Munich. BMW Motorsport heads into the sim racing season with a
varied programme and is prominently represented on a host of virtual
racing platforms. In the BMW SIM 120 Cup, teams and drivers from
around the world compete at the wheel of the BMW M8 GTE on the
iRacing motorsport simulation. The BMW SIM M2 CS Racing Cup will be
hosted on the rFactor2 platform. Participants will battle for prize
money of almost 75,000 Euros across all competitions. Like last
year, a grand BMW SIM Motorsport finale is planned: The best and
most successful professional and amateur drivers qualify for the BMW
SIM Live event in Munich (GER).
“Our two SIM Cups with the BMW M8 GTE on iRacing and the
BMW M2 CS Racing on rFactor2 form the basis for our virtual racing
programme in 2020,” said BMW Group Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt.
“They allow us to address talented and enthusiastic drivers on many
different levels and provide them with a route into the fascinating
world of motorsport. We are also planning continual expansion of our
range of cars on the relevant platforms.”
Stefan Ponikva,
Vice President BMW Brand Experience, added: “With BMW SIM Motorsport
we are going our own BMW way in sim racing. We are closely linking the
content and event side of our commitment with our activities at BMW i
and M Motorsport. At the same time, we are addressing new target
groups – in the sim community and outside of it. In 2020, our fans
will have the opportunity at many actual racing events to qualify for
our grand finale in Munich – BMW SIM Live. In this way, we are
addressing both passionate sim racers and amateur gamers alike and
will bring them together at BMW SIM Motorsport. The whole segment is
really gaining momentum and BMW is actively shaping the
scene.”
The eSports sector has been a growth market for
years. eGamers across the world go head to head online in sport and
non-sport simulations. As well as this, they also compete at popular
offline events all over the world. The fan base for the different
eSports disciplines is expanding at great speed. This is particularly
true of virtual motor racing.
BMW SIM 120 Cup kicked off in Daytona.
On 12th January, around 800 drivers competed in the initial BMW
SIM 120 Cup event on the iRacing sim racing platform. At the virtual
‘Daytona International Speedway’ (USA), Maximilian Wenig (GER) and
Maximilian Benecke (GER) from Team Redline GT claimed victory in the
BMW M8 GTE – each securing prize money of 1,200 US dollars and a
ticket for BMW SIM Live 2020.
A further five BMW SIM 120
Cup events will be held over the course of the season. The calendar
next takes sim racers to Sebring (USA), the Nürburgring (GER),
Spa-Francorchamps (BEL), Road Atlanta (USA) and Interlagos (BRA). In
each two-hour race, two drivers will share driving duties at the wheel
of the BMW M8 GTE. Prize money is not restricted to the winners, as
the second and third-placed drivers can also each look forward to
receiving 600 and 300 US dollars respectively. BMW works drivers will
also appear regularly in the BMW SIM 120 Cup. Nick Catsburg (NED) and
Philipp Eng (AUT) claimed 13th place as BMW Team CATENG at the first
race of the season in early January.
In addition to the
BMW SIM 120 Cup events, iRacing also offers users the new BMW 12.0
Series. The BMW M8 GTE is the car of choice for these 12-minute sprint
races, which take place on different tracks every week. The
championship debuted at the start of December 2019 and is very popular
among the users. The BMW M8 GTE is also a firm favourite at the big
iRacing special events, where participants can choose their own cars
and compete in endurance races. At the virtual 24 Hours of Daytona,
374 teams were competing in BMWs, completing more than 235,000 laps as
the race progressed.
The Nürburgring as a virtual school – in the BMW SIM M2 CS
Racing Cup.
For the races in the BMW SIM M2 CS Racing Cup, BMW Motorsport is
working with the rFactor2 platform. The new entry-level model in the
BMW M Customer Racing range will be used for the races. The BMW M2 CS
Racing made its virtual and actual debut in public at 2019 BMW SIM
Live on 5th December 2019. The competition’s ten events are all about
the Nürburgring (GER). Each event takes the sim racers closer to
another aspect of the iconic racetrack – whether it be different
layouts or extreme weather conditions. This also makes the BMW SIM M2
CS Racing Cup the ideal stage for the three members of the new BMW
Junior Team – Dan Harper (GBR), Max Hesse (GER) and Neil Verhagen
(USA) – who will compete in all the races on their simulators. The
race winners each receive 1,000 Euros in prize money and a starting
place at the season-ending event in Munich. The winner of the BMW SIM
M2 CS Racing Cup finale will also have the opportunity to drive the
actual BMW M2 CS Racing out on the track.
Fans can also
become BMW racing drivers at the circuit.
The BMW SIM Fan Cup
also gives BMW Motorsport fans the chance to qualify for BMW SIM Live
2020. At many actual racing events in the IMSA series, the DTM and the
ABB FIA Formula E Championship, as well as the 24-hour race at the
Nürburgring, they can strive to set fast lap times over the course of
the race weekend in a special sim area. The fastest time of the
weekend receives a starting place in the BMW SIM Fan Cup Finale at the
season-ending event. This will also feature the final races in the BMW
SIM 120 Cup and the BMW SIM M2 CS Racing Cup.
The BMW SIM Motorsport events at a glance*.
BMW SIM 120 Cup (iRacing):
12th January 2020 Daytona (USA)
1st March
2020 Sebring (USA)
10th May
2020 Nürburgring (GER)
5th July 2020
Spa-Francorchamps (BEL)
20th September 2020 Road Atlanta
(USA)
8th November 2020 Interlagos (BRA)
BMW SIM M2 CS Racing Cup (rFactor2, Nürburgring):
19th February 2020 Race 1
11th March 2020
Race 2
25th March 2020 Race 3
8th April
2020 Race 4
17th June 2020 Race
5
1st July 2020 Race 6
22nd July
2020 Race 7
19th August 2020 Race
8
16th September 2020 Race 9
14th October 2020 Race 10
BMW SIM Fan Cup:
24th-26th January 2020 Daytona (USA), IMSA
Series
15th February 2020 Mexico City (MEX), ABB FIA
Formula E Championship
18th April 2020 Paris
(FRA), ABB FIA Formula E Championship
3rd May 2020
Seoul (KOR), ABB FIA Formula E Championship
23rd-25th May 2020
Nürburgring (GER), 24-hour race
21st June 2020
Berlin (GER), ABB FIA Formula E Championship
10th-12th July
2020 Norisring (GER), DTM
25th /26th July 2020
London (GBR), ABB FIA Formula E Championship
2nd-4th October
2020 Hockenheim (GER), DTM
8th-10th October 2020 Road
Atlanta (USA), IMSA Series
