Real-world motorsports events all over the world, including world championships, have been cancelled or postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But that doesn’t mean that there’s no racing going on – within the vast BMW Motorsport SIM Racing programme, no less than ten BMW drivers will fight for glory today.
The first-ever virtual round of the Nurburgring Endurance Series will start off at 1 pm European time (8 pm in Malaysia) with a 4-hour race in what is nicknamed the ‘Green Hell’. Among the more than 50 cars in the field that are split into four classes, there will be two BMW Z4 GT3s driven by BMW drivers. The race will be broadcast in livestream at www.vln.de.
“It is obviously a shame for us racing drivers to be at home instead of at the racetrack at the moment. As such, I am all the more delighted that sim racing is offering us the opportunity to still go racing,” said Martin Tomczyk, who will be in a Z4 GT3). “Personally, I am spending a lot of time in the simulator at the moment. I think holding the season-opener on the Nordschleife in a virtual environment, and in line with the original regulations, is a great idea. I am sure there will be a lot of well-known names on the grid.”
After this race, you can visit the YouTube channel of THE RACE in order to follow the second edition of the All-Star Esports Battle. Up to 60 pro racers will accept the challenge of sim racers, in order to determine the overall winner in the Grand Final from 8 pm (3 am Sunday in Malaysia). BMW i Andretti Motorsport driver Maximilian Gunther (GER) will return to this competition, after finishing second behind Max Verstappen (NED) in the very first Pro Race held last weekend.
Four MOTUL BMW M8 GTE cars will line up on the grid of the 90-minute IMSA Super Sebring race. With the classic Sebring 12 Hours (USA) being postponed, IMSA fans will now be treated to GTE action on the iRacing sim platform. In total, more than M8 GTEs have registered for the race which will start at 2:30 pm in America (2:30 am Sunday in Malaysia) which will be broadcast on the iRacing eSports Network on YouTube and Twitch.
BMW DTM driver Philipp Eng, who makes his debut in THE RACE All-Star Esports Battle, said: “I am very much looking forward to taking to the virtual racetrack with so many of my fellow professional racing drivers and sim racers. At the moment, the simulator is our only opportunity to go racing. I will prepare as well as possible and hope to be up there at the front of the field.”
