R vs R was a mixed reality race between a real Honda Civic Type R, and a virtual one. 

eSports Athlete and pro gamer, Peter Jeakins drove the virtual Type R in Microsoft’s popular racing game, Forza 7, at Road Atlanta racetrack. Meanwhile, pro IndyCar drive Graham Rahal raced a real Type R at the actual Road Atlanta track in Georgia. The real Type R was outfitted with a custom-made augmented reality windshield. It used data from several sources, including: Microsoft Forza, Google Earth and GPS data to broadcast the virtual car’s position to Graham in real-time; allowing the two to compete head-to-head. R vs R merged the worlds of motorsport and eSport and brought racing enthusiasts from both sides along for the ride.

After the first two weeks of an 8-week campaign, the engagement goal had already been surpassed by 38%. So far, the video has over 6,000,000 views. Over 68,000,000 PR impressions have been earned. And the campaign has over 70,000,000 media impressions.

For Jeakins, the project showed other brands that he’s a marketable e-sports athlete that can handle the spotlight.

For Rahal, the project helped him reach new fans, and proved to people that he’s truly willing to race against anyone.

For Honda, the project helped us sell 100% of the Civic Type R vehicles and on top of all the great press coverage and engagement metrics, it reminded people that Honda has racing in the blood.