Formula One World Champion Max Verstappen is well known for his exploits on his sim rig where he is a constant high performer in major series on the iRacing servers.
Current and past Supercar Champions including Brodie Kostecki, Shane Van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin still find themselves spending hours in front of their computer screens to make sure that they are as ready as can be for their next event.
Throughout the endless COVID lockdowns we found ourselves watching Supercars live on TV with the Supercar Eseries. For three months it was the highest rating live sports event in the country.
In 2022 the Logitech Pro Invitational Series was born. Established by the Australian Sim Racing Group, the series quickly received recognition and support from Motorsport Australia as a National Series.
Two very successful series have already been conducted, and this year, there is more interest than ever to see who can take on the 2023 Champion, Madison Down.
In 2024, the championship is conducted over 12 rounds, including three enduros which takes in the Sandown 500 and the Bathurst 1000 where co drivers suit up to compete with, and against the best 45 drivers in the country.
Sim Racing isn’t for everyone we know. The traditionalists that still picture Brocks 05 A9X rumbling up Mountain Straight will have their resistance to what is already a mainstream form of racing. The drivers that you see today aren’t the typical stereotype computer geeks playing with a controller. Each driver brings a set of real life and sim experience and fully setup racing rigs that costs thousands of dollars. With hardware technology ever improving, the teams ensure that the very best equipment is available to their drivers so that they can compete at the highest level.
Each team will have their own engineers that assist with the setting up of the car that is realistic with the weather and track conditions of the day.
This is a way for drivers to get their foot in the door of real-life racing. As budgets go up in grassroots racing, including karting, more and more drivers are honing their skills, and establishing themselves through the world of Sim Racing.
Two-time National Excel Champion Ethan Grigg Gault has done exactly that. Having never competed in a Karting event, he quickly became one of the leading sim drivers in the country. This gave him the confidence, and skill to be on the grid where he has achieved the highest success that his category has to offer.
Speedcafe.com has had a close eye on the series from its inception and can say that we have been impressed with the professionalism and fantastic racing that has been highlighted from its live broadcasts.
We have taken the step and showed our support for the series by sponsoring a team, LOBS Esports for the upcoming season featuring the inaugural series champion Jarrad Filsell and last season’s runner up James Scott.
Starting Wednesday, Speedcafe will begin to broadcast the series live on Speedcafe TV from Sebring Florida. 42 laps of the famous circuit await, and we will bring you all the action live from 7:45 AEDT
There are many serious contenders and you can be sure that we will showcase the best that Australia has to offer.
Midweek live racing to fill the gap between weekends. Sim Racing isn’t just the future, it is already here.