Scot to compete in $1m Las Vegas simulator race Published duration 7 January 2017 Related Topics CES 2017

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An Edinburgh man is competing in a racing car simulator event in Las Vegas in a bid to win $200,000 (£162,000) after qualifying from his bedroom.

Graham Carroll, 26, will take part in the world's richest sim race - the Visa Vegas eRace in the North American city.

The 28-lap race starts at 00:00 on Sunday (British time) and has $1m (£812,000) worth of prize money over several categories.

His rivals include 20 pro drivers from the FIA Formula E Championship.

Mr Carroll abandoned real-life racing when, after his second Formula Ford title win in 2008, he ran out of funds.

The event is timed to coincide with the last day of the CES tech expo in the city.

Six hours a day

Mr Carroll, told BBC Radio Scotland's Kaye Adams Programme it was nerve-racking when so much prize money was at stake.

He said: "These days the simulator is pretty much as real as you are going to get. The simulators I've been using over the last few years can get you ready for driving a real car because they are so like real life.

"When I first started off at this competition to get my ticket to Vegas there was a four round qualifier and I won the first round of the series and the week leading up to that I was on it six hours a day, I was treating it like a job because if you qualify and go to Vegas you win a minimum of $20,000 (£16,000).

"So to get that ticket out there meant a lot to me and its going to be good to be one of the 10 that make it there."

He added: "It's going to be pretty nervy, if you think about it you can make $25,000 if you make it to pole position too, that's going to be nerve-racking."

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