Gaming
esports
Meet Sim Racing's youngest new star
Junior McColl is a name you might not know now, but in the next few months there is no doubt that this amateur sim racer’s name will be on everyone’s lips.
UPDATE: Less than 48 hours after publishing our interview with Junior, he and his brother Morgan McColl were signed to South African Multigaming Organisation ATK Arena. They form part of the MGO’s development driver team.
Junior McColl turned 12 on 22 April. He started Sim Racing 3 months ago. Already he has begun to podium finish in South Africa’s major races and series. White Rabbit Gaming Sim Driver and one of South Africa’s best, Jason Absmeier is quick to highlight the young racer as one to watch:
“I think having a 12 year old race with us old 'ballies' is great, and to see his speed and potential is even better because we know that Sim Racing is in good hands for the next few years, or even decades. I’d love to see companies jump at the opportunity to set Junior up with his own rig. He currently shares one with his older brother and that is a limitation, because I can’t imagine the fights that break out in the house as to who gets to play when and how long. I think Junior McColl will be at the front end with the aliens soon, and then they’ll have big problems because the young gun is there to stay. He’s popular already and has only started doing Sim Racing as of this year. He’ll have a massive following soon.”
I reached out to Junior’s dad to chat a bit about his son’s racing career. Robert McColl speaks with so much pride when chatting to me about his young son. He is also quick to let me know that Junior’s own rig is on the way, after his improving skill and talent his dad decided he definitely needed his own set up. Junior has been sharing with his brother Morgan McColl, another young wonder racer who made a name for himself in the Karting scene, racing for the Toyota/Castrol Development Team. As early as 2014 Morgan was making an impact on the Sim Racing scene as well. The pair of brothers clearly share an incredible talent and push each other to improve.
A somewhat shy Junior agreed to chat to me on the phone. My first question wasn’t easy:
“What is it that you love about Sim Racing?”
He pauses for a few seconds and responds with “Everything”. He waits a bit and then explains to me that the question is hard to answer because there are just so many things he loves about racing online. He tells me he loves to watch Formula 1 and his favourite driver is Lewis Hamilton. He dreams of one day getting to race real life F1 cars for Mercedes Benz. I ask him about racing with his brother and he explains to me that Morgan has more experience than him but then, much like his confident idol Hamilton, explains that he believes that he’ll probably be able to beat his brother by the end of the year. He tells me this matter of factly. He’s weighed up the work he needs to do and the hours of practice needed, he’s confident it is possible. Junior practices roughly 2 hours a day and says that sometimes he tries to get 5 hours in, presumably on weekends when his school work isn’t taking up much of his time.
Another local sim racing up and comer, newly signed White Rabbit Gaming driver Bruno Cadilhe echoes other drivers’ thoughts on the rise of Junior:
“Junior McColl’s age is impressive. He is showing good signs of race craft and maturity, though he still has a lot to learn. Having a driver like Junior on the track is good for the scene because of his young age and the learning curve he is taking on. He will become one of the greats if he learns about understanding what the game wants him to do to drive faster and setting up the car. He can learn great race craft and patience. The potential is there. He will need the right coaching and support to fully grow. It’s a long and hard road for him but he can definitely learn the ropes with time.”
When I explain to Junior that some of the other racers have had such positive feedback and that rumours abound that a few teams are eyeing him as their next big signing he is arguably overwhelmed. He just chuckles and tells me that he didn’t know so many people were paying him attention and that makes him excited. We also chat about video games generally. He tells me that sometimes he enjoys jumping on his Playstation and playing some NBA. But his main focus is racing.
I’ve had the privilege of speaking to a lot of young South African esports players before they “made it big”. The two most memorable, for me, were FIFA’s Thabo “YvngSavage” Moloi and CSGO player Johnny “JT” Theodosiou, who now competes in the USA for Cloud9. I was one of the first to interview these players when they were young and “new” to their respective scenes. They too were shy and apprehensive, almost unsure as to why they were receiving so much attention. For both of them though, there was an underlying layer of calm confidence, the kind that only comes when you’ve spent hours perfecting your craft to allow your incredible talent to shine through. Chatting to McColl, arguably the youngest of the three, I sense that same energy from Junior. My “esports spidey sense” tingles and as I coax out answers from the young driver I realise that I might be chatting to yet another gamer who will ultimately forge forward for South African esports.
It is the end of our call, and it is my final question though, that convinces me. I ask Junior if he wants to be the best Sim Racer in South Africa. Yes, he says, without hesitation. But then a slight pause:
"And, the best Sim Racer in the world.”
