Deagen Fairclough continues his post-sim racing journey as he graduates to the GB4 championship, all due to wining an esports competition. I have his story and more examples of the cross-over between sim racing and real-world motorsport in this week’s Sim Racing Roundup.
From Sim Racing to the Real Thing
Dominant British Formula 4 champion Deagen Fairclough will step up with Hitech GP to GB3 for next season. Fairclough got his single-seater break through winning the ROKiT-backed Racing Star esports competition and finished third in his rookie British F4 campaign in 2023 driving with JHR Developments. ROKiT will continue backing Fairclough next year, when it says it will also launch a new competition to bring talent from sim racing to the racetrack.
The Daily Downforce looks at how real NASCAR drivers are using sim racing.
Rajah Caruth: “I don’t think it would have started just because I started iRacing when I was 15 or 16 years old, and didn’t get into my first race in Legends Cars until I was 17. So I think if not for the platform I got from sim racing, I wouldn’t have got an opportunity to race in real life.”
Read the full article here.
F1 champion and sim racer Max Verstappen explains the lack of a fear factor in sim racing, something that can never be replicated.
“No, not the speed sensation. That only really happens in real life because on a simulator, of course, you go fast, you go the same speed, but if you hit the wall or whatever, you know, it’s not hurting. You know, you press restart and you go again”.
If you are going to the PRI show this December, you might want to look into the session How the Right Simulator Racing Setup Can Give You Advantages On Track by André Eriksen of Asetek.
“Maximize time and training off track through the use of racing simulators. Racing simulators have moved beyond gaming hardware and will, with the right set up and equipment, provide advantages to the race car driver to build traction on the track from building muscle memory to brake faster, learn turns and tracks, and save money on track time and equipment.”
The session takes place Saturday, December 14 from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM and you can find more information on it here.
Has sim racing replaced karting as the entry point in motorsport for a lot of people? That is the question asked by Alan Dove in a recent column of his in The Motorsport Saga by Alan Dove. “The rational mind might perceive sim racing as a gateway to real-life motorsport, but I posit that we’ve entered the realm of ‘instead of’ rather than ‘in addition to’.”
In the video above, take a look at AVL RACETECH and get an overview of the entire portfolio of the motorsport department of AVL, one of the world’s leading mobility technology companies.
Competitive Sim Racing News
- 2024 IMSA Esports Global Championship kicks off on Nov. 24 (RACER)
- Getting Started in Esports Racing (Revolution Magazine)
- iRacing: Secret Features You Didn’t Know Existed (Box This Lap)
- GAZOO Racing GR GT Cup Asia 2024: Taj Izrin Aiman from Malaysia secures victory in a thrilling showdown (VIR)
- FIA Launches Expression of Interest for Olympic Esports Partner (FIA)
- Cayman Motoring Federation Launches Motorsport Sim Racing at Gamers Bay 8 (FIA)
Sim Racing Tips & Techniques
Sim Racing Tech Roundup
Here is a roundup of the latest sim racing tech news, reviews, and recommendations from around the world
- Simucube Announce New Budget Orientated ActivePedal Pro (Overtake)
- Simucube has created a (slightly) more affordable version of its force-feedback-equipped ActivePedal (Traxion)
- Thrustmaster brings direct drive steering wheels to console racing sims (The Verge)
- Thrustmaster’s £450 T598 PlayStation and PC-compatible direct drive bundle unveiled (Traxion)
- 3 Top-Rated Racing Wheels For PlayStation Gamers (SlashGear)
- F1 Tech Meets Sim Racing (Sim-Lab)
- Sim Racing: The Definitive Logitech Buyer’s Guide for 2024 (Box This Lap)
- New Thrustmaster Sim Racing Wheel Uses an Axial Flux Motor Just Like a McLaren (The Drive)
- Sim-Lab will present a new Direct Drive Wheelbase (Box This Lap)
- Racing Unleashed and McLaren Racing to Revolutionize the Digital Racing World (Racing Unleashed)
General Sim Racing News
- RaceRoom To Continue Graphics & Performance Improvements In October Update (Overtake)
- Work On Le Mans Ultimate Will Continue As Motorsport Games Talks To Potential Investors (OverTake)
- SBJ Gaming: NASCAR’s evolving strategy (Sports Business Journal)
- One year of Forza Motorsport: Update 13 set to add free Mustangs (Traxion)
- 23 world premieres expected at the ADAC SimRacing Expo this week (Traxion)
- Inside F1 Arcade’s Flashy D.C. Debut (DC Eater)
- Asetek SimSports secures rights to make console-compatible sim racing equipment (Traxion)
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.
