Maltese driver Joe Consiglio clinched the GPVWC 2009 sim-racing world championship in style at the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. Consiglio, who races for Italian/Norwegian team Nordsjoen Racing, won a tally of six races this season. He is the first Maltese driver to win the World Champion title.
24-year-old Consiglio, who holds both Maltese and British citizenships, chose to represent Malta throughout his eight-year-long career in the top flight of sim-racing - a choice he made well clear by sporting a Maltese flag-inspired helmet.
"My dad is from St. Julian's, while my mum grew up in Balzan," the newly-crowned World Champion says.
"I may have grown up in England, but Malta is where my whole family is and it is home for me. I still try to go there as much as possible to be with my relatives, and my wife fell in love with Malta too."
Asked what it meant to be from a small country and win against the very best of the world, Consiglio declared himself "immensely proud" to put Malta on the sim-racing map.
"Coming from an island only 18 miles in length, it is great to bring the country to international sporting success. I hope my championship victory spurs on other young sim-racers across the country to give it a go."
Indeed, a new generation of Maltese drivers is growing. New kid on the block Jason Muscat, from Siġġiewi, made his debut in the GPVWC World Championship at the beginning of October, and scored his first points at his second race.
Consiglio sees this as proof Malta can offer a lot to the sport: "Jason's recent arrival proves sim-racing is becoming more popular in Malta, so the future looks bright. He looks like he has a lot of potential and I hope he delivers. He's young, so there is plenty of time for him to develop."
Sim-racing first started as a high-technology tool for motor racing teams to test developments and train drivers with a high-fidelity simulation of real life racing. It has now become a mass discipline, practiced by millions of participants in all continents and counting drivers from Formula 1, NASCAR and other motorsport series among its ranks.
The GPVWC (Grand Prix Virtual World Championship) is one of the longest-running sim-racing Championships in the world. Established in 2000, it rose to prominence in 2002 and is the only championship in the world to feature full team management. The season follows a format similar to the FIA Formula 1 championship.
Results, information and standings are available on http://www.gpvwc.com/