The 2026 Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series winner has been revealed and in this week’s Sim Racing Roundup, you will see how this could lead to real-life racing. I also have details on Esport Talent Search Africa, a peek at the Simucube Performance Center and more!
Overview
From Sim Racing to the Real Thing
Martin Kadleฤรญk Wins 2026 Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series Title at Circuit of the Americas
After six double race events spanning the virtual United States, the 2026 Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series came to a close on Thursday night. $500,000 in prizes, including a chance at a real-world racing ride for the 2027 season, were on the line. 20 drivers qualified for the event, but only five were still eligible for the big prize earned by the top-three finishers. On top of that, only one of those five drivers could take the championship. By the end of the night, Martin Kadleฤรญk was crowned the champion, with Matt Caruana and Brandon Hawkin finishing second and third in the standings and earning their tickets to the shootout later this year.
The top-three finishers in the final standingsโKadleฤรญk from the Czech Republic, Caruana from the United Kingdom, and Hawkin from Canadaโwill be invited to VIRginia International Raceway in the United States for the three-day Formula Car Shootout. Theyโll be competing against one another for a full-season seat in the Skip Barber Formula Race Series, last year won by Aaron Vazquez. Caruana will be making his second attempt in the Shootout, while Kadleฤรญk and Hawkin will both attempt it for the first time.
Inside the Simucube Performance Center: Professional Racing Simulator Training
Step inside the Simucube Performance Center and discover how racing drivers use professional simulator training, expert coaching and performance data to improve their skills.
Learn more about the Simucube Performance Center: https://simucube.com/simucube-performance-center/.
Does Sim Racing Teach You to Drive Differently? Sim-to-Real Explained
Sim racing can transfer useful skills to a real racing car. Max Verstappen and Chris Lulham provide recent examples, while motorsport simulator research shows that drivers adapt their control strategies to the cues available in a virtual environment. What public evidence cannot yet tell us is whether the fastest technique in iRacing, Le Mans Ultimate, Assetto Corsa Competizione or Assetto Corsa EVO matches the technique used in the corresponding real car. When a driver becomes fast in a simulator, what control strategy has that simulator taught them to use? Box This Lap explores this question here.
Simulating INDYCAR’s Unknown: Inside Drivers’ Prep For New Street Courses
New street circuits present one of the toughest preparation challenges in IndyCar because drivers have no real-world experience of the layout before race weekend. In this FOX Sports analysis, James Hinchcliffe explains how Driver-in-the-Loop simulators give teams a crucial head start, helping drivers learn the circuit’s rhythm, corner sequences and car placement before they arrive. But the article also stresses an important limitation: a simulator is a preparation tool, not reality, and drivers must know where its assumptions can lead them astray.
Esport Talent Search Africa is Now Live
What started as an idea to create a structured pathway for identifying talent through esports has moved into operation.
The first ETSA Pilot Centre is now running in Ethiopia, providing a physical environment where young people can access simulation, competition and technical development.
We also have live Rally and Formula 4 sim racing championships underway, while the ETSA Digital Grand Prix is opening another side of the project to developers through real technical challenges involving software, telemetry, engineering and simulation.
The vision has also become broader than competition itself. ETSA is being developed as a pathway connecting young people with opportunities across the motorsport and technology ecosystem, from drivers and sim racers to engineers, software developers, data analysts and other technical specialists.
We have now started reaching out to universities, developer communities, innovation hubs and engineering organisations across Africa to build that network around the project.
The objective remains very simple: find talent, give it a platform to demonstrate what it can do, and help connect that talent with opportunity.
ETSA can be explored here: https://www.esport-talentsearch.africa
The Secrets of Driver-in-the-Loop Simulators
The Race F1 Tech Show this week that includes a feature length interview with an F1 simulator pioneer. The driver-in-the-loop simulator, or DIL, as itโs called, has become a key tool for Formula 1 teams in the 21st century. They were once in-house projects, but as the technology has evolved companies have emerged to provide state-of-the-art driver in loop simulator hardware to supply not only F1 teams, but also other racing teams and even private individuals across their product range.
This is a subscriber-only podcast but you can pay for the individual episode here.
Competitive Sim Racing News
- FIA Mena Esports Championship Returns With 2026 And 2027 Editions (FIA)
- Hyundai Launches Korea’s Largest Sim Racing Esports Championship (Seoul Economic Daily)
- Audi Singapore Wants To Find Its Fastest Sim Racer (OneShift)
- Hereโs Your Chance To Race Like Formula 1 Drivers In The โRoad To Sepangโ Sim Racing Tournament (Says)
- Screen to Speed Season 2 Launches With Global Esports Games Pathway for Women in Sim Racing (Init Esports)
- iRacing Weekly Tune-in | eSports & Community Events | August 19th to August 26th, 2026 (iRacing)
Sim Racing Tips & Techniques
Should Beginners Start on Slow Cars in Sim Racing?
Sim Racing Tech Roundup
- Moza Racingโs MotoGP sim equipment set for Gamescom unveil (Traxion)
- Best Sim Racing Hardware Deals in August 2026
- I Built a Serious Sim Racing Rig in My Humble NYC Apartment (Road & Track)
General Sim Racing News
- Sim Racing Has Become Worth Watching (Box This Lap)
- Asetek Racing joins SimRacing Expo line-up (Traxion)
- Inside SIMPRO Academy Phuket, the simulator centre that is serious enough for real pilots and racing drivers (Thaiger)
- GT Omega confirms SimRacing Expo Frankfurt attendance (Traxion)
- Which Sim Racing Game Supports the Biggest Grids in 2026? (Box This Lap)
- Le Mans Ultimate surpasses half a million sales (Traxion)
- New RSF Richard Burns Rally mod update adds historic Sanremo and RAC rally stages, plus โ94 WRC season (Traxion)
- Inside Velocity, Dallasโ New Massive Sim Racing Lounge (Local Profile)
- Project Motor Racing update reworks LMDh class, VR and triple-screen leave alpha (Traxion)
Author: Mark Boudreau
Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects and the host of the Motorsport Prospects Podcast. As a 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.
