The ADAC SimRacing Expo is the latest event to be called off in the face of the global pandemic.
Photo credit: ADAC Presse
The ADAC SimRacing Expo, which was scheduled for December 2020, has been cancelled due to Covid-19. The event, which had already been postponed from its originally intended date of September 2020, was set to be staged digitally. The expo was originally supposed to take place at the Nürburgring in Germany, where it would have featured esports competitions, tutorials, interviews, test reports and product news.
We have something to tell you 😔:
— ADAC SimRacing Expo (@SimRacingExpo) November 26, 2020
The digital Expo will also not take place due to the current corona lockdown situation in Germany.
For further information please see: https://t.co/5b3MEG87gu#SimRacing #SimRacingExpo #SRE pic.twitter.com/89vvKkcxj0
After the postponement of the initial event, the intention had been to provide a broadcast from a TV Studio which would be available for people to watch remotely. However, given the rapid increase in the rate of spread of the virus in recent weeks, the health and safety of the employees and production team took priority. On top of these issues, attempts to find enough partners had also hit a significant roadblock, as potential sponsors are in many cases financially insecure due to the Coronavirus.
A Yearly Occurence
Starting in 2014 the SimRacing Expo has taken place every year, gathering sim racers, fans and influencers together to take part in and watch esports events such as the Porsche SimRacing Trophy and the ADAC Digital GT500 team race. The first event was the brainchild of the racing driver Marc Hennrici, who aimed to bring sim racing and its real-world counterpart closer together.
Since that first event the Expo has thrived. Over twelve thousand individuals attended the second ever event in 2015. On that occasion, the main event was the ADAC SimRacing Trophy, which was won by Tim Heinemann. Major sim racing games such as iRacing and RaceRoom were also present.
2016 saw the SimRacing Expo expand yet again. Among the comapnies with an official presence at the event were Microsoft, Codemasters and Fanatec. As it had done in the two previous years, the event returned to the Nürburgring and hosted the Blancpain Series GT Endurance Cup. On that weekend, a young driver by the name of Lando Norris took the victory in the Formula Renault race which was supporting the Blancpain Series.
Every subsequent year saw the SimRacing Expo continue to live up to expectations as a major event on the simracing calendar. Most recently, the 2019 expo was a great success for Coanda Simsport. Their driver Joshua K Rogers took the SimRacing Trophy while the team won the honors in the Digital GT500. While this year represents a blip in the expo’s progress, it will be no doubt hoping to return with a splash in 2021.
How do you feel about the cancellation? Tell us on Twitter at @overtake_gg!
