Yesterday, Canadian TSX Venture Exchange listed sim-racing-focused company Torque Esports (formerly Millennial Esports) announced that it has acquired the U.K.-based Formula 1 and motorsports coverage brand WTF1 from Dennis Publishing to expand its motorsport-themed media operations. The acquisition of WTF1 complements the recent launch of Torque’s motorsport news brand asset “The Race.”
WTF1 was founded in 2010 by Tom Bellingham and has since grown to reach an audience of 12M per month. Bellingham’s vision was to serve and connect with a new generation of motorsport fans who engage purely on social media. In 2017, the brand was acquired by British media group Dennis Publishing. Currently, 87% of WTF1’s audience is between 18-44 years old.
“WTF1 looks at Formula 1 and motorsport from a very different perspective. This is not a hard-core news site, it showcases what is a very serious sport in an extremely light-hearted manner,” explained Darren Cox, Torque Esports president and CEO, in a release. “The size of the social media reach for WTF1 and the young demographic of its audience does an incredible job in not only looking after existing fans but reaching a new audience. With WTF1, we further broaden our media reach.”
Last year, Torque Esports restructured its business and leadership team to refocus on esports racing and esports data provision. With the acquisition of WTF1 and the launch of “The Race,” the company has also added motorsports coverage to its verticals. In addition to WTF1, Torque’s portfolio includes mobile racing game developer Eden Games (Lyon, France), “The Race” and “World’s Fastest Gamer” operator IDEAS+CARS (Silverstone, United Kingdom), esports data and analytics firm Stream Hatchet (Barcelona, Spain), and racing simulator manufacturer Allinsports (Formigine, Italy).
