New year, new project. Welcome to Hectic
This is the Hectic Motorsport Newsletter. A quick and easy update on all the latest in sim racing within New Zealand and beyond.
You're reading the newly minted first edition. It's bound to be a collectors item some day so be sure you don't bend the box.
Well not really. This is an experiment, a new idea, a trial. As a big fan of sim racing and motorsport games I love to keep up with the latest news, events, trends, and drama but today that takes a lot of work sifting through news sites and scrolling social media feeds. And good luck staying informed with NZ racing events, for those you have to know the right people or be in the right discord channels.
There should be an easier way and that's what Hectic Motorsport News is trying to be. I (MonkeyMatt) will be posting semi irregular updates about all things sim racing so you never miss the big news items or upcoming events. Specifically you can expect to see:
upcoming NZ sim racing events,
celebrating NZ sim drivers crushing it internationally,
international events worth keeping an eye on,
and any and all other racing esports or motorsport news that jumps out as interesting for us motorsport fans.
It will all be in simple bullet lists so it's quick and easy to skim through and stay updated on the news that interests you.
This first edition is a bit longer than you can expect in the future as I take a look back at 2023 as one of the three dedicated sections down below.
NZ Sim Racing in 2023
LetsPlay.Live once again gave out $1,500 to the top iRacing drivers in NZ with the LPL Pro iRacing NZ Cup in May/June. Broadcast live on Twitch and Sky Sport a close fight between Sabo and Baker went down the the wire.
In August top NZ iRacing drivers competed in the Tri-Nations Esports Cup. The event was backed by the three motorsport governing bodies from NZ, Australia, and the UK. Ewan Baker was the top kiwi finisher and also picked up driver of the day to score Next Level Racing GT Track and Haptic Feedback Gaming Chair prizes. The recording lives on youtube.
Red Bull Virtual Race was hosted at the Red Bull HQ in Auckland once again this year after qualifying events played out at each Armageddon around the country. There is no link I can give you here because Red Bull PR for these events is truly terrible. Thomas Beesley won the event after missing out on the finals in 2022 and has now made the jump to full metal race cars in the Toyota 86 series.
Red Bull Virtual Race - Student Finals were held in April with the winner getting a trip to the Singapore Grand Prix with special Red Bull access/experience while over there.
LetsPlay.Live rebranded their iRacing series to the Taimana Series on iRacing. Another $1,500 was won by the top drivers with an extra Next Level Racing GT Track rig for the winner during this August series. Catch the recordings on twitch.
At the end of September Ewan Baker represented New Zealand in the Asia Pacific Motorsport Championship over in Sepang, Malaysia. Ewan competed in the Esports category which took place on Assetto Corsa Competizione. I found very little detail available about the event, theres only facebook pics: 1, 2, 3, 4.
In November Virtual Motorsport NZ hosted the 4th running of the Enduro for Mental Health on iRacing. 26 teams took part raising over $4,000 for the Rise Above Charitable Trust. The full race played out live on youtube with Shane Van Gisbergen and Brad Newman taking the win.
NZ Esports Racing Series LAN finals took place on Gran Turismo 7 in Wellington in December. With 10 drivers shoulder to shoulder in their rigs racing in the Respawn Esports Center it was quite possible NZs biggest ever in person sim racing event. The one stuff up was forgetting to save the finals broadcast but some earlier rounds are on youtube.
Computer lounge gave away a $3,000 Moza wheel bundle to the fastest driver. Across the three (one, two, three) F1 time trial events they also gave away vouchers and Logitech wheels with Luke, Carl Taka, and Rico the three winners.
3 kiwis raced in the Gran Turismo World Series events in the Amsterdam showdown and the Barcelona world finals. Matthew McEwen, Simon Bishop, and Tom England represented New Zealand in the Nations Cup, picking up points in all their races at the final to finish 9th in the world.
Upcoming
The Logitech G Challenge has moved to Forza Motorsport with the same big prizes including a VIP trip to an F1 race for the regional winners. There are still qualifying stages open and drivers world wide are eligible (including NZ drivers). Learn more and enter here.
Gran Turismo exhibition season runs Jan 13-27. NZ Gran Turismo talent will be getting involved practicing for the real 2024 season to come. Find out more on the official website. Join the NZ contingent in discord.
Rumour: NZ Esports Racing Series to become a yearly event hosted by Respawn.
Rumour: LetsPlay.Live considering weather to host another iRacing series in early 2024.
in IRL motorsport we have Formula Regional Oceania (aka Toyota Racing Series) once again gracing NZ circuits this summer. It kicks off in Taupo on January 19th. Get all the info on their website.
News
F1 Esports is a mess. After the Maldives jokes and zero promotion the first round did manage to get a race in but round 2 was quietly cancelled without being announced. There has been zero official news about what's going on.
Traxion.gg shuts down :(
Motorsport games (the parent company) is a complete mess. Originally bragging about having 4 new games in the works they are down to 1 after selling their Nascar license, Indycar terminating their license, breaching their BTCC licenses, and laying off the team that built KartKraft. A new Le Mans game is their last project still standing.
Extras
Hard not to be excited about this one. You'll want sound on for the #Drive Rally reveal trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pracg9fAmzg Oceania F1 invitational saw a few kiwis racing at the top and the broadcast team included well known sim caster George Morgan
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1997538910
You've been reading an old issue of the Hectic Motorsport Newsletter. Subscribe to get the latest editions dropped straight into your inbox.
Or browse the rest of the archive and catch up on what you’ve missed.