Sim Racing Gives You a Platform to Raise Your Racing Skills

This week you will learn how sim racing gives you a platform to raise your racing skills no matter where you live.

Whether you hail from Scotland like Lucas Blakeley, New Zealand like Ryan Wood, the United States like Josh Berry, or South Africa like Setshaba Mashigo, all have demonstrated their skills through sim racing and have progressed to the real thing. You will learn more about them all this week.

I also have news on an amazing talent scouting program for female sim racers by Red Bull Racing, a fantastic new sim racing competition by McLaren Racing, sim racecraft tips and techniques and the answer to the question of whether you can make money sim racing.

All this plus the latest competitive and general sim racing news, tech reviews and announcements and more in this week’s Sim Racing Roundup on Motorsport Prospects. Its sim racing news for racers not gamers.

From Sim Racing to the Real Thing

Sim Racing Roundup

Feeder Series catches up with reigning F1 Esports Series champion, the 2023 eRace of Champions winner and current McLaren Shadow driver Lucas Blakeley who made a shock announcement that he’d be making his slicks-and-wings debut in GB4 less than a day before the round commenced.

“Whether it’s the only time I’ll race this in my entire life, this is what I dreamed of doing and this is a weekend that once upon a time would have been impossible for me. And it’s been made possible for me through the world of sim racing that’s given me a platform to raise my skills, regardless of what people say.”

Ryan Wood

The Supercars website profiles Walkinshaw Andretti United phenom Ryan Wood who has attributed his on-track performance to hours of sim racing alongside the current protagonists in the Repco Supercars Championship.

“To be honest, I do a lot of sim racing with (Shane) and Brodie, and it kind of all correlates a wee bit,” the New Zealander said. “Like, just racing all the time with them helps you understand the way they race and their style, so it kind of translates to the way we race in real life. You just kind of have to be a bit more precise (in real life), because the consequences are a little bit bigger than just hitting the reset button. But it’s a really good way of keeping race fit and really understanding how to place the car in different situations. So, yeah, I think that’s how I got most of that.”

Sim Racing Roundup

In the news that Josh Berry will be replacing a retiring Kevin Harvick in NASCAR, an important point to keep in mind is that Berry was discovered by Dale Earnhardt Jr. on iRacing more than a decade ago.

“Berry was discovered by Dale Earnhardt Jr. on iRacing more than a decade ago. Earnhardt tested him and then hired him to drive his Late Model. A Hendersonville, Tennessee, native, Berry moved to North Carolina and lived with Earnhardt’s mother while he drove Late Models for Earnhardt. In 2014, Berry began driving a limited number of NASCAR Xfinity Series races for JR Motorsports. However, it wasn’t until 2021 that the Mooresville, North Carolina-based team made him a full-time Xfinity Series driver.”

Sim Racing Roundup

City Press profiles how South Africa’s Setshaba Mashigo progressed from online sim racing enthusiast to a real life motorsport sensation. “While many [people] were drawn to games such as Need for Speed, Gran Turismo became my outlet,” he reminisces. “It allowed me to experience a taste of the thrill that someone such as Chris Harris embodied. Racing, however, comes at a steep price that few truly understand. Double whatever figure you have in mind, and you might be close.”

Screen to Speed Logo

The documentary on the first ever mini documentary on the Screen to Speed competition empowering female drivers to transition from sim racing to real-life racing is now out and you can watch it on Twitch here!

Virtual Le Mans

Can you make money doing Sim Racing? Trak Racer gives their answer and explanation as to how. “Sim racing is proving to be a platform of a great opportunities if you are willing to nurture your talent, skills and back it up with a lot of practice and giving it a lot of shots as success comes to people who are not afraid to fail 100 times if that means the 101th time is going to be the one that changes their life forever.”

The Sports Business Journal talks to F1 driver Lando Norris as he talks about the technological changes on his McLaren car, the use of simulators in Formula One and more.

How do Formula E teams adapt to the challenge of new venues? With a simulator of course. “Formula E is no stranger to America, having raced at three different circuits in the States over the years. But the new venue in Portland, host of this weekend’s US round, poses a new challenge for teams. To prepare, squads have been turning to simulation technology to make up for the lack of data on the new circuit.”

Swiss race driver Neel Jani has been named as the simulator driver for powertrain development of the new Audi F1 team that is set to hit the track in 2026.

