, there’s a silver lining in the form of a virtual competition; announced yesterday, publisher NACON and developer KT Racing have collaborated with the Isle of Man TT Races committee to produce TT Ride on the Edge 2020, an online event set within the acclaimed Isle of Man TT: Ride on the Edge 2 game.
Launched earlier this year, Ride on the Edge 2 had originally been intended as a celebration of the 2020 competition which was scheduled to take place later this month before being canceled. Now it finds itself literally as the competition itself, with the event kicking off this week.
The competition is divided into two separate parts. There will be an initial event between eight teams composed of invited competitors from the TT Races and experienced players from June 2 to June 6 as part of the Isle of Man Government’s ‘TT Lock-in’ program of entertainment.
Davey Todd, Conor Cummins, and Peter Hickman are some of the big TT names taking part.
Highlights of each team’s performance can be seen on the official iomttraces.com website and social media channels.
After that, gamers from all over the world who play TT Isle of Man – Ride on the Edge 2 on PS4 and PC can enter an open competition and go head to head in an event that runs from June 13 to June 25.
They will be competing to win a trip for two to the Tourist Trophy on the Isle of Man in 2021 to meet their heroes. The runner-up will win an official and limited-edition TT 2020 Arai helmet.
The event will consist of three rounds:
- From June 13 to 17, open qualification on the Circuit of Ireland to select the top 50 players
- From June 20 to 22, a lap of the Isle of Man to select the top 10 players
- On June 25, the final battle to win the Senior TT over six laps of the Isle of Man
David Talmat, Marketing Director at NACON, said:
“The Tourist Trophy is the culmination of the year for many riders after preparing for it all season. And for many fans it’s a dream to watch it in person one day! It’s a great disappointment that the race can’t go ahead this year, but we’re delighted to set up this competition based on TT Isle of Man – Ride on the Edge 2, which will allow two people to experience the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy first hand next year!”
A trailer accompanies this week’s announcement.
