Sebastian Job went from championship winning sim racer to testing a Formula 1 car and in this week’s edition of the Sim Racing Roundup you will find out how he did it. I also have coverage of sim racers turned real-life competitors Naquib and Nabil Azlan, Rallycross racer Timmy Hansen’s sim racing project and a lap comparison of a Toyota Hypercar at Interlagos on Le Mans Ultimate versus the actual car during a round of the FIA World Endurance Championship plus much more.
From Sim Racing to the Real Thing
Recently, Red Bull sim racer Sebastian Job had the opportunity to do something most sim racers can only dream of, to test an actual Formula 1 car. Job was given the opportunity to test Sebastian Vettel’s championship winning RB8 F1 car and in the word’s of Red Bull Head of Esports Jozef Soltysik, he was exceptional.
“Red Bull Racing & Red Bull Technology is breaking barriers in motorsport accessibility for all backgrounds and genders by proving that sim racing is a viable path into motorsport for drivers who may not have had the same opportunities as others. Yesterday, we launched Game to Glory: Level Up, where our two-time iRacing.com Porsche AG Esports Supercup Champion Sebastian Job was tested in a series of vehicles to determine if he is ready to make the jump to real life. He was exceptional.”
The Race looks into the preparations that Job went through before testing the RB8 while Red Bull Racing has made the full 4-part documentary, “Game to Glory”, available on YouTube. You can watch Episode 1 above.
iRacing profiles brothers Naquib and Nabil Azlan as in just four short years they have gone from sim racing upstarts to two of the most promising young racing talents in Malaysia.
“Sim racing has been such a tool for me personally to be able to develop myself as a driver due to how close it is to real life now,” says Naquib. “As would others say, it doesn’t get any closer to real life than iRacing. Sim racing gave me the opportunity to really explore my capabilities and try stuff out of the ordinary to give me an edge out on track.”
“Sim racing, especially iRacing, has been a crucial part in my development as a driver,” adds Nabil. “It taught me the fundamentals of race craft, helped me refine my consistency, and gave me a competitive platform to prepare for real-world challenges.”
Read the full profile here.
Rallycross racer Timmy Hansen has returned to esports with his winter project Roar to Daytona’ – Rookie MX-5 racing.
Timmy Hansen said: “I spoke with Josep Carbonell, our engineer from rallycross. He’s also working with me in the E1 Series. That’s where we met, but he is actually also a professional esports engineer.”
“After he heard me talking about a return to esports in our second episode of the podcast, he suggested working together on the project so that we can share with our followers the relationship between a driver and an engineer. We want to climb the ladder in iRacing and get into a race called Roar to Daytona (12 January, 2025). I don’t know anything about this esports world, but the idea behind the content is to help educate people around set-ups in a simulator, and also to share that relationship with an engineer which I think will be the same in the virtual world as the real one.”
“Josep made the point that he believes iRacing is the perfect platform for a young engineer to learn about engineering because you have more information than you can dream of in a real race car. You have every single sensor available and the car responds in a similar way to what you’d expect, so the data analysis is another important aspect of this project.”
Timmy will be providing updates throughout the podcast, as well as streaming his work with Josep on Twitch and the Hansen Motorsport YouTube channel.
Entrepreneur Magazine profiles the founders of Racing Prodigy and their mission to give sim racer’s the opportunity to forge a sustainable career path in real life racing.
“The biggest barrier to motorsport participation is the cost,” says CEO and co-founder David Cook. A typical three-day racing school, where most drivers get their start, can cost up to $7,000, making the sport inaccessible to most. On top of that, Cook argues, three days behind the wheel is hardly enough to assess talent. His co-founder Matt Fassnacht adds that the pay-to-play system limits access and dilutes the talent pool.”
Read the full profile here.
