VALENCIA, Spain — The third edition of the FIA Motorsport Games is officially underway following a spectacular opening ceremony staged Wednesday night in Valencia.
A total of 646 athletes representing 82 nations were present to launch the multi-disciplinary event at the City of Arts & Sciences, a stunning complex of modernist buildings located close to Valencia’s historic port.
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Proceedings began at 19:30 and included each national delegation, with this year’s hopefuls spanning Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Australia.
They will compete across no fewer than 26 categories, a significant increase from the 16 contested last time out in France and six at the inaugural edition in Italy. The Rally discipline has expanded from three categories to nine, while further new additions include GT Single Make, Esports F4, Karting Mini and Cross Car Mini.
The opening ceremony also featured a number of notable speakers, led by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who welcomed attendees via a video message. Carlos Mazón Guixot, the President of Generalitat Valenciana, spoke on behalf of the region, while Carmelo Sanz de Barros (FIA President of the Senate) declared the Games to be officially underway.
During the course of the ceremony, there were further speeches from Fernando Molinero (Sports Director of the Spanish Government); Ronan Morgan (FIA President of the Drivers’ Commission); Anna Nordkvist and Manuel Aviñó (FIA Vice President Sport Europe); and Stéphane Ratel (Founder and CEO of SRO Motorsports Group).
With the opening ceremony complete, attention now turns to the competitive element. This begins Thursday with Rally and Karting Slalom sessions at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, while both the Esports GT and Esports F4 categories will return to the City of Arts & Sciences to run open qualifying.