Max Verstappen has signed a sim racer to race for his new GT3 team and this week in the Sim Racing Roundup you will find out all about the program. I also have details on the F4 test for the winner of the 2024 FIA Motorsport Games F4 Esports category, how a mobile gamer went from mobile gaming to driving a real race car and what we know about the Olympic Esports Games so far.
From Sim Racing to the Real Thing
Max Verstappen’s racing program has launched a full GT3 effort for the 2025 season, emphasizing the inclusion of sim racers in competitive motorsport. The initiative features Chris Lulham, a prominent sim racer, being promoted from Team Redline to compete in the GT World Challenge Europe alongside Thierry Vermeulen and Harry King. This move aligns with Verstappen’s vision to foster young talent, providing them with opportunities to transition from virtual to real-world racing.
Speaking about joining up with Verstappen for these GT events, Lulham mentioned: “The experience is very different with so many people at a racetrack working to support you. In a simulator, you are by yourself, focusing on your own performance. It feels fantastic to have such a big team supporting you. Driving a real car is physical, not super comparable in terms of the experience, but the technique is very similar. The main difference is, of course, the G-forces. The things I have learned with Team Redline over the past four years, we apply the same at the real racetrack. That for me has made the step very smooth. I would say it’s come very naturally.”
Here are more details on Verstappen’s new racing program.
- Verstappen.com Racing announces 2025 program. Max: ‘Exciting year ahead!’ (Max Verstappen)
- Max Verstappen launches racing team, recruits sim racer as driver (Esports Insider)
- Verstappen Launches Aston Martin GT3 Effort (Sportscar365)
- Max Verstappen expands own team into GT World Challenge Europe (Autosport)
- Verstappen announces huge personal move: ‘It’s always been my dream’ (GP Blog)
- What you should know about Max Verstappen’s own team’s 2025 plans (The Race)
- Team Redline’s Chris Lulham will be racing in the real-world this year (Game Reactor)
The world of sim racing takes a significant step towards reality as Luiz Felipe Tavares, the winner of the 2024 FIA Motorsport Games F4 Esports category, is set to conduct an exclusive Formula 4 test. In March, Tavares will get behind the wheel of a real F4 car at Cremona Circuit in Italy, in a test provided by Maffi Racing.
FIA Junior Categories Director, François Sicard, said, “We’re delighted to partner with Maffi Racing to provide Luiz Felipe Tavares with this exciting opportunity. He has showcased remarkable talent in esports, and this test will allow him to apply those skills in a real-world environment. The addition of the F4 Esports category in the 2024 FIA Motorsport Games has been a resounding success, lowering barriers to entry and creating a level playing field for aspiring racers. Luiz’s test highlights the growing connection between digital and real-world motor sport. The FIA is committed to embracing and encouraging this connection as a way to make motor sport more accessible than ever.”
Read more here.
The BBC has an article on the motorsport journey of sim racer Jude Peters to real-world motorsport. “The 16-year-old, from Malmesbury, Wiltshire, was a sim racer, but has gone from racing in his bedroom to a real endurance racing contract in just two years.”
Jude’s dad Dale wrote an article recently for Motorsport Prospects profiling Jude and his journey. You can read it here.
Watch how mobile gamer Laurens Beerten went from mobile gaming to driving a real race car in this video from Racing Prodigy.
Naake Motorsports has announced its participation in the Buttonwillow Speed Tour, set to take place at Buttonwillow Raceway Park from March 14–16, 2025. The team will provide race car preparation and trackside support for drivers John Moore, Cole Moore, and Tim Lynn in the TA2 class, as well as Michelle Nagai in the TA/TA Cup class.
In preparation for the event, Naake Motorsports and its drivers have been rigorously testing both on the track at Buttonwillow Raceway and off the track using the cutting-edge Shockwave Racing Simulator, located in-house at the Naake Motorsports facility. This state-of-the-art simulator offers a realistic and immersive training environment designed to optimize driver performance. Driver Cole Moore expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “This sim provides an experience that is as close as you can get to being in the car on the track.”
BWT Alpine Formula One Team announces the extension of its successful partnership with Trak Racer, a global leader in the sim racing industry. This renewed collaboration reinforces the shared commitment to innovation and high-performance Esports and sim racing technology.
