GUEST POST: Sim Racing In Esports Is On The Rise In Malta And Providing Opportunities For Young Drivers
Sim Racing – short for simulation racing – is a collective term for racing games software to attempt to accurately simulate car racing virtually – and it’s quickly becoming the first step one needs to take to get into motorsports.
The combined software and hardware simulates all possible feedback that a real car provides, such as tyre wear, fuel usage, aerodynamics, grip and suspension movement. In order to get into, sim racing, especially becoming a competitive driver, one must understand various aspects of how the car handles while on track.
This includes maintaining control of the car as it loses traction in such velocity and using the correct driving line to maintain speed to get those fast lap times, which is not easy, either virtually or in the real world.
Today’s simulation software is so realistic that it has become a very important part of training for professional drivers.
Now, not everyone that races on simulation software does it to become a professional driver or to compete in high level events. Some consider sim racing as part of their break time or taking time to release stress from work or studying.
When it comes to the software though, we at World Pro Racing opted to go for rFactor 2 based on PC for many reasons, such as the software that you can install, while on consoles you don’t have much flexibility over what you can do.
One advantage is being open to the community to build cars and tracks, pricing, providing a good number of official free cars and tracks, with most of them being laser scanned, meaning that they are accurate to the real track.
This will help any practicing driver prior to going to the real thing or help them experience a track they’ve never been to.
Watch esports in action on World Pro Racing’s live streams on TVM Sport.
https://www.facebook.com/PbsSports/videos/504580990842642/
Motorsport is very expensive – not only to participate in events or championships but also to maintain the vehicle throughout the whole season.
This is the main reason why sim racing is growing rapidly, especially after the pandemic started. Due to this, real-life motorsport events had to be cancelled and drivers had nowhere to go except simulation.
To this end, we recently launched out Sim Racing Facility at Montekristo Estate, an event attended by the Minister Silvio Schembri and Ivan Filletti of Gaming Malta.
Part of World Pro Racing's livestream interviews
Let’s create a basic scenario where a Maltese driver has a lot of potential in becoming a professional driver but may not in a good financial situation.
Basically, there is nothing much he/she can do about it and looking for sponsors locally is not an easy one.
Maybe he/she can afford to go for some driving experience every now and then to continue sharpening his/her skills – but still, the financial position is an issue.
This is where sim racing once again comes into play.
One of the first steps to take is to participate in our international online casuals which happen weekly where you can apply for free to race from home, if you have the hardware and software or you can rent a sim for the duration of the race.
All our races are monitored by real life professionals, experienced and certified race directors and stewards who can guide you and help you with what you can improve during the race – and all our events are broadcast worldwide to all our broadcasting partners, with roughly half a million unique views per month across the world.
This is a great way to get noticed by viewers as well as potential scouts who may following these heats – something we’ve already seen happen over the last four years.
One of the major things you’ll need to become successful in sim racing is to be a fast and consistent driver, but that’s not only it.
An engineer needs to be involved in setting up the car according to the driver’s feedback, hence why a sim racer needs to understand the aspects of how the car handles while on track. This is another role that someone attending engineering school can handle.
Mental performance and nutrition are another two important factors both in sim racing and motorsport.
Physical strength is needed to handle a simulator rig, just like a normal car. Today’s sim racing hardware provides so much feedback it feels like you are racing the real car.
We’ve seen local talent going from strength to strength over the last few years.
There is nothing that gives me as much pleasure as watching children, both male and female, trying out sim racing at our premises for the first time.
Sometimes, they’ll keep going beyond that and continue their training, either by becoming a professional esports driver, or by beginning to practice real karting, which is why we developed the La Reve karting track and Mtaħleb Hill Climb.
There are many opportunities when it comes to esports nowadays.
And we are already planning for the future, with people preparing events, designers preparing posters and artwork for social media posts, article writers posting after each race, community person in charge of our Discord channel, broadcast directors, floor manager, replay person, video editors and even live commentators, both local and foreign.
This is esports: not only is it not all about the driver – it’s not merely a game anymore.
Justin Mifsud recently appeared on Lovin Daily to discuss sim racing – watch the interview below.
https://www.facebook.com/LovinMalta/videos/793615244640699/
Justin Mifsud is the founder and CEO of World Pro Racing.
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