Impressive sim rigs, delicious drinks and entertaining esports races – and everything is combined in one of the most iconic motorsports circuits? Here are some of the coolest sim racing places out there.
Photo credit: Red Bull
Esports racing takes place in the virtual world. While you can compete against other drivers in the world from whatever location you are in, there is something even more exciting than online races: exploring sim racing venues. Over the past years, companies created more and more places that offer top-notch simulators to be tested by fans. Other venues host competitive series, and Red Bull even created an impressive facility for their esports drivers to professionally train. Here are some of the coolest sim racing places.
Base51
What sounds more enjoyable than a relaxed evening at a bar, you get some drinks, good food, then hop into a sim rig and race against your friends? Base51 in LA, California, provides exactly that. For those who are serious about their virtual driving, they also offer one-on-one training.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, the venue itself is currently closed. According to their homepage however, they are still providing takeout. Make sure you support your local businesses during these trying times so we can all go to our favorite places again in the future!
Jochen Schweizer Arena Sim Racing Venue
The Jochen Schweizer Arena can be found in Munich, Germany, and is basically a giant playground. Visitors can test various activities such as surfing, parcourse, sky jumping and climbing. In 2020, the arena received a neat addition: an area dedicated to virtual reality and sim racing experiences. Visitors can book a session in the Virtual Racing Lounge either with or without coaching and drive some laps in a professional sim rig.
Jochen Schweizer is in collaboration with car manufacturer BMW and also hosted a casting for young sim racing talents to form their own line-up.
Nürburgring Esports Lounge
Is there a cooler place for an esports racing lounge then at one of the most famous circuits in the world? The Nürburgring, Germany, opened its special esports lounge in 2019. It comes with a bar and sim rigs, so you can book a session and cruise around the Green Hell yourself. The venue also hosts racing series and events, but is temporarily closed due to the pandemic.
Gfinity Esports Arena
We’re excited to announce that we have renewed our partnership with the @F1 to bring you the third #F1 New Balance Esports Series! 🏎️
— Gfinity (@Gfinity) April 2, 2019
The season commences on the 8th April 2019 with teams battling it out for $500,000! 💰
Read more here:https://t.co/v1kZeo6V2T pic.twitter.com/NCePOSWKVJ
The Gfinity Esports Arena in London, UK, is not a venue that is solely dedicated to sim racing. However, once a year, it turns into an incredibly important stage as it hosts the F1 Esports Series. In this World Championship, the fastest players from around the globe meet for the ultimate showdown to fight for the title. While the 2020 edition had to be held online, we hope the racers can battle each other in person soon again.
Red Bull’s Sim Racing Facility
Red Bull is a household name in traditional motorsports and esports racing. The company signed 12 talents, including iRacing world champion Sebastian Job . In 2020, they opened up a dedicated sim racing facility for their teams named the Red Bull Racing Arena, located in the Milton Keynes Technology Campus (UK).
The arena is split into four sections: the training area, the competition area, the console area and the driver locker area. We hope that more competitive sim racing organizations will have the chance to build facilities to support their drivers in such a cool environment!
Esports Racing Arena Miami
In 2019, Millennial Esports caused huge waves as they announced the first ever esports arena that is 100% dedicated to sim racing. The Allinsports Arena was supposed to be built in Miami, Florida, and feature 20 simulators to host competitive events. They also wanted to include a real driver academy and support esports racers on their way to traditional motorsports.
While this project sounds extremely exciting, strangely there have been no additional updates since the initial concept announcement. The arena was supposed to open in early 2020, but its current situation is unknown.
What other sim racing venues do you know and can recommend? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!