Sim racing is becoming a great pipeline for talent and in this week’s Sim Racing Roundup you will understand why. I also have details on how three race drivers use the sim to prepare for real world competition and much more!
Overview
From Sim Racing to the Real Thing
How F1 Sim Racing is Becoming the New Pathway for Young Drivers
Although it still requires a few more steps to get from a sim rig to a real cockpit (fitness, real-world license, sponsorship), the esports to track route has some concrete mechanisms in place now. Formula 1 News explains how.
“The main cause for the rise in sim racing as a talent pipeline is realism. Racing simulators have developed so much in detail, that professional sim drivers use them as a tool for training like other professional racers. Such training may consist of telemetry study, setup work and repeatable practicing on ideal video games of real-world tracks. Sim platforms are useful race education tools for practising racecraft (braking, throttle modulation, racing lines) without the expense and risks of seat time. In other words, the conditions of sim training are more like the real thing these days.”
Connor Bell’s Fast Track From Sim Racing to NASCAR Canada Win
Connor Bell’s racing résumé doesn’t read like the typical “karting since I could walk” origin story and that’s kind of the point. The 20 year old has built his career the modern way: a little bit of local karting, a big leap in learning through sim racing during the COVID era, then real world seat time that escalated quickly from track days to wheel to wheel racing and, now, NASCAR Canada.
“I only did a little bit of karting,” Bell explained. “It was like a couple years of local, not very serious kart racing. And then when COVID hit, I got into sim racing and caught the bug for racing again.”
Read more about Connor’s journey at the NASCAR Canada website here.
Carson Hocevar Eyes the Golden Driller: From Sim Rig to Tulsa Clay
Total Apex Sports explains how Carson Hocevar uses sim racing yo keep him focused an in shape in the off-season. ““Wish I was racing the real thing,” Hocevar posted, signaling a deep desire to trade his monitor for a steering wheel inside the Tulsa Expo Center. He’s talking, of course, about the Chili Bowl Nationals, the Super Bowl of midget racing.”
Read more here.
McLaren’s Kirchhöfer Getting Reacquainted With Corvette in Sim
Though still one of the leading factory GT drivers for McLaren in various championships around the world, Marvin Kirchhöfer took his first IMSA victory last year at the wheel of a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. The German driver will be back in a Corvette this year in IMSA, running the three biggest endurance races of the season for the flagship Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports team. His first real-world test was preceded by some driver-in-the-loop (DIL) simulator work with the team.
“I also had the DIL test a couple of weeks ago in Charlotte, which also was quite interesting,” Kirchhöfer said. “I haven’t been in a sim for quite some time. It’s not something that I’m used to. When I was younger, I used to do quite some development back in the day for DTM, but that was more than 10 years ago so it’s been a bit of a break for me being in a sim. But I really enjoyed it.”
“The feedback from the DIL model was very impressive. It’s always a bit more difficult to get a feeling for adjustments in a simulator than in the actual real car because you are limited to only a few feedbacks that you can take. Most of them will be like visual feedbacks – you don’t really have the tire sound or the feeling of the tire scrubbing and all that. It’s not easy to really get it right every time, but I must say overall that it has been very good and very positive. Good preparation for the Rolex coming up in a couple of weeks.”
Read more about Marvin’s 2026 plans at RACER here.
PRI SIM Racing Arena Powered by SRO America Delivers Record-Breaking Showcase
The PRI SIM Racing Arena Powered by SRO America returned to Lucas Oil Stadium as one of the centerpiece attractions of the 2025 Performance Racing Industry Show, delivering a landmark three-day showcase that went above and beyond in every way. With record attendance at the PRI Show topping 40,000 people, the SIM Racing Arena saw unprecedented engagement, record entries across multiple competitions, and its highest viewership totals to date, further cementing sim racing’s rightful place on one of the motorsports industry’s biggest stages.
GT4 America reviewed the activities over the conference duration. You can read their report here.
