In full-throttle into future motorsports - MAHLE MPULSE Mobility Magazine

The MAHLE racing team starts in 2020

From niche to mass sports: The eSports segment has been on the upswing for years. Gamers are becoming professionals, and the entire market promises almost endless potential. Hours of live streams are enthusing more and more fans, halls are often sold out long in advance, and prize money in the millions is sometimes waiting for the winners. Sim racing - i.e. racing with virtual vehicles - is also growing rapidly in this context. MAHLE is actively shaping this trend with immediate effect and is entering the race in a partnership with Williams Esports, the Sim offshoot of the Formula 1 team of the same name. The MAHLE RACING TEAM conquers the track.

Sim-Racing: Racing simulation for the digital generation

Steering wheel, pedals, challenging race tracks and opponents to lose - so far Sim-Racing sounds very similar to classic motorsport. But the sport of the future offers a decisive difference: instead of being driven on the road, the races are held in front of a multitude of computer screens. Sim-Racing thus describes a replica of real motorsport races as realistically as possible - all the characteristics of road races are attempted to be transferred to the virtual world in Sim-Racing.

iRacing has been on the market since 2008 and has become the leading sim racing simulation. Tracks and vehicles measured with millimetre precision via laser and over 100,000 users from all over the world make the platform the current benchmark. Over 80 tracks are available. NASCAR and dirt races can be driven on iRacing just as well as GT classics known from reality, such as Daytona, Spa-Francorchamps or the Nürburgring. In addition to the simulations, which anyone interested can also drive at home, the platform organizes Sim Racing championships worldwide, provides technology and transmission, handles the races and awards prize money of over 300,000 dollars annually in six world championship series.

From the street behind the screen

The Williams Esports Team

Williams is one of the world's leading Formula 1 teams, its beginnings go back to the 1960s. With Williams Esports, Williams was the first Formula 1 team to establish an Esports offshoot under the leadership of Steven English and Javier Guerra in May 2018, in order to compete in the up-and-coming virtual motorsport. The first three signed drivers in the team were Javier Perez, Jani Vitsaniemi and Bernardo Perez. In the meantime, 26 drivers are already on the road for Williams. In terms of training, the Williams Sim racers benefit from special privileges: In addition to access to the team plant in Oxfordshire, UK, for training and events, the Esports team is also allowed to train on high-tech simulators together with technical staff and the Formula 1 drivers.

How MAHLE is involved in Sim-Racing

From the 2020 season onwards, MAHLE will be an active player in the Esports segment. As one of the first companies, the company will be one of the first to start with a completely own team on iRacing with the support of Williams Esports. The MAHLE RACING TEAM will compete with changing pilots and cars at some of the biggest iRacing special events - each in the characteristic MAHLE design.

A total of six races are on the program. The MAHLE RACING TEAM celebrated its premiere on February 9 at the virtual race track of Bathurst, Australia. The 12-hour endurance race was held on the "Mount Panorama Circuit", with Alex Arana from Spain and the Argentinean Agustin Canapino taking turns at the wheel of the MAHLE BMW Z4 GT3. The duo led the race over long distances and finally finished eighth - a promising debut for the MAHLE RACING TEAM.

The Saison 2020

In the further course of the season the team will compete in the following events:

12 Hours of Sebring on March 14 and 15 in Sebring, Florida
24 Hours Nürburgring on April 25 and 26 on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife
24 Hours Le Mans on June 20 and 21 at the "Circuit de la Sarthe" of Le Mans, France
24 Hours Spa-Francorchamps on July 11 and 12 at the "Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps", Belgium
Petit Le Mans on October 3 and 4 in Braselton, Georgia

Among other things, the races will be broadcast live on www.twitch.com/iracing. So you can join in the excitement when the MAHLE RACING TEAM fights for victories on its virtual world tour.