Every week I see examples of how sim racing is breaking down barriers in motorsport and in this week’s Sim Racing and Esports News Roundup I give you two more examples.
In addition to breaking down barriers, sim racing is also opening up participation in real world motorsport as demonstrated by the Toyota Gazoo Racing GT Cup in the Philippines where sim racers are given the chance to compete in real world racing.
I also bring you opinions on the exciting future of sim racing, how a young karter from Singapore is excelling in esports, Seb Vettel’s awesome home sim racing rig, the latest tech reviews, sim racing news and more.
All this in this week’s edition of the Sim Racing and Esports News Roundup on Motorsport Prospects.
Sim Racing is Open to All
Team Fordzilla‘s Adapted Racing Simulator has won an Aster Marketing Award for their efforts from Escuela Superior de Ingenieros Comerciales (ESIC), a business school in Barcelona, Spain. FoMoCo entered the world of esports simulation racing with Team Fordzilla back in 2019 and has since used its resulting esports league to provide mobile entertainment for disabled children in Europe. This past October, Team Fordzilla became more involved with providing adaptive simulators for virtual racing events in Spain that accurately replicate the feel of a real race car – albeit for people with reduced mobility. Now, the esports racing outfit has won an award for those efforts from ESIC.
ESIC recognized Team Fordzilla and its adapted racing simulator at this year’s Aster Marketing Awards, which are aimed at rewarding outstanding efforts to combined academic training with the regular course of business activities. “Marketing, contrary to what many people think, is not about creating sales needs, but about detecting the needs of society and helping it to overcome every day,” the university said. “That is why the Aster Marketing Award falls this year on Ford, for the launch of the first video game simulator adapted within its Corporate Social Responsibility policy.”
The idea for Team Fordzilla’s adaptive racing simulator came from its sim drivers, who noticed that people with reduced mobility were struggling to participate in e-races because they couldn’t use traditional gaming controllers. Thus, it teamed up with Hi-Speed Simulators and the ONCE Foundation to create a one-of-a-kind simulator that incorporates elements like a steering wheel with paddles that allow the accelerator and brakes to be operated manually – a technology inspired by Ford’s real-world adapted vehicles.
Autosport looks at Burnley College, the UK college breaking down barriers to motorsport. “Many students have been inspired to take up sim racing, and the college hopes to give all its students the best possible chance of getting into careers in motorsport, regardless of the challenges they may face. The equipment is not only available to Esports students, either – young people studying any course are able to join thrice-weekly practice sessions.”
From Sim Racing to the Real Thing
The Toyota Gazoo Racing GT Cup is a program in the Philippines that gives winning Gran Turismo players a chance to represent the country in the Asia Regional Finals, but it also helped gamers take their racing skills from the virtual tracks to the real world through the TGR Vios Cup Autocross. “The stories of Topher, Russel, and Estefano show the different ways Toyota was able to democratize motorsports, and made it possible for a rookie sim driver to transition into real-life racing. With the GR GT Cup, any virtual gamer with the will and skill to succeed as a stepping stone to make it up the motorsports ladder.”
Watch the video above for an introduction to the winners of the 2022 Toyota Gazoo Racing GT Cup Philippines; Estefano Rivera, Russel Reyes, and Topher Tejada.
Competitive Sim Racing News
The Straits Times profiles Dillan Tan, a talented and competitive karter who also has become one of Singapore’s best sim racers. Hi father Daniel, a managing director at a printing and packaging firm, is realistic when asked about Dillan’s future in motor racing. He said: “I think the most viable route is for Dillan to pursue professional sim racing. Going into Formula One is almost impossible. The whole world is fighting for those 20 seats and even if you are rich, without connections there’s simply no way in. For sim racing at least the cost is a lot less. As long as you have a top-end set-up (which is a one-time cost of about $15,000) you have the potential to challenge the whole world which is what he’s doing right now. He’s earning his own prize money from these races.”
Paddle Up looks at the meteoric rise of the racing simulator and what the future holds for esports. “With all this taken into consideration, it seems probable that the popularity of racing simulators is only going to increase as advancements in virtual reality and FFB (force feedback) technology improves and the glory days of petrol-powered racing fade further into obscurity, experiencing those thrills for a fraction of the cost becomes all the more alluring.”
Here are more headlines from the world of competitive sim racing:
- Brabham believes in esports: ‘A growing industry, with bumps in the road’
- Rookies make statement in eNASCAR debut
- Pawlowski leads esports outfit ITB into sim racing
- Positive signs at ESL R1 for Williams Esports
- ‘Sim’ podium finish for Ja
- Porsche and Overtake.GG purchase sim racing community RaceDepartment
- BMW M SIM Cup on iRacing Bolsters 2023 Community Event Calendar
- Veloce Esports unveils its 2023 driver line-up
- PESC: Zac Campbell, Charlie Collins score double victory for Coanda at Magny-Cours
- Screen to Speed roster announced; broadcast will be live on Twitch front page
Sim Racing Tech Roundup
If you are looking for inspiration as you build out your sim racing rig, check out what Aston Martin built for Sebastian Vettel in the photo above. That’s right, an actual F1 car was used to make Sebastian Vettel’s home sim racing rig. The Drive has more pictures.
Here is a roundup of the latest sim racing tech news and reviews from around the world.
- Playseat & Logitech G Team Up To Produce a Modular Open Cockpit Sim Racing Rig
- Playseat® and Logitech G Announce The Global Availability Of Playseat® Trophy-Logitech G Edition
- The Playseat Trophy Is the Sensible, Surprisingly Lightweight Cockpit Every Sim Racer Deserves
- GT Omega Prime Lite Review: The New Gold Standard
- Playseat® and Logitech G Announce The Global Availability Of Playseat® Trophy-Logitech G Edition
- The Moza HGP H Pattern is a 7-speed sim racing shifter
- The best sim racing steering wheels you can buy
- Four Kits to Get Into VR Sim Racing on Any Budget
- These luxury gaming gadgets give you the setup of your dreams
- Logitech Opens Its Racing Ecosystem With the G Racing Adapter
- Logitech’s new G Racing Adapter enables backwards compatibility with older Logitech wheels
- Best PC racing wheel in 2023
- Thrustmaster T818 Review: A shaky debut to direct drive
General Sim Racing News
- Max Verstappen to create new racing video game in collaboration with Dutch beer maker
- The best car simulators for PC for 2023
- Racing games aren’t as good as they used to be
- Everything you need to know about Gran Turismo Sophy
- WATCH: 8 MORE Racing Circuits Saved by Sim Racing
- Eight American tracks we’d like to see in sim racing
- This week in racing games – 17 February 2023
- ADAC SimRacing Expo returns in 2023, moves to Dortmund
- The Sim Racer film puts the spotlight on virtual racing
- Will Rennsport be on console?
- GTR Revival: Everything we know so far
- What is the fastest accelerating car in Forza Horizon 5?
- Motorsport Games Announces Quarterly Update and DLC for rFactor 2
- Race the Sony Gran Turismo AI That Beat the Best Human Players
- New Gran Turismo 7 Update Brings Back Grand Valley, Pits You Against Superhuman AI
- Sim Racing Cockpit Market 2023: Top Growing Regions for Business Economy by 2028
- SIM Wheel Stand Market Industry Size, Share, Global Trends, Key Players Strategies and Upcoming Demand
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.