Competitive Sim Racing News
Profile of Jarno Opmeer, Taylor Barnard Gives a Sim-Racing Masterclass and More
- Jarno Opmeer is a three-time F1 Sim Racing champ but he still has the heart of a poster (Esses Magazine)
- eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series returns with new Qualifying Series format for 2026 season (eNASCAR)
- Taylor Barnard gives a sim-racing masterclass, offers a sneak peek inside the DS Penske factory (The Times of India)
- iRacing: Best Apps for Planning Your Season 1 [2026] (Box This Lap)
- Porsche claims Gran Turismo World Series Manufacturers Cup (RACER)
- iRacing: How an Imaginary Bill Can Fill Very Real Grids (Box This Lap)
- The 2026 Simracing Setup Checklist You Need (Box This Lap)
Sim Racing Tips & Techniques
iRacing vs. Assetto Corsa Plus Building Your Own Home Driver Advancement Lab
- iRacing vs. Assetto Corsa: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Choosing Your First Sim Racer (Racing Games)
- Your Own Home Driver Advancement Lab: Part 1 of a series on how to make yourself an elite driver from home – iRacing (On Racing Drivers by Terence Dove
- On Racing Drivers by Terence Dove)
Sim Racing Tech Roundup
Building a Roof Over Your Sim Rig and More
- PXN Redefines Sim Racing with New-Generation Ecosystem and Gaming Peripherals at CES 2026 (PR)
- PXN V10 Ultra Direct Drive Sim Racing Bundle Review (Tweakdown)
- Racing sim glow-up: how to build the ultimate racing rig (The Shortcut)
- Building A High-Performance Shifter For Sim Racing (Hackaday)
- January 2026 Sim Racing PC Build (Box This Lap)
- A Look Back at 2025 for Simracing Hardware Companies (Box This Lap)
- Gamesir Swift Drive controller has force feedback steering wheel for ultimate racing fun (Yanko Design)
- SimCraft Partners with LG Electronics for CES 2026, Showcasing AI-Enhanced Visuals in Motion Racing Simulation (Simcraft)
- Thermaltake Expands Its Sim Racing Lineup at CES 2026 (Tech PowerUp)
- New-Generation Sim Racing Ecosystems (Trend Hunter)
General Sim Racing News
Assetto Corsa Rally is Here to Stay Plus More Sim Racing News
- Evolution Of F1 Games 1974 – 2020 (Little Bits of Gaming & Movies)
- MicroProse and Geoff Crammond reunite to revive probably the best racing games ever (The Escapist)
- Project Motor Racing Update Adds Radar Feature and AI Improvements (GT Planet)
- Real Racing 3 Is Officially Shutting Down After 13 Years (Auto Evolution)
- Forza Motorsport Is No Longer Receiving New Content (Road & Track)
- Every racing game releasing in 2026 (Traxion)
- iRacing: More Splits or Better Races? (Box This Lap)
- Five overlooked driving games you may have missed in 2025 (Traxion)
- Assetto Corsa Rally Is Here For The Long Run, Says Developer (Car Throttle)
- Assetto Corsa Rally Adds Snow, Ice and Alpine A110 in First Early Access Update (Operation Sports)
- Gran Turismo 7 Has 2 Million Monthly Active Users — And It’s Still Growing (GT Planet)
- Gran Turismo 7: The Racing Game That Turns Your Living Room Into a Hyper-Real Track Day (Ad Hoc News)
- Nearly Four Years On and Gran Turismo 7 Continues to Thrive Closing out a Strong 2025 (duPont Registry)
- The future of sim racing modding (Traxion)
- Why Sim Racing Mods Are Becoming a Legal Game (Box This Lap)
- What’s Coming To Sim Racing This January 2026 (Box This Lap)
- Revolution & Authentic Simulation Release Development Update on 500 EVO and 427 Sim Models (Revolution Race Cars)
- Year in Review: Gran Turismo and Sim Racing’s Highs (and Lows) of 2025 (GT Planet)
- How Heart Rate Data in Sim Racing Reveales the Ultimate Immersion (HackerNoon)
- New race cars to expect in sim racing throughout 2026 (Traxion)
- You Can Tackle the Tail of the Dragon on Assetto Corsa (Road & Track)
- Le Mans Ultimate 2025 Content Review (Daily Sportscar)
- Virtual Formula 1 Simulations: Racing Meets Gambling (Grand Prix 247)
Author: Mark Boudreau
Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects and the host of the Motorsport Prospects Podcast. 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.
