A continental pathway for African sim racing talent.
ETSA is designed to identify, develop, and showcase African sim racing talent. The pilot is run from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia through EMSA Esports and is open to drivers from anywhere in the world.
Join the ETSA pilot project.
Anyone can take part in the ETSA pilot. Getting started takes three simple steps, and you can join the pilot online through the Ethiopian Motorsport get-started page.
Become a member of your country ASN
Register with your country's ASN (national sporting federation). This lets you represent your country, and your membership is what allows you to receive your iRacing license.
Get your iRacing license and Assetto Corsa Rally
iRacing license: your ASN hands it out to you if it can. If your ASN cannot, send ETSA proof of your ASN membership and ETSA will provide the license.
Assetto Corsa Rally: you must buy this yourself, directly on Steam. ETSA does not provide it. Create a free Steam account first if you do not have one.
Subscribe to the open challenges
Subscribe to take part in the pilot's open challenges: the Rally Challenge 2026 or the F4 Challenge 2026. Once you have your driver ID and your own account page, the ETSA agent is available there. It must run on your rig for your times to count as official (see the terms of use).
The calendar is almost finished. Stay tuned for the upcoming dates.
Can I join from outside Ethiopia?
Yes. The pilot is open to everyone. It is hosted from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, but you can take part from anywhere in the world and represent your country by registering with your country's ASN.
How do I take part?
Register with your local ASN (national sporting federation) and become a member. Your ASN hands out your iRacing license if it can. If it cannot, send ETSA proof of your ASN membership and ETSA will provide it. Assetto Corsa Rally you must buy yourself, directly on Steam.
What do I need to start?
A PC, an iRacing license and Assetto Corsa Rally on Steam. That covers both the F4 Challenge and the Rally Challenge.
Will there be centres in other countries?
You can join the pilot programme today from your own country. In due time, ETSA will physically open centres in other countries.
What is the Digital Grand Prix?
A project-based challenge for African digital talent, starting with developers. It runs alongside the sim racing pilot. Read the brief.
What is the ETSA agent?
Once you have your driver ID and your own account page, the agent is available on that page. It must be run on your rig: your times are only official and recognised when the agent is running, and use of the agent is covered by the terms of use.
Need a more detailed answer?
Get in touch with the ETSA team through the contact page and we will help you personally.
A new project-based talent discovery platform.
ETSA Digital Grand Prix is the umbrella program. It will use practical challenges to reveal African talent through demonstrated work rather than CV claims alone.
The first edition will focus on developers solving a real motorsport or digital-performance problem. Future editions may open additional competitive classes when the judging capacity, challenge brief and partner opportunities are credible.
Build
Create a working project around a real motorsport, esports or digital-performance problem.
Compete
Submit evidence, demonstrate the solution and be evaluated through a structured technical process.
Get Discovered
Showcase demonstrated ability to ETSA, sponsors, technical partners and opportunity providers.
From raw potential to structured opportunity.
Africa has talent, ambition, and digital energy. ETSA exists to create a structured pathway where that talent can be discovered, trained, measured, and connected to real competitive opportunities.
ETSA
The continental talent search platform focused on African sim racing and digital performance.
EMSA Esports
The first pilot implementation, developed in Ethiopia as a working model for future expansion.
Maffi Racing
Technical and operational support for structure, training, systems, and project development.
EMSA Esports as the first implementation.
The Ethiopian pilot is where ETSA systems are tested in real conditions: driver onboarding, simulator access, booking operations, event structures, staff workflow, and competition formats.
Operational Testing
Booking systems, simulator availability, staff visibility, and driver access are tested in a live environment.
Driver Development
Drivers are introduced to structured practice, feedback, setup work, and competitive discipline.
Scalable Model
What works in Ethiopia can later be adapted for other African countries and local motorsport authorities.
Discover. Train. Compete. Progress.
ETSA is not just an event. It is a pathway designed to move talent from first contact to measurable performance and future opportunities.
Discover
Identify motivated and high-potential talent through accessible sim racing and digital challenges.
Train
Build discipline, consistency, technical understanding, and performance habits.
Compete
Use structured challenges, leaderboards, and events to measure progress fairly.
Progress
Create visibility for talent and prepare the strongest participants for wider opportunities.
Rally and F4 on the Ethiopian sim racing grid.
ETSA now follows two Ethiopian sim racing competitions: the seven-round AC Rally Challenge 2026 and the five-round F4 Challenge 2026.
Seven-round Time Attack championship
Rally competition running from July to December, with a pilot round, classified rounds, standings and results.
Five single-seater rounds
Rounds run from August to December 2026, from the opening Test round at Okayama to the final round in Norway. See the live calendar for exact dates.
Follow both competitions
Choose Rally or F4 to see each championship schedule, driver standings and latest classified results.
The first implementation is built around clear roles.
ETSA is the continental pathway. EMSA Esports is the Ethiopian pilot implementation. Maffi Racing and Maffi Esports support the technical, operational and development structure.
EMSA Esports
First pilot implementation of the ETSA model in Ethiopia.
Maffi Racing / Maffi Esports
Technical, operational and sponsorship support for the pilot.
International Context
Motorsport and esports development aligned with international standards and federation structures.