Esports

The 2020 edition of the 24h SimRacing Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya gets underway this Saturday, September 5, and you can watch it right here on GTPlanet.

Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya will be running the third installment of its own 24-hour race this weekend, and it’s still possible to register to take part.

The F1 Esports Series is now almost upon us once again, and Thursday saw the season’s traditional opening event: the Pro Draft.

Although we’ve had a pretty busy summer of F1 esports, with the pro drivers and invited guests filling in for cancelled grands prix, it’s time for the best in the world to have their turn. The official 2020 F1 Esports Series will return later this month, with the traditional Pro Draft on August 27.

Ferrari has launched a new esports competition, which it hopes will find the next big talent in sim racing. It’s called the Ferrari Hublot Esports Series, and the prize for the eventual winner is a spot on the Italian brand’s own esports team.

Probably the most spectacular and ambitious race of this year’s unexpectedly virtual motorsports season is about to get underway. The first official 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual will see the French flag drop at 1300 UTC on June 3, getting a full day of digital racing underway.

After last weekend’s exciting, packed, and controversial weekend of esports, there’s still more action to come. Aside from NASCAR, the world of physical motorsport hasn’t restarted after a prolonged layoff, but the digital world continues to spin.

Famed Italian supercar manufacturer Lamborghini will take its first steps into the world of esports with its own challenge series.

One of the fastest closed-cockpit racing categories in the world, Super GT, has announced it will hold a special online event for its pro drivers, using Gran Turismo Sport.

There’s been a few controversial incidents in this year’s esports extravaganza. We’ve seen drivers crashing other drivers, rage quits, and even racism from the pro drivers. This week’s talking point might be the most bizarre yet.

This weekend is one that all motorsports fans will have marked in their calendars with the fattest Sharpie possible. May 24 is the date when two of the three arms of the Triple Crown of Motorsports stage their showpiece events: the Monaco Grand Prix, and the Indianapolis 500.

The potential for virtual racing esports to feature in marquee sporting celebrations is something that has been the subject of substantial attention in recent years. It’s a subject that the International Olympic Committee has discussed, and Japan’s National Sporting Festival now includes Gran Turismo Sport as one of its events annually.

There’s more great esports racing to come this weekend, as the real world continues to take a back seat to the virtual. While IndyCar and NASCAR are no longer with us — NASCAR resuming its meat-space action this weekend — there’s plenty of action across multiple disciplines.

The organizer of the 24 Hours of Le Mans has announced that it will stage this year’s race, for the first time, entirely in the digital realm. Going by the name “24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual”, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) says it will be the biggest esports endurance race ever seen.

Energy drinks brand Red Bull is the latest company to stage a virtual race series for pro drivers and celebrities, but there’s a little twist. The event, called “Homestretch”, will use GT Sport for a six-week series, which Red Bull says is a “playful take” on the format.

Virtual motorsport continues to come to the rescue of the real world this weekend, with plenty of action from series around the world. Whatever your particular motorsport preference, you’re likely to find something digital to fill the gap.

After six weeks of exciting and intense competition, the IndyCar iRacing Challenge has ended in controversy. The 70-lap race involved one of the most controversial incidents yet, and a further collision on the finish line that changed the results.

There’s another thrilling weekend of racing action in the virtual world this Saturday and Sunday, as reality continues to disappoint. Incredibly, this is now the eighth weekend where the motorsports has been digital, and it’s proving an able substitute.

The virtual world continues to fill in for the real world this week, as the motorsport action returns to small screens and static driving rigs to provide the racing entertainment that would otherwise be absent.

There’s even more pro-driver esports on the horizon, and this time there’s a chance for players to get involved too.