Motorsport New Zealand has quietly stepped away from esports, ending its involvement in sim racing with no public announcement.

The Motorsport NZ Esports Pass is no longer being offered, New Zealand is no longer represented in the Tri-Nations Esports Cup, and Motorsport NZ has no plans to run or sanction further esports events.

The changes only became clear after Hectic contacted Motorsport NZ to ask what had happened.

Motorsport New Zealand (MSNZ) have positioned dropping esports as an intentional move to focus on their core functions and better serve its clubs and members, which they admit have been underserviced in recent years. MSNZ sees esports as requiring significant resource for very little return.

On August 21 MSNZ announced that this change in focus extends far beyond esports, with the whole organisation going through a restructure. MSNZ says the new structure will put more resources into its core sporting and regulatory functions and improving the experience of its members and customers.

There was no announcement that the Esports Pass was ending. No announcement that New Zealand had left the Tri-Nations. No explanation to the sim racing community that MSNZ was stepping back from esports.

That's particularly disappointing given that better service and communication with MSNZ's members and customers is now one of the organisation's stated priorities.

MSNZ's involvement in sim racing has been somewhat stop-start. The organisation became heavily involved during the COVID lockdowns before scaling back as traditional motorsport returned, with the Esports Pass and Tri-Nations Esports Cup becoming the main remnants of its involvement.

The $20 MSNZ Esports Pass previously provided new iRacing users with a 12-month subscription and the FIA F4 car, thanks to the FIAs global iRacing program. The pass stopped being offered in 2026, although existing iRacing subscriptions issued through the programme are unaffected. The MSNZ website still advertises the $20 pass, although the sign-up form is no longer functional.

The Tri-Nations Cup is an iRacing competition that saw drivers from the UK, Australia, and NZ represent their country as they went up against one another. Organised by Motorsport UK it’s unclear what was required by MSNZ beyond signing off their support. With NZ’s removal it remains the Tri-Nations with South Africa now filling the grid.

While MSNZ remains supportive of sim racing generally the organisation says it has decided esports isn’t a core function and requires too much resource for too little return. Its esports activities have been delegated to Motorsport Australia, which has a dedicated esports function.

Exactly what that arrangement means for New Zealand drivers isn’t particularly clear. Motorsport Australia has allowed Kiwis to compete in its 2026 Gran Turismo Championship, but there is currently little evidence of a broader replacement. NZ is missing from the Tri-Nations Cup despite Motorsport Australia facilitating Australia’s inclusion. There has been no announcement from either organisation.

What happens to sim racing in NZ without support from MSNZ?

There are things a national motorsport governing body can provide that a community organisation can't easily replicate like connections to the FIA and recognition alongside traditional motorsport.

But running good sim racing competitions isn’t one of them.

The New Zealand Sim Racing Collective (NZSRC) has continued building the national sim racing scene independently of Motorsport NZ. The collective, launched in 2024, brings together existing sim racing communities and has continued to push sim racing forward with the backing of NZ Esports, the governing body for esports in New Zealand.

In fact NZ Esports previously worked with MSNZ to help establish MSNZs early esports events and esports pass. It’s only after a lack of action on MSNZs part that NZ Esports opted to put their full backing behind NZSRC to ensure sim racing in New Zealand continues to receive the support it deserves.

NZSRC has already run a national Gran Turismo championship this year, with an iRacing national championship planned for later in 2026. The collective has also run the Simdy 500 as a national-level event.

With MSNZ stepping away from esports it’s now unclear what will happen with the FIAs global esports efforts. The FIA has a history of requiring ASNs to approve their nations involvement before drivers are eligible to compete in international events. It would be a huge shame for New Zealand to miss out on the upcoming sim racing events the FIA has in the works.