James Baldwin, who won the World’s Fastest Gamer contest in Los Angeles last year, has proven that his skills extend far beyond esports. Despite his niche expertise in sim-racing, the British gamer won his first real-world racing debut this past weekend.

Last October, Baldwin walked away the winner of World's Fastest Gamer by beating expert sim-racers in a series of digital and on-track tests for a contract worth more than $1 million. As a result, he was awarded an opportunity to race in a McLaren for former F1 world champion Jenson Button in the British GT Championship. On August 2nd, he managed to win his first real-world race, claiming a trophy in at Oulton Park.

The 22-year-old, who said he was “elated” to win in his debut, also impressed World’s Fastest Gamer founder Darren Cox. “There is a direct link between the outright speed in esports racing and speed on the racetrack,” Cox noted.

RELATED: Burnout Paradise Is A One-Of-A-Kind Racer, And The Switch Port Proves It

Baldwin got his start go-kart racing, but left the sport at 16 for lack of money. Two years later, he found a simulator rig with a wheel and pedals for £250 at PC World. He spent a year as a casual gamer until he won an all-expenses-paid trip to Austria to compete for a cash prize. Baldwin ended up winning £4,000 after finishing second.

Eventually, he made his way to California to compete in World's Fastest Gamer, which included real driving, simulator driving, physical fitness tests, and media training. He managed to beat 10 hand-picked sim racers, each of whom are champions in their individual disciplines. Baldwin’s next race for Jenson Team Rocket RJN will be held at Donington Park in the UK on August 15-16.

“We’ve never seen a gamer like this arrive in professional racing and win on debut. That is groundbreaking,” Cox added. “This is not only a testament to the incredible talent that we unearthed in James but also a result of the advances in sim racing – the similarities between the cars in the game and cars on the track are getting closer and closer.”

Cox, the former head of Nissan Motorsport, joined forces Sony and Gran Turismo to create the Nismo GT Academy, a contest designed to turn gamers into racers. The program was a success, yielding a Le Mans podium and Bathurst 12-hour victory, each with two gamers in the driving crew. Despite its achievements, Nissan discontinued the program in 2016. Sony then replaced the GT Academy with the Gran Turismo Sport series, an international championship for gamers with no real-world racing.

Source: Townsville Bulletin

READ NEXT: No One Asked For This: Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2: Grand Prix Coming This October