Last week Racing Prodigy crowned their newest Prodigy Week champions and you will find out who they are in the Sim Racing Roundup this week. I also have everything you need to know about Max Verstappen’s sim racing, two great sim racing series launching and more sim racing news and reviews. It’s all in this week’s edition of the Sim Racing Roundup on Motorsport Prospects. Sim racing news for racers not gamers.
Please note that there will be no Sim Racing Roundup next week as I am off on vacation. It will return on June 12th. Thanks so much for reading!
From Sim Racing to the Real Thing
20 Prodigy Pass winners competed from May 13-15 at Atlanta Motorsports Park across various racing disciplines, as well as in fitness and media training, for a chance to be drafted and become paid professional drivers in the upcoming Prodigy Racing League real-world series as part of Racing Prodigy‘s e2Real program.
Congratulations to the podium finishers from the Radical SR1 Chase Competition: 1st Place: Will Redford (United Kingdom), 2nd Place: Brandon Hawkin (Canada), 3rd Place: Thomas Bellemin (United States).
Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen is a keen sim racer who regularly competes in events. Autosport details all you need to know about his non-F1 passion.
But he would like to do things differently, by running a squad of sim racers who have been trained to compete in real-life GT3 racing. “If I do something, I want to do it right – I want to win with this as well,” said Verstappen. “And it’s about creating a stepping stone from sim racing to GT3, so that you don’t have to only go through karting to get into motorsports, because that costs a lot of money at the moment. We have been working on it for a while. The planning phase is over, we are in action mode now.”
All to know about Max Verstappen’s sim racing career amid Le Mans 24 Hours ambition
Penske Autosport has introduced Ansible Motion’s Delta S3 driver-in-the-loop (DIL) simulator to its operations, aiming to improve its team’s performance in the 2024 FIA ABB Formula E Championship. The simulator will be used for hardware and software validation, circuit acclimatization, driver development and race strategy planning.
Launched two years ago, the Delta S3 simulator features a 360° 48K screen, a 16m2 motion space and a fully integrated real cockpit. Ansible Motion says this setup is particularly beneficial for Formula E teams, which often have limited track time at temporary street circuits.
Competitive Sim Racing News
iRacing, INDYCAR and ButtKicker announced May 23 the creation of the inaugural INDYCAR ButtKicker iRacing Pro Series, set to debut in September. With a total prize pool of $50,000, the top open-wheel sim racers in the world will compete starting Sept. 19 in a series that features many of the INDYCAR SERIES’ most exciting venues. Each race will be broadcast live at 8 p.m. ET Thursdays via iRacing social channels and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES YouTube channel and website. Full details can be found at https://www.indycar.com/news/2024/05/05-23-iracing-series.
iRacing and the FIA have announced the creation of the FIA F4 eSports Global Championship, which will commence its inaugural season this September. The all-new, pro-level eSports series is the latest step in the successful partnership between the two parties around the Formula 4 platform. The four-event, eight-round series will see drivers from around the world battle for a $25,000 prize pool. Races will be broadcast live across iRacing social media channels.
“We couldn’t be more excited to work with the FIA to launch the FIA F4 eSports Global Championship,” said iRacing president Tony Gardner. “Both iRacing and the FIA are committed to helping aspiring racers break into real-world motorsport through accessible opportunities, and the Formula 4 platform is a terrific means of doing so. We look forward to an exciting season this fall, and we’re sure that the front-runners in this series will be battling once again in the upper levels of motorsport in the years ahead.”
FIA Single-Seater Director, Nikolas Tombazis said: “I am delighted that the FIA is again joining forces with iRacing for the next phase of this highly innovative collaboration, taking FIA F4 eSports to a global stage following great success at the regional level. This latest step in our strong partnership aligns with our strategy to foster the growth and development of eSports and, in so doing, extend the appeal of our sport to fresh audiences, with the aim of doubling global participation in motor sport.”
Drivers will be able to qualify for the FIA F4 eSports Global Championship by running in iRacing’s FIA F4 Regional Tour series during 2024 Season 3, which kicks off in mid-June. The top 10 eligible drivers in championship standings across each of the Regional Tour series will be invited to compete in the Global Championship. In order to be eligible for an invitation to the Global Championship, drivers must reside within the respective region for which they qualify, ensuring a truly global championship field.
Doubleheader events have been scheduled for September 14, September 28, October 12, and November 2, with the first race session opening at 18:30 GMT. Track selections for each event will be announced 24 hours prior to the race, forcing drivers to adapt quickly to each course. Drivers will also compete with fixed setups, ensuring an equal playing field for all.
For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com. To know more about the partnership and access an iRacing license via your local ASN, visit www.FIA.com/iracing.
Racer looks at Bari Broumand’s long road to Scuderia Ferrari Esports. “I said to myself, and I spoke to my dad as well, and he said, ‘If you believe in yourself that you can be a champion one day, then you have to just go to the races and bounce back. You can do it,’” he said.
The Porsche Coanda Esports Racing Team kicked off the new ESL R1 year by winning two quarter-final races. In the final round, newcomer Charlie Collins from Great Britain and defending champion Joshua Rogers from Australia finished eighth and eleventh in their virtual Porsche 911 GT3 R race cars. This puts the works team fourth in the team standings after the opening race on the digital rendition of the Daytona International Speedway.
Jörn Jens (D, Team Manager Porsche Coanda Esports Racing): “We prepared very well for the race day, despite having to adapt to last-minute rule changes. But we managed that well. Daytona always requires a bit of luck. But with three drivers in the semi-final and two in the final, we can definitely be satisfied and we’re pleased with the points haul.”
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
- The Best Entry-Level Racing Wheels in 2024 (Box This Lap)
- The Top 6 Essential Accessories (Box This Lap)
General Sim Racing News
- Le Mans Ultimate Confirms Free BMW Hypercar DLC For June 10 (Updated) (Overtake)
- Singapore Sports Hub sim-racing racetrack added to the HyperDrive Cities Championship 2024 (The Edge Singapore)
- Cutting-Edge Racing Simulator Shines at Vulcan Alpha Workshop Opening (Novus)
- F1 24 review: Slick but lacking polish (Autosport)
- Should you buy the divisive new F1 24 game? (The Race)
- EA Sports F1 24 Reveals First Driver Ratings (ComicBook)
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.
