Sim Racing and Esports News for April 21, 2022-Virtually Real

This week in the Sim Racing and Esports News roundup, I have more tips on how to transition from sim racing to real world motorsport, more about using sim racing to improve on a real life racetrack, a sponsor transitioning from the virtual world to real world motorsport, a lap of Circuit of the Northwest and much more!

Sim Racing and Esports News for April 21, 2022-Virtually Real
  • Mortiz Löhner has made a successful leap from sim racing into real-world motorsport, and you can too. No, really. Watch the video above for more.
  • In Use Sim Racing to Improve on a Real-Life Racetrack, Blayze looks at using sim racing as a tool to get better in the world of real track racing. “Real-life drivers have to decide if they want to use Sim racing as entertainment or use it as a tool to get better. They can do both, but they need the discipline to separate those modes in their mind.”
  • I have mentioned numerous times in this column how drivers have transitioned from sim racing to real world motorsport (like Mortiz Löhner above), but that is also starting to apply to sponsors as well. Logitech G, the video game equipment company, has expanded its support of 23XI Racing and Denny Hamlin from the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing to the NASCAR Cup Series.
Sim Racing and Esports News for April 21, 2022-Virtually Real
  • Registration is now open for the Ferrari Velas Esports Series. “The registered drivers will run two parallel championships in Europe and North America, divided into 8 qualifying phases for each continent from April to August, concluding the double round with the respective regional finals in Europe on 13 September and in the USA on 14 September. The event will culminate in the Grand Final on October 2, 2022, in Italy, with the top 3 drivers of both regions battling in an innovative format that will be disclosed just after the regional finals.”
Sim Racing and Esports News for April 21, 2022
Toyota GR010 Hypercar
  • Toyota’s Le Mans-winning GR010 Hypercar will be coming to Gran Turismo 7 in the next couple of months with the GR010 scheduled to arrive in the game before summer. It’s scheduled for use in a round of the 2022 Toyota Gazoo Racing GT Cup at, appropriately, the Circuit de la Sarthe.
Sim Racing and Esports News for April 21, 2022-Virtually Real
Sim Racing and Esports News for April 21, 2022
Hong Kong racing driver Dan Wells (right) and teammate Oscar Lee at a Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe Championship Pro-Am Cup with Rexal FFF Racing Group. Photo: FFF
  • In a recent Sim Racing & Esports News roundup I mentioned how Lamborghini is launching their first ever eSports team. Here is some great background on Team Principal and Coach Dan Wells and how essential he thinks sim racing is for the race driver, especially those from Asia. “Esports is only going to grow and get more professional in the coming years, and I think we’re here to capitalise at the right time.” You can see Dan’s directory listing on Motorsport Prospects here.
  • SRO Motorsports America President talked to Daily Sportscar about the series’ emergence from COVID, ideas for fan engagement what’s in store for the future. The quote that caught my eye was this: “And now that that’s clarified, we want to return and say, ‘Let’s connect this to fans.’ How does that look? What does it look like in North America? That ties in – and we’re very pleased – with doing what we’ve done with eSports, which is very much a hands-on consumer experience. We’re pleased, obviously, with our Assetto Corsa Competizione game, to be able to bring fans in, and to get that dedication. We’re working on grid growth, fan engagement – and then the natural extension is the eSports engagement as well. In Europe, it goes so far as requiring drivers to participate in it.” Would it mean that, in the near future, we could see eSports events paying points for the real-world GT World Challenge America championships? Gill replied confidently, “Absolutely. We’ll see what that looks like.”
Sim Racing and Esports News for April 21, 2022
  • Speaking of iRacing, if you want to learn how to use MoTeC data in iRacing, Coach Dave has got you covered.
Sim Racing and Esports News for April 21, 2022
Photo: Alpine
  • Season two of the Alpine Esports Series Powered by Binance is due to get underway this month, and it will be hosted on Simracing.GP. “This competition attracted some of the best Assetto Corsa Competizione players from around the world last season and it looks set to be the same again this year. As well as a grid full of pro-esports drivers there is an invitational class for influencers and guest drivers to take part.”
Sim Racing and Esports News for April 21, 2022-Virtually Real
  • Traxion goes hands-on with their review of MotoGP 22 in the video above.

Mark Boudreau
Author: Mark Boudreau

Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects. As a former lawyer, he applies his legal background and research skills to assist race drivers by showcasing the resources they need to make their motorsport careers happen.