Sim Racing Explodes Onto the Scene
A banner weekend for online motorsports, according to gamers and businesses.
A weekly newsletter by Ryan K. ZumMallen | @zoomy575m
Happy Race Day, especially to those of us who are so bored we’ve resorted to spaghetti-and-toilet-paper racecars.
Late newsletter this week. I’m sorry — it’s been a freaking week, ya know?
It took one week without motorsports to launch the e-racing revolution I’ve been predicting for years.
It was clear to me that video game racing was about to have its moment in the sun. And without real racing to fill the weekends, it stepped up big time.
Over the weekend, games held massive events across different types of virtual racing that drew tons of fans. Popular drivers (like McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris, above) had their own massive viewerships that bolstered those numbers.
Both sales and race usage increased drastically, officials at both iRacing and rFactor told me. While the racing shutdown has obviously led to more online motorsports, it’s also funneled more people into playing more video games.
“While the current crisis and the resulting ‘free-time’ for many is for sure one of the factors, our current activities such as ‘The Race Allstar Battle’ or our ‘GT Pro Series’ events also help to drive this engagement/interest in our simulation,” Rene Butler, business manager of Studio 397, which produces rFactor, said.
“We have certainly seen an uptick in visits to our site as well as signups,” said Kevin Bobbitt, director of marketing and communications at iRacing.
I also spoke with Steve Brown, aka Super GT, a prominent online racer on YouTube and other platforms. After years of clamoring for the legitimacy of simulated racing, Super GT suddenly found himself battling F1 drivers in front of huge audiences:
“It's a great time to get real world drivers involved in sim racing,” he told me. “People want to watch the names they know and love. Even if it's virtual, people will tune in.”
Brown also shared thoughts on the rise of the sport.
“The main thing at the moment is that there is a demand for entertainment as people have more time on their hands. This is where sim racing can step in. There is also a demand for real world stars to have something to do,” he said.
“It's quite a surreal experience to be surrounded by pro drivers. At one point in a recent race I had Lando Norris behind, Esteban Gutierrez alongside with Thibaut Courtois (the Real Madrid goalkeeper) just in front.”
Culture
To keep things in perspective, the coronavirus and its associated COVID-19 disease claimed the life of Larry Rathgeb, a longtime motorsports figure, at the age of 90.
The postponements continue. Mille Miglia has been pushed back to October. The 24 Hours of Le Mans moves to September. IMSA moved three dates around in September. F1 postponed its banner event — the Grand Prix of Monaco — and then canceled it three hours later.
A bumper sticker for the ages.
Mechanic and writer Bozi Tatarevic kept a running tally of costs to assemble a quick and dirty home simulator.
Pretty soon, Indy and NASCAR drivers were posting diagrams of their own rigs.
Please spare some thoughts for the people who make their living off racing and car culture, and can’t right now:
Here’s a cool behind-the-scenes story about how photographer Drew Gibson nailed one of his most iconic shots.
Toronto police charged 18 people with stunt driving at speeds up to 106 mph because the roads are empty.
Video Reel
Because we all need a laugh, Formula E meets Frozen.
Here are several race cars trying, and failing, to conquer a few inches of water.
We’ve already learned that if you give the Taylor brothers free time they will produce amazing videos. Well, they have more free time now.
Photographer extraordinaire Kevin McCauley dips his toe into videos with this piece on the Porsche Hill Country Ralley.
What — do you not drive your ‘80s-era Cadillac sedan across sand dunes?
While everyone is cooped up inside, NBC posted the entirety of its auto show Proving Grounds on YouTube. May I recommend the Dirt Episode?
The video site Apex is posting pure driving content from of the fastest sports cars it’s shot. First up, the Porsche 918 Spyder.
Race Results
NASCAR’s sim race became the most-viewed esports event of all time. Not racing esports. All esports. It also drew more viewers than any IndyCar race did in 2019. Fox Sports is going to televise the remainder of the virtual races.
The Race had a really fun slate over the weekend. Here’s one of my favorite battles from the event, a nail-biter between two DTM and IndyCar stars:
BMW crushed in the Sebring SuperSaturday race. IMSA officials were “blown away” by its success and are considering a full season.
The digital F1 series is planned to run through May, for the moment.
By the way, The Race is launching its third edition of the World’s Fastest Driver competition with $1 million in prize money.
Yeahhhhh that turned out not to be true:
Oddly, Forza Motorsport opted not to hold its spring season at all.
Without any racing to do, several teams have thrust themselves into the race to build medical equipment. The list includes several F1 teams, and a manufacturer with ties to IMSA and NASCAR.
There’s even one DTM driver stocking military shelves in his native Austria.
I’m sorry but this is funny:
And Finally…
Martha Stewart daily drives a 15-year old Aston Martin DB9 with a manual. Bless her heart.
Drive hard and be safe.
Want your event included? Shoot me a note with subject line “Race Day” at ryan@carrarabooks.com.
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