Sim Racing and Esports News for May 12, 2022

This week’s Sim Racing and Esports News sees a few F1 drivers in the news. Haas F1 driver Kevin Magnussen has signed on with Asetek to work closely with their engineers on the development of sim racing products that replicate the “true feeling of an F1 car.” Meanwhile, watch Charles Leclerc plays F1 22 with the folks from WTF1. I also have a few announcements regarding a few new sim racing series and how Lamborghini’s Dan Wells juggles real world motorsport with sim racing.

• Sim racing gear manufacturer Asetek along with Kevin Magnussen have announced an agreement whereby Magnussen will work closely with Asetek SimSports engineers on the development of sim racing products that replicate the true feeling of an F1 car. As part of the agreement, Kevin Magnussen will be a brand ambassador for Asetek SimSports.

• The big news in sim racing this week has been the talk surrounding F1 22 by EA Sports. RaceFans has an interview with senior creative director of the official Formula 1 game franchise Lee Mather where he talks EA, physics, penalties and more in this year’s game. Jalopnik claims that EA Sports F1 22 Is The Right Game For Formula 1’s Big Moment and in the video above, Ferrari F1 driver Charles Leclerc plays the game with WTF1.

• TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) has announced details on the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing GT CUP (TGR GT Cup) 2022, an online race in “Gran Turismo 7” for PlayStation5 (PS5) and PlayStation4 (PS4). The TGR GT Cup is a global series in which the GR lineup, including GR road vehicles and dedicated racing cars, will participate in competitive racing throughout the season. Seven qualifying rounds will be held online, and the top 24 players will qualify for the final.

• Simracing.GP has announced a new look for the site. “The new brand identity is designed to establish key visual identifiers for SGP on all touch points. We eventually want you to see the symbol, or even just the shape of the symbol and recognise that it’s SGP. All the elements in the logo and supporting visuals have a diagonal shear to suggest speed and momentum and the new logo wordmark and monogram are bold to symbolise reliability.”

• To celebrate the launch of the new brand identity for Simracing.GP , they have announced the return of the Next Level Racing GT3 Cup. You can sign up to the NLR GT3 CUP here: https://beta.simracing.gp/special-events/hjVzyr90su6rWyDc7xvBY#events

• Traxion goes hands-on with the first BTCC cars and tracks which provide a glimpse into rFactor 2’s future. “From my brief time with the BTCC content, I was impressed by the internal engine sounds of the cars – they are some of the most convincing I have heard in rFactor 2. Externally, the cars sound much better than their harsh real-world counterparts, but perhaps lack a little presence in the sound mix.”

• Finally, the South China Morning Post finds out how Lamborghini eSports Team Principal and real world racer Dan Wells juggles his time between the two. “Racing in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe Championship, running a simulator distribution business in Hong Kong, and overseeing a new esports franchise – it’s fair to say Dan Wells has a lot on his dashboard.”