First published November 2026

What Is Sim Racing?

Sim racing is short for simulation racing - digital racing that recreates real motorsport as closely as possible, from tyre wear and braking technique to laser-scanned versions of real circuits. It runs from a home hobby to a sanctioned esport that motorsport's governing body treats as a professional motorsport discipline.

What does a sim racing driver actually do?

A sim racing driver steers, brakes and feeds the throttle the way a racing driver does. The software calculates what the car would do in response. The wheel and pedals carry that answer back through the hands and feet.

Watch a lap from behind the rig and the feet are as busy as the hands. A driver brakes hard at a marker then eases the pressure off as the car turns in. Racing drivers call that trail braking. It keeps weight over the front tyres without locking them. The sim rewards it the way a real car does.

A wheel with force feedback answers through the rim. A motor in the base applies torque that copies what the front tyres send up a real steering rack. The rim goes light when grip drops and pulls one way as the car rotates. Pedals follow the same logic: a load-cell brake reads how hard the driver presses rather than how far the pedal travels, matching the way racing drivers modulate force.

The view comes from a screen or a VR headset. A VR headset puts the driver's eyes inside the cockpit so a turn of the head looks through a corner and a glance sideways finds a mirror. A free PlayStation VR2 update for Gran Turismo 7 on 22 February 2023 moved the full game into VR. Cars, tracks, races and licence tests all moved into the headset.

The headset question sits outside the sim itself. A Meta Quest 3 keeps the display, the tracking and the software inside one standalone unit.

At our events a guest sits down to the same wheel and pedals, with a screen and a lap against the clock. The setup we bring carries two rigs so two guests race at once while the facilitator runs the timing.

Who takes part in sim racing?

Sim racing draws hobbyists, real-world racing drivers and manufacturer-backed esports teams onto the same software. The hobbyist races at home while the professional uses the same software to prepare for a race weekend.

The standard setup is a wheel, pedals and a screen. Races then run online against other drivers. iRacing launched on 26 August 2008. It groups drivers by ability and conduct through a licence and matchmaking system.

Official F1 teams field esports squads and draft sim racers into contracted line-ups; ten drivers were selected at the 2019 Pro Draft. Porsche describes professional sim racing teams running seasons like any motorsport series. Their drivers compete on stage in front of live audiences.

In South Africa, Motorsport South Africa runs MSA Esports. National F4 and GT3 championships run on iRacing over six rounds, alongside an LNR GT3 series on Assetto Corsa Competizione; the 2026 season wrapped in October 2026. A national team contests the Tri Nations Esports Cup against the United Kingdom and Australia. The 2026 edition ran on 6 September 2026 at Silverstone and Bathurst.

How big is sim racing?

Sim racing has grown into a global competition with six-figure entry lists. The totals come from platforms and organisers rather than an audited global count.

iRacing had 25,000 customers three years after its 2008 launch and reported 160,000 active subscribers by April 2020. Cosworth put its active user base at more than 350,000 in August 2025.

Formula 1's official esports series drew 109,000 qualifiers in 2019 and 237,000 in 2020.

Where does sim racing stop and arcade racing begin?

The line is one of intent and depth. Arcade racers simplify the physics for instant fun while sim racing calculates weight transfer, braking pressure, suspension and grip. It rewards the techniques a real driver uses.

Gran Turismo and the Codemasters F1 series sit in a middle tier that practitioners call simcade. They balance realism against accessibility. Virtual Racing School's three-tier guide dates from 2016.

Researchers note that the definition's edges are still debated (Convergence, 2024). The core is software that models a racing car closely enough to be learned and driven.

Is sim racing a sport?

Sim racing is a sport in the competitive sense. The FIA runs Esports GT and Esports F4 as medal disciplines at its Motorsport Games. Motorsport's governing body describes esports competition as "now considered a professional motorsport" (2024).

117 drivers from 70 countries contested the two categories at the 2024 Games and carried six medals. Esports GT runs on Assetto Corsa Competizione and Esports F4 on iRacing.

Porsche calls sim racing "a sport in its own right" rather than a spin-off of motorsport (2024). Formula 1 runs an esports series and the 2019 Pro Series put 30 drivers from the 10 teams on track.

How realistic is a modern racing sim?

Realism rests on the software carrying track and car data, the physics calculating behaviour and the hardware feeding the result back to the driver.

iRacing lists more than 150 officially licensed tracks in over 425 configurations, all laser-scanned to what the company calls millimetre accuracy (2026). iRacing says professional teams and drivers use them for practice. Assetto Corsa Competizione recreates every official GT World Challenge circuit by laser scan and models tyre grip, aerodynamic load, engine output, suspension and damage (Kunos, 2019).

Le Mans Ultimate runs the pMotor 2.5 physics from rFactor 2 at 400 Hz. That output goes straight to the force feedback. Its tyre model reproduces slip angles and flat spots (Studio 397, 2024).

rFactor 2 was built for professional teams to use in driver training and car development. Much of its code comes from rFactor Pro.

Can sim racing lead to a real motorsport career?

The pathway exists and has named graduates. Jann Mardenborough won Nissan and PlayStation's GT Academy in 2011 with no motorsport experience behind him. He stood on a Le Mans 24 Hours class podium in 2013.

GT Academy began in 2008 with a Nissan racing team seat as the prize, plus the training and licensing to compete internationally. In its first year 25,000 PlayStation 3 owners downloaded the time trial and 22 drivers reached the international final at Silverstone.

Lucas Ordonez won the first edition and finished second in the LMP2 class at Le Mans in 2011. The FIA now awards its Esports F4 gold medallist a test day in a real Formula 4 car (2024). The governing body created the prize to show that esports can lead to real-world competition.

Sources

Planning a sports day? Check your date - or call +27 83 733 5133 and ask Richard what will work in your space.