“At the moment, we are mainly focused on fundamental concept questions with high relevance to performance. However, in evaluating various technical solutions we rely not only on digital methods. Know-how, experience and practically relevant development are indispensable elements of drawing the right conclusions from the simulation. With that combination, we can assess various operating strategies at an early stage and pave the way for efficient energy management of the power unit,” says Adam Baker, CEO of Audi Formula Racing GmbH.

Competitive Sim Racing News

Red Bull Talent Search

Oracle Red Bull Racing and Rokt have launched a talent search for female F1 sim racers. The talent scouting initiative, announced at Oracle Red Bull Racing’s International Women in Engineering Day celebration at its technology campus in Milton Keynes, England, is part of the two organizations’ efforts to promote diversity in esports, technology and commerce across the globe.

Oracle Red Bull Racing and Rokt will work together to identify six female sim racers to invite to the “Rokt the Rig” women’s sim racer development program, where Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports will work with them directly to help develop their racing talent and provide opportunities for them to compete or work with the team in another capacity.

The six participating sim racers will receive mentoring from the Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports team’s pro drivers, engage directly with the team and esports community via Discord, and have the chance to win prizes, including elite performance equipment.

“This program will offer an open and inclusive platform for women around the world to prove their sim-racing talent and provide support to help them develop that talent to its full potential,” said Joe Soltysik, Esports Lead, Oracle Red Bull Racing. “We couldn’t be prouder to partner with Rokt to create a more equitable world where everyone is empowered to develop their professional knowledge and capabilities and succeed in any career path they choose.”

Sim Racing Gives You a Platform to Raise Your Racing Skills

Logitech and McLaren have joined forces with sim racing platform Simracing.GP to bring a series of community-focused races with prizes worth up to $30k up for grabs. Running from the 27th of June to the 15th of October 2023, the Logitech McLaren G Challenge Community Circuit will run on both Assetto Corsa Competizione and Assetto Corsa, with weekly and monthly events arranged to align with North American and European time zones.

GT4 European Series

The news that the RAFA Racing Club has become an official championship partner of GT4 European Series means good news for sim racing. “In addition to its commitment to GT4, RAFA Racing will also embark upon an exciting collaboration with the new SRO Esports Sim Pro Series, a virtual championship staged on-site at the Fanatec Arena during each Fanatec GT Europe Endurance Cup event. Fanatec is renowned for its state-of-the-art simulators and immersive racing environment, while RAFA Racing will bring its own extensive knowledge and passion for motorsport to create an exceptional sim racing experience.”

Sim Racing Gives You a Platform to Raise Your Racing Skills

The Top 40 semi-finalists in the Prodigy Racing League iRacing GR86 Cup have been announced. Representing 18 countries, these drivers will battle it out in the semi-finals (SAT July 1 at 1pm EDT) to advance to the Final (SUN July 2, 1pm EDT). More details about the competition can be found here.

Here are more headlines from the world of competitive sim racing:

Sim Racing Gives You a Platform to Raise Your Racing Skills

Sim Racing Tips & Techniques

Sim Racing Gives You a Platform to Raise Your Racing Skills
Trailbraking In Sim Racing – How Slowing Down the Right Way Makes You Faster

“The way you brake for corners is as much of a goldmine for speed as any other area of sim racing. Here’s my take on how-to and why, as well as a pep talk for those of us who think we have it nailed, there’s always room for improvement – never settle. It’s just like buttering bread!“

Sim Racing Gives You a Platform to Raise Your Racing Skills
Sim Racing Gives You a Platform to Raise Your Racing Skills
Be Faster In Slow Turns Using This Fun ‘RPM Bomb’ Trick by Danny Lee

“In this video I share the trick I use to push the limit in slow 1st and 2nd gear corners until I’ve smashed ’em. Slow corners often hold huge potential lap time gains, but as the speed is low it’s easy to overlook them. Try out my mental mini game that is sure to help loosen the binds on your throttle pedal.”

Sim Racing Gives You a Platform to Raise Your Racing Skills
Formula vs GT: Uncovering Racing Technique SECRETS!

Sim Racing Tech Roundup

Here is a roundup of the latest sim racing tech news and reviews from around the world.

Sim Racing Roundup

General Sim Racing News

Assetto Corsa Competizione
Mark Boudreau
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.