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In Switzerland, car races on the circuit are prohibited.Despite this, Monisha Kaltenborn, CEO (CEO) of Racing Unleashed, caresses the ambition to build a solid world community in the world of car e-sport.

Over the past twenty years, electronic sport (or e-sport) has experienced a dazzling boom.According to the International E-Sport Federation (IESF), this activity has already convinced more than 200 million enthusiasts and generates annual revenues exceeding a billion dollars.

In the E-Sport Automobile field, Zugoise Racing Unleashed is starting to have a storefront.Created in 2018 by Francisco Fernández, Serial Entrepreneur and Founder of Avaloq, Racing Unleashed rents Formula 1 simulators in seven lounges in Switzerland, Germany and Spain.This young company with around fifty employees also organizes international championships.

Since May 2019, Racing Unleashed has been led by Monisha Kalternborn.It was in the seat of Racing Unleashed in Cham (canton of Zug) that she received Swissinfo.ch for a large interview.

Series: women at the controls

Women are still largely underrepresented in the high spheres of the economy.The 20 companies listed on the flagship index of the Swiss Stock Exchange, the SMI, only have 13% of executives in their directions.Switzerland is a bad student in international comparison in this area.Throughout this year, Swi Swissinfo.ch has decided to give voice to leaders of Swiss companies whose activities are deployed worldwide.Representatives of the Swiss economy who approach the most urgent challenges currently affecting their activities, between coronavirus crisis and Switzerland in the globalized economy.

Swissinfo.ch: Before taking the head of Racing Unleashed, you were Managing Director (CEO) of the Sauber Motorsport stable.What skills have you been able to transfer to your new employer?

Monisha Kaltenborn: Mainly the ability to reproduce the world of Formula 1 as really as possible in an automotive e-sport company like Racing Unleashed.

Have you ever driven a real formula 1 when you run SAUBER MOTORSPORT?

Never!I was often offered it but I always preferred to give up my place to experts ...

In your current function, is it an advantage or an inconvenience of being a woman of foreign origin?

This is a thorny question!What does it mean to be of foreign origin when you work for very international companies like Sauber Motorsport or Racing Unleashed?More generally, I think that nationality and gender are neither an advantage nor a drawback.

Who are the pilots of your cars simulators?

Our vision is to make motorsport accessible to all, in a safe and respectful of the environment.Therefore, we target pilots of all ages.Among the users and users of our simulators, we of course have many adolescents: they and they lead our virtual racing cars for pleasure or to develop their skills of future running drivers.In addition, we attach great importance to the age class from 18 to 40-45 years.Finally, a multitude of our pilots are even older, especially the owners of real sports cars lacking time to go to circuits.

What about your competitors?

In addition to renting high -precision formula 1 simulators, we organize two leagues of international championships with the cash prices.Our last races were even followed - online or in our lounges - by more than 100,000 spectators from around the world.We are currently the only company in the world that combines these different activities and, therefore, we do not have direct competitors.However, there are of course many other sports car simulators, for example in virtual play fairs.

Does official recognition by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and/or by the International Olympic Committee (CIO) are part of your plans?

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Like motorsport, car e-sport can be considered a real competition sport.In both cases, important physical efforts are required.Therefore, there is no reason why the International Automobile Federation or the International Olympic Committee will not be interested in our sport.

Our ambition is to generate an ever greater craze and thus establish a real world sport by emphasizing the quality of our simulators and the organization of international championships.In other words, our absolute priority is to obtain recognition from the E-Pilot community rather than those of established institutions.However, hopes that institutional recognition will follow.

In addition to your five lounges in Switzerland, you are also present in Madrid and Munich.How did you choose these cities?

We have chosen Spain and Germany because enthusiasts and enthusiasts of motorsport are legion in these two countries.In addition, Francisco Fernández, founder and president of our company, is of Spanish origin.

What are your international ambitions?

Our goal is to extend to other countries or regions very important for car e-sport, in this case France, the Middle East, the United States and, of course Asia, cradle of the'e-sport.To do this, we will continue to combine the opening of new subsidiaries with the establishment of franchises.

In your dreams, how do you see Racing Unleashed in ten years?

In ten years?In our sector, we cannot plan so long term ... But our goal is to build a solid world community within three years.In addition, we want to consolidate our position as a technological leader, probably in partnership with tips at the forefront in their field.

What are your main sources of income?

On the one hand, we are paid by the users of our simulators.On the other hand, client companies sponsor our virtual racing cars, our lounges and our championships.We also perceive royalties for our franchised lounges.Finally, we sell our technical know-how to a few non-concurrent companies.For the time being in any case, our spectators pay nothing because our priority is to build a community as wide as possible.

Racing Unleashed AG was founded in October 2018. Are you already in black figures?

It is still too early to talk about financial balance, among other things because our initial investments have been substantial.However, based on our growth and the establishment of our brand, we can already say that initial investments are paid.

Your seat is located in the Zugoise countryside.What functions do you have in this seat?And can you easily attract the talents you need?

Nothing is easy in this world but, given the smallness of Switzerland, we are able to attract talents for the various functions of our headquarters, in this case strategy, marketing, Broadcasting and software development.On the other hand, our simulators are designed and manufactured in our factory in Maranello, located opposite the prestigious Scuderia Ferrari.

Have you not thought of developing your simulators in Zurich to take advantage of the skills of this city's federal polytechnic school?

But Maranello is at the heart of the "Motor Valley", one of the most famous places in the world of motor racing!And many automotive skills are associated with this region.In addition, we have acquired a company specializing in simulators in Maranello.

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