How sim racing is disrupting driver development will become quite clear in this week’s Sim Racing Roundup. I have details on sim racers transitioning to real-life racing, using a sim rig to prepare for a race and much more!
Overview
From Sim Racing to the Real Thing
From Lockdown Video games to Pro Racing Driver
Will Redford’s route to professional motorsport began somewhere increasingly familiar to young racers: the simulator. This BBC feature follows how the 21-year-old went from racing on iRacing during the COVID-19 lockdown to winning in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 in Guyana, with a scholarship competition providing his breakthrough into real-world racing. His story is a compelling example of how sim racing can become a genuine pathway into professional motorsport when talent, opportunity and determination come together.
From Simulator to the Red Bull Ring: Jayden Harrison Takes Jamaican Motorsport into New Territory
Jayden Harrison is about to put Jamaica’s growing sim-racing scene to a major real-world test. This Jamaica Observer feature follows Harrison’s journey from years of simulator training to an upcoming drive in a Porsche GT3 Cup car at Austria’s Red Bull Ring—the first Jamaican to make that transition from simulation to an international racing event. More importantly, the project is intended to demonstrate how sim racing can reduce some of the financial barriers to driver development and create a new pathway for Jamaican motorsport talent.
How Sim Racing is Disrupting Driver Development
In his recent LinkedIn post, Drivers Lab Dan Wells explains how sim racing is disrupting driver development. “The most disruptive thing happening in driver development is not a new car or a new championship. It is that sim racing has quietly become a genuine route into the real sport, and traditional motorsport is still learning how useful this route really is.” You can read the full post here. You can also here more from Dan on his recent appearance on the Motorsport Prospects Podcast here.
Prototypes, Academies, and the 4 Hours of Spa
What happens when high-fidelity simulation becomes part of race preparation rather than simply a driver-training tool? This Virtex feature looks at the work taking place behind the scenes around the 4 Hours of Spa, bringing together prototypes, driver academies and professional simulation. It highlights how teams and drivers can use realistic virtual testing to prepare for a demanding endurance race, refine performance and make better use of limited track time.
Sim Vs Real-World Driving
What can you learn in a simulator that transfers to real-world racing? Simulator training is about much more than learning a circuit or chasing a faster lap. Used as part of a structured driver development program, it gives drivers the opportunity to prepare, practice and refine skills that can be carried into real-world racing.
From learning circuits and developing braking, throttle and steering technique, to analyzing data and improving communication with engineers — the simulator provides a controlled, repeatable environment to work on the details before arriving at the track.
Simulation isn’t here to replace real-world track time — it’s here to help you make more of it. Read the full Instagram post from Base Simulators for all the details.
What the Fittipaldi Brothers Drive When They Are Not Racing
Asetek Racing has announced a global ambassador partnership with Pietro Fittipaldi and Enzo Fittipaldi. The brothers compete at the front of prototype and open-wheel racing on both sides of the Atlantic, and carry a name that has been part of the sport’s record books for more than fifty years.
“Preparation only counts if the equipment is honest. We looked at what was available and made a decision on merit. The rig we practice on is the same hardware anyone can put in their own room, and that says something,” said Pietro Fittipaldi.
“I came to a new championship this year with circuits I had never driven. You want the equipment you prepare on to behave like the car, without qualification. That was the requirement, and Asetek Racing met it,” said Enzo Fittipaldi.
Competitive Sim Racing News
5 Things Joshua Rogers Has Learnt from 5 Years of Sim Racing Professionally
Joshua Rogers explains thew five things he has learnt from five years of sim racing professionally, and how they can help you. You can read the full post here.
Sim Racing Tips & Techniques
The Secrets of Driver-in-the-Loop Simulators
The Race Members’ Club podcast has a special episode of The Race F1 Tech Show that includes a feature length interview with an F1 simulator pioneer. Dynisma, based in Bristol in the UK, has emerged as the most significant supplier to Formula 1 teams, and in this episode Edd Straw talks to company founder Ash Warne, a key pioneer of driver-in-loop simulator technology with McLaren who later worked for Ferrari.
This is a podcast for members only but you can pay to listen to the episode here.
Sim Racing Tech Roundup
- Fanatec becomes Official Supplier of Racing Simulator Hardware at Goodwood Motor Circuit (Corsair)
- MOZA Racing Teases Mercedes-Benz Sim Racing Product for Gamescom 2026 (Box This Lap)
- Moza will be making a sim racing version of the Ford Mustang GTD’s wheel (Traxion)
- PXN at GAMESCOM 2026: Immersive Digital Sports Simulation Brand Unveils Complete Racing & Flight Simulation Ecosystems (GamesPress)
- Antycip and Dynisma to Showcase Immersive Driver-in-the-Loop Technologies at DSC 2026 (Antycip)
- MOZA Racing Brings Motorsport Icons and Next-Generation Simulation to Gamescom 2026 (Moza Racing)
- MOZA Reveals Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Ford and MotoGP Hardware at Gamescom 2026 (Box This Lap)
- MOZA Showcases Racing Lab AI Coach at Gamescom 2026 (Box This Lap)
- I built an elite sim racing setup without breaking the bank. Here’s how (BBC Science Focus)
- F1 25 Can Now Use DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction as NVIDIA Confirms RTX Spark Support (Box This Lap)
General Sim Racing News
- Project Motor Racing V8 Power Pack Adds Nine Cars and Road Atlanta on September 15 (Box This :Lap)
- iRacing Arcade Brings Licensed Sim Racing to PS5 and Xbox Without Subscription (Tech Times)
- Three new cars, including Mazda RX-7, coming to Assetto Corsa EVO’s V0.9 update (Traxion)
- All you need to know about Gran Turismo 7’s August update (Traxion)
- ‘The Alien’ who has ‘Been Everywhere’ | iRacing Community Spotlight: Karl Samson (iRacing)
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.