The video above is a lap comparison of Toyota Hypercar at Interlagos on Le Mans Ultimate versus the actual car during a round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. “We did a lap in the Toyota GR010 LMH Hypercar on Le Mans Ultimate. Lets compare this lap to Kamui Kobayaschis Pole-Position Hotlap on the Brazilian Interlagos track Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace.”
Competitive Sim Racing News
- ‘Gran Turismo’ World Finals — Into The Minds Of Southeast Asia’s Best Drivers (SAYS)
- Racing Unleashed Esports: Michel wins dramatic second Racer League event (Traxion)
- Toyota Gazoo Racing GT Cup: Serrano dominates Gran Turismo 7 competition (Traxion)
- Floki’s Valhalla Partners With Kick F1 Sim Racing Team (Decrypt)
- IMSA Esports Global Championship: Redline redemption in second round (Traxion)
- Max Verstappen’s Sim Racing Passion Lands Him on Twitch’s Annual Recap (The Sports Rush)
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
- Step Up Your Sim Racing Setup With This Vintage Lotus F1 Rig (Motor1)
- Sim Racing GP Partners with GO Setups (Sim Racing GP)
- Steer Your Way Into P1 with the Best Sim Racing Wheels (Road & Track)
- Building the best sim racing rig for $500 — driving on the cheap is a lot better than you think (Tom’s Guide)
General Sim Racing News
- Sim.Expo: The global Hub of Simulation Experiences lands in Austin this March! (Sim Expo)
- A step change for Automobilista 2: Hands-on with the v1.6 update (Traxion)
- This is the Acura NSX GT3 in iRacing (Traxion)
- EA SPORTS WRC update adds approachable options (Traxion)
- Hands-on: CarX Drift Racing 3’s damage model sets new standards on mobile (Traxion)
- A new era: Hands-on with Le Mans Ultimate’s LMGT3 cars (Traxion)
- Sim Racing Goes Casual With Free-To-Play Title My First Gran Turismo (GameRanx)
- ‘My First Gran Turismo’ Is a Free Demo That Probably Isn’t for You (The Drive)
- My First Gran Turismo review: A beguiling sim racing entry point (Traxion)
- Gran Turismo 7 is getting a content-rich free demo almost three years after it came out (TechRadar)
- iRacing: The Worst Tracks to Buy in 2025 (Box This Lap)
- iRacing: Your Complete Guide to Week 14 (Box This Lap)
- iRacing’s 2025 Season 1 is here with enhanced track debris, netcode improvements and fresh DLC (Traxion)
- iRacing: The Ferrari 499P is Finally Here! (Box This Lap)
- Thruxton looks ideal for touring car iRacing events (Traxion)
- OPEN WORLD MAP Coming in Summer 2025 to Assetto Corsa EVO (Assetto Corsa)
- Assetto Corsa EVO’s open-world is 1,600km2 of lidar-scanned Germany surrounding the Nürburgring (Traxion)
- Assetto Corsa EVO’s “Eifel” Open-World Map Revealed, Will Expand to Over 600 Square Miles (GT Planet)
- Every new car spotted in Assetto Corsa EVO’s open-world unveil (Traxion)
- Save up to 75% off Assetto Corsa sim racing titles on PC (Traxion)
- Gran Turismo Sophy ‘B-Spec’ strategy features showcased (Traxion)
- PRI Show Expands Sim Racing Arena for Motorsports Growth and Esports Development (Competition Plus)
- Assetto Corsa EVO Set to Premiere at PRI Sim Racing Arena Powered by SRO (GT4 America)
- How US sim racers can try Assetto Corsa EVO early (Traxion)
- Guild Esports unveils sim racing partnership with Drive Lounge (Esports Insider)
- Take a closer look at Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown’s Ibiza expansion (Traxion)
- BeamNG’s latest v0.34 update brings pre-war nostalgia (Traxion)
- Australia-themed Forza Motorsport update brings back Bathurst (Traxion)
- Virtual Gen3 Supercars released (SpeedCafe)
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.
