This week find out how you can race in Fernando Alonso’s sim racing cockpit along with information on the first ever Prodigy Week.
You will also find out what is happening with Max Verstappen’s sim racing team, part 1 of a beginner’s guide to sim racing and all the latest tech news and reviews.
All this and more in this week’s edition of the Sim Racing Roundup on Motorsport Prospects. Its news for racers not gamers.
From Sim Racing to the Real Thing
As I mentioned in this week’s Driver Development Roundup column, the inaugural Prodigy Week kicked off on Monday October 30th and concludes today, November 1, 2023. The idea is to choose a winner from the 12 sim racing finalists after testing them in real-world race cars at Atlanta Motorsport Park. The winner gets a fully-funded real-world motorsport seat. A second Prodigy Week will be held in 2024.
Racing Prodigy CEO David Cook explained the idea behind Racing Prodigy at last week’s Esports Business & Gaming Summit in Las Vegas.
“Sim racing is providing unprecedented accessibility to real-life racing opportunities, Racing Prodigy CEO David Cook and former GT Academy winner Nick McMillen said during a panel Sunday on one of the most unique ways the real world and gaming are intersecting. Cook’s Prodigy Racing League will hope to take the efforts of some of racing’s biggest names, like McClaren, Michelin and more by democratizing racing competition, which traditionally costs tens of thousands of dollars a year for even the youngest aspiring F1 pros. PRL competitors will have a chance to compete IRL in the Prodigy Week racing academy at Atlanta Motorsports Park and, hopefully, cement a place as an F1 racer moving forward. McMillen, who did just that through GT Academy, said the gap between virtual and in-car racers isn’t as large as many would expect and that, given the chance, many of the top sim stars would show out on the actual tracks.”
Traxion has the details on who the 12 finalists are here. You can watch it all live on the Racing Prodigy YouTube page.
Competitive Sim Racing News
Red Bull has partnered with Max Verstappen’s esports team, Team Redline, on a multi-year deal under the new ‘Oracle Red Bull Sim Racing’ banner. Team Redline and Red Bull Sim Racing will remain autonomous entities, with the former presiding over the performance management of Oracle Red Bull Sim Racing, ahead of this year’s Formula 1 Esports Series Pro Championship.
As part of the deal dedicated Red Bull Sim Racing performance facility will also be built at Team Redline HQ, with the teams current driver lineup also being retained.
Here more headlines from the world of competitive sim racing.
- AMX Sponsors Team Redline to Elevate Global Sim Racing League, Poised for Market Expansion (Yahoo Finance)
- Women’s sim racing competition, Screen to Speed, returns for an oval Fall Cup (Traxion)
- 2023 Buttkicker Britcar 24hours of Silverstone
- IMSA Announces 2023 Esports Global Championship Entry List
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.
- Fernando Alonso’s Sim Racing Cockpit in Aston Martin: the AMR-C01 (Box This Lap)
- Simucube 2 wheel bases tweaked with new software update ahead of significant changes (Traxion)
- Heusinkveld’s genre-defining Sprint pedals and Handbrake now available in black (Traxion)
- Sennheiser HD 599 SE Review: Killer Open-Back Headphones on a Budget (Make Use Of)
- GT Omega’s new Pro Series Gen 2.0 aiming to set the gaming chair benchmark
- Van Life Meets Sim Racing in This DIY Camper Van Featuring a Solar-Powered Gaming Rig (AutoEvolution)
- Desert Running Goes Digital with Toyota Tacoma IsoDynamic Performance Seat Simulator at SEMA (Toyota)
- Best EA Sports WRC Racing Wheel: Buyers Guide 2023 (Sim Racing Setups)
- MOZA R5 Bundle Review: A Great Sim Racing Starting Point for $499 (Make Use Of)
- Fanatec’s rally-winning button module and wheel bundle finally ships soon (Traxion)
General Sim Racing News
- Forza Motorsport: An Absolutely Incredible Multiplayer Race (IGN)
- Gran Turismo 7’s developers have created Nissan’s electric GT-R interior (Traxion)