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R1SE News
In recent years, the world of sim racing has emerged as an entire discipline of motorsports, allowing more and more transitions to other disciplines. What was once considered a virtual hobby is now becoming a legitimate pathway for drivers to enter professional racing.
With advancements in technology, sim racing has evolved to provide an incredibly realistic driving experience, and racing teams noticed that. Real drivers started to train on simulators almost two decades ago, but now teams are looking for talented sim racers to bring to their squad.
This happened to Rudy van Buren, whose remarkable journey from sim racing to real racing caught the attention of the motorsports community.
After winning McLaren's World's Fastest Gamer competition in 2017, he secured a role as a simulator driver for the McLaren Formula 1 team. Van Buren's talent in sim racing and his ability to provide valuable feedback to the engineers impressed the team, ultimately leading to his transition from virtual to real-world racing. This year, he’s racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland.
While van Buren paved his way, Enzo Bonito was becoming famous.
With numerous accolades in sim racing, including winning the FIA-certified Formula E sim racing championship, Bonito caught the attention of Mahindra Racing. The team signed him as their official sim driver, allowing him to contribute to car development and assist their race drivers with track familiarization. He’s still not in real racing, but now he’s a valuable resource for teams that want to test their cars at the sim.
Joshua Rogers is another shining example of a driver who took off from sim racing to a professional racing opportunity.
With his exceptional performance in the Porsche Esports Supercup, Rogers caught the attention of Porsche, leading to his selection for the Porsche Esports team. Rogers now competes in prestigious real-world events, including the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia, showcasing how sim racing can open doors to traditional motorsport disciplines.
Even the first-ever F1 Esports champion, Brendon Leigh, had the opportunity to go racing in traditional motorsport, competing in the Formula Ford 1600 Championship, before deciding to stay in sim racing.Even the first-ever F1 Esports champion, Brendon Leigh, had the opportunity to go racing in traditional motorsport, competing in the Formula Ford 1600 Championship, before deciding to stay in sim racing.
In the USA, the NASCAR Esports Series started to create some great drivers.
Anthony Alfredo and Ty Majeski, now full-timers in the three NASCAR’s major series, started on their computers! The NASCAR Esports Series is the second most important sim racing championship, and it’s the one with the highest number of names getting to real racing!
Sim racing has transitioned from a hobby to a legitimate proving ground for aspiring drivers. The success stories of those drivers demonstrate the impact and validity of sim racing as a pathway to real racing. As technology improves and sim racing grows in popularity, we can expect to see even more talented drivers emerging from the digital.
