“See you next year,” Squeezie said at the end of his video dedicated to the first GP Explorer, the Formula 4 (F4) race of web stars, on October 8th. If there were few doubts about a second edition, it is now official: the GP Explorer 2 will take place on September 9, on the Bugatti circuit of Le Mans (Sarthe) as during the first race, confirmed the French videographer on more followed on YouTube, this Wednesday during a live on Twich.
It must be said that the first edition was a hit: more than a million people followed the race live on the Twitch streaming platform, a record for a French channel. It was Sylvain Levy – who forms the Vilebrequin duo with his sidekick Pierre Chabrier – who won the race, ahead of videographers Delpielo and Etienne Mustache. The future success of the GP Explorer 2, meanwhile, leaves little doubt. Participants, rules, number of tickets, price… We take stock of Squeezie’s announcements.
A mystery team
The concept remains the same: stars of the Web – streamers, youtubers and creators of digital content -, chosen by Squeezie, will compete in a Formula 4 car race. The drivers will first follow specific training for several months, with the French Motorsport Federation (FFSA), to compete in complete safety on the big day. On D-Day, they will go through the qualifying phase in the morning, before the final race in the afternoon, which will include around fifteen laps.
Unlike last year, there will not be eleven teams, but twelve. Among the 24 drivers, half have already participated in the first edition of the GP Explorer, explained Squeezie, whose real name is Lucas Hauchard. We find the duos Squeezie and Gotaga, Seb La Fite and Maghla, Kaatsup and LeBouseuh, Etienne Mustache and Amixem, Djilsi and Theodort, Ana on Air and Maxime Biaggi, Billy and a mystery pilot, Baghera Jones and Horty Underscore, Mister V and Theo Juice, Depielo and Manon Lanza as well as Sylvain Levy and Pierre Chabrier.
The twelfth team, meanwhile, remains a mystery for now. The names of the pilots will be revealed in July, said the youtubeur. This is also the case of the name of the duo of the gamer Billy, which remains kept secret. The streamer will announce it himself in the coming weeks.
Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly as guests?
But the first date to remember is that of May 24. That day, Squeezie gives an appointment to his public to reveal the lists of sponsors of each duo and their cars. It is also on this date that the ticket office will open. If there were 40,000 people in the stands of the Bugatti Le Mans circuit last year, this time there will be 60,000 seats, or 20,000 more than for the first edition, at less than 50 euros. Last year, tickets were sold for 42 euros. For those who don’t have their precious sesame, don’t panic, the race will be broadcast, like last year, live on Squeezie’s Twitch channel.
The youtuber probably still has a few surprises in store. Last year, the duo Big Flo and Oli opened the event with a concert. New artists could be expected to set the mood. And to see the date of the event, we may be expecting other very special guests. The race takes place on September 9, a weekend when there is no other official Formula 1 competition.
The Alpine driver, Esteban Ocon – who was present with Pierre Gasly in the stands of the first GP Explorer – has also recently expressed his desire to be present: “I told Lucas (Squeezie) that his he had the misfortune to have a new GP Explorer, he has to organize it, but not during a GP, because I was at Suzuka. So if it’s not during a GP, a little demo with a Formula 1 for the public…”, he declared on April 17 during a live Twitch on the Gotaga channel.
To see the reactions on social networks, the public is impatiently awaiting this second edition. See you on May 24!