Following the success of the Alpine Racing TRX racing simulator, this extended partnership paves the way for the next evolution in immersive Sim Racing technology. Together, BWT Alpine Formula One Team’s Alpine Sim Racing and Trak Racer are dedicated to delivering groundbreaking experiences for sim racers and esports competitors worldwide.
Competitive Sim Racing News
- What we know about the Olympic Esports Games so far (Esports Insider)
- How to Increase Safety Rating in iRacing (Operation Sports)
- This Week in iRacing: March 11-17, 2025 (iRacing)
Sim Racing Tips & Techniques
- Sim Racing in Small Doses: Getting Faster Without Giving Up Your Whole Life (Apex Advisory Racing)
- How to Race Against Faster Drivers Without Ruining Your Own Race (Apex Advisory Racing)
- When the Laptimes Stop Dropping: How to Overcome Sim Racing Plateaus (Apex Advisory Racing)
Sim Racing Tech Roundup
- Comparison of the best sim racing cockpit for 2025 (CNET)
- Initium is the new product line for Asetek Simsports (Box This Lap)
- Sim Racing or the Real Thing? How Novus Blurs the Line (Novus)
- Fanatec US: Price drop on Podium Wheel Rim NASCAR & bundles (Box This Lap)
- Asetek A/S : SimSports launches Next-Gen steering wheels and pedals to provide ultimate sim racing experience (Market Screener)
- Heusinkveld releases its small but perfectly formed MagShift Mini shifter (Traxion)
- Pinnacle racing group demos advanced motion simulation (SimCraft)
- Revosim 9Nm wheel, load cell pedals, target sim racing establishment in June (Traxion)
- Nacon’s promising Revosim RS Pure direct drive racing wheel lets you use your phone as a dashboard and settings tool, but it feels like it could do with a little work (PC Gamer)
- Playseat Formula Instinct F1 Edition review: “A sign you’re taking sim racing seriously” (Games Radar)
- State Of The Art Simulator For Sale (Race Cars Direct)
- I just tested the Nacon Revosim RS Pure sim racing rig — it feels like Fanatec for a fraction of the price (Tom’s Guide)
- Moza FSR2 Formula Wheel review: Blurred lines (Traxion)
- BeamNG.drive teases upcoming brutish boxer sounds (Traxion)
- Logitech G RS Wheel Hub review: ” Takes the excellent G Pro to an even greater place” (Games Radar)
General Sim Racing News
- iRacing’s Adaptive AI tech set to spice up offline racing (iRacing)
- Check iRacing’s our all-new line of officially licensed sim racing wear with IMB, featuring jerseys, gloves, boots, and hoodies! (IMB)
- Ohio’s first ‘dedicated sim racing bar’ now open Downtown (614 Now)
- SpeedHub Sim Racing brings simulator racing to Chattanooga (6 AM City)
- Gran Turismo 7 Gets a New PS5 Rival in Realistic Sim Racer Rennsport, Due Out in 2025 (Push Square)
- Rennsport lands on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S 2025, cross-platform with PC (Traxion)
- New sim racing game, Rennsport, confirmed for PS5 (Traxion)
- The rebirth of Rennsport: racing sim is coming to console, and rethinking its monetisation (Top Gear)
- Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown’s solo mode requires an online connection (Traxion)
- Assetto Corsa studio co-founder, Casillo, rejoins development team (Traxion)
- New ARCA cars and Portland released in iRacing’s Season 2 2025 build (Traxion)
- What To Expect From iRacing’s NEW Arca Car (Daily Downforce)
- Le Mans Ultimate’s recent success must be “converted into something meaningful for the company’s future” (Traxion)
- The race for sim racing on console explained (Traxion)
- Motorcycle sim TrackDayR adds enhanced trick controls and arena tracks (Traxion)
- Experience the real feel of motorsports at Flatout Sim Racing (York Dispatch)
- Forza Motorsport adds eight new cars in Update 18, including Lamborghini LMDh (Traxion)
- JDM: Japanese Drift Master delayed until May (Traxion)
- Full Throttle in the Heart of Zurich: Racing Unleashed Announces Flagship Lounge at Europaallee (Racing Unleashed)
- Take Your Sim Racing To The Next Level With F1 24, Now Down By $25 (Game Rant)
- First look at Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown’s car delivery missions (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.
