Radical Academy Indonesia is a program that develops sim racers into real-life race drivers and in this edition of the Sim Racing Roundup you will find out about the program and watch it in action. I also have news on how a sim racer was recently crowned “Young Driver of the Year” in the UK, transitioning from sim racing to the CARS Tour in real life and why Max Verstappen thinks that sim racing is 90-95% there.
From Sim Racing to the Real Thing
Radical Academy Indonesia is an initiative from Radical Motorsport Indonesia and GT-Sim.ID designed to discover and develop racing talents from the simulator racer community. Through a series of events and rigorous selection stages, Radical Academy aims to provide a platform for aspiring simulator racers to prove their skills in driving a racing car in the real world.
Thousands of sim racers across Indonesia had the opportunity to compete in a Radical Academy for the prize of a professional training package at the Mandalika International Circuit with Radical Indonesia and GT-Sim ID.
After an initial online elimination stage, the top 6 virtual drivers went to Sentul Circuit where they faced three tests covering driving, physical and media ability. The final 3 then headed to Mandalika Circuit to get behind the wheel of a Radical SR1 with a professional Radical Racing School instructor. The two videos above give you an overview of the program and the experience.
Visit www.radicalmotorsport.id and https://www.radicalmotorsport.id/category/3/simulator-academy to find out more.
British Formula 4 champion and sim racer Deagen Fairclough has been crowned the winner of the 2024 Silverstone Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award. The 18-year-old Briton will receive £200,000, a test in an Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula 1 car, full British Racing Drivers’ Club membership, an Arai helmet and Jordan Bespoke helmet bag as his prize.
Fairclough earned his chance to step into racing with success in ROKiT’s Esports competition. After finishing third in British F4 in 2023, Fairclough dominated the 2024 campaign, taking 14 victories with Hitech.
When racing veterans talk about where they’re going to find the next star NASCAR driver, usually they’re talking about dirt open-wheel racing, pavement Late Models, or Legends and Go-Karts. But recently the conversation has started to include the virtual world, and Donovan Strauss is hoping to be another driver that continues to push the narrative towards the sim racing world as he chases the CARS Tour rookie title in 2025. Read more about his plans on FloRacing here.
The Prodigy Three (P3) Championship, the first of three real-world auto racing series within the Prodigy Racing League (PRL), heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway on February 4-5, 2025, and with it, 28 of the world’s best racing gamers who compete in real race cars for teams including Williams Esports, the sim racing arm of the Williams Racing Formula One team, Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois’ TC Racing, global esports elites G2 and Guild, sim racing powerhouse BS+COMPETITION, and SuckerPunch, the fastest growing pickle company in the United States.
You can find out more about Racing Prodigy and the Prodigy Racing League here.
Auto racing enthusiasts and drivers James Hayosh (left) and Dan Cycholl are using simulator racing business Superlap in Berkley, Michigan as a way to get more people interested in auto racing and train current drivers. You can read more about Superlap here (registration required).
Speaking during a fan Q&A session with his Redline sim racing team, reigning Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen provided candid insights into his sim racing hobby, and his stellar career and generally shooting the freeze.
“It’s exactly the same as in real life. You’re working off a radar, you feel as well while driving. So for me, I would say it’s like 90-95% there, but that 5% is mainly just that real touch of strapping yourself in the car and then feeling the G-force.”
You can read more on Max’s thoughts about sim racing versus real-life racing at Grand Prix 24/7 here.
Competitive Sim Racing News
- 2025 Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup 30-driver roster, seven-race schedule released (iRacing)
- “This is why you’re gifted everything in your life Max Verstappen”: Williams sim racer launches vicious tirade against the Red Bull driver (Sports Skeeda)
- This Week in iRacing: February 4-10, 2025 (iRacing)
- iRacing: February 2025 Special Events Calendar (Box This Lap)
- Florian Lebigre, Cooper Webster earn Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup victories in opening round at Daytona (iRacing)
Sim Racing Tips & Techniques
- Think You’re Improving? – Not Without Post-Race Notes, You’re Not (Apex Advisory)
- How Self-Analysis Can Help You Become a Faster Sim Racer (Apex Advisory)
- Why you should STOP saying these words about sim racing (Sim Staff)
In the video above, after learning to bat, Max Verstappen gets behind the wheel on F1 24 to give some coaching tips to the England Cricket Team on F1 24.
Sim Racing Tech Roundup
- Comparison of the best sim racing cockpit for 2025 (CNET)
- I tried the Logitech G923 Trueforce wheel again and it’s still a great entry point for sim racing fans (The Sun)
- MOZA Racing Wheel: The Lamborghini Of Sim Racing (MSN)
General Sim Racing News
- Assetto Corsa EVO update brings new improvements, but still no online fix (Traxion)
- The intense pressure behind Assetto Corsa EVO’s rushed release (Traxion)
- Nine tips to get the best out of Assetto Corsa EVO (Traxion)
- Le Mans Ultimate’s driver swaps and custom liveries set for May (Traxion)
- Wow, Forza Horizon 5 Is Really Coming to PS5 This Spring (The Drive)
- Tokyo Xtreme Racer is already playable in VR thanks to a mod (Traxion)
- Assetto Corsa EVO Early Access (PC) Preview (CGM)
- Low Fuel Motorsport Announces Major Changes for Automobilista 2 (Box This Lap)
- BTCC nostalgia in the Raceroom (Game Reactor)
- I tried Worthing’s new racing simulator lounge – and I felt like an F1 driver (Sussex World)
- Racing Car Games to Enjoy with a Controller (Box This Lap)
- Need for Speed will return in “new and interesting ways,” says EA (Traxion)
- League managers can now export F1 24 race results (Traxion)
- Dormant karting sim KartKraft is now completely dead, or is it? (Traxion)
Author: Mark Boudreau
Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects. 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.
