BMW SIM News, August 2021.

BMW SIM GT Cup.

After a summer break of two and a half months, the second half of this year's BMW SIM GT Cup season started with three races in August. This time, the world’s best sim racers were competing at the wheel of the virtual BMW M4 GT3, having completed the races during the first half of the season with the BMW M8 GTE. Tuomas Tähtelä and Pekka Tuomainen (both FIN) from the KOVA team claimed victory in the opening race with the BMW M4 GT3 on 1st August at the Imola circuit, booking their ticket for the year’s final at BMW SIM Live 2021. The teams in second to fifth positions qualified for the Season 2 finale, which gives them another chance to secure a spot at the year’s final. They will compete against the teams crossing the line in second to fifth positions in the other three races taking place in the second half of the season. Teams and drivers that have already qualified from Season 1 will not be classified in these standings. Others will move up to take their places. Two further spots have already been claimed. Alejandro Sánchez and Cristian Lamela (both ESP) from the MSI eSports team will both be there after triumphing in the second race in August at the virtual Circuit of the Americas. The third race at the 'Mount Panorama Circuit' in Bathurst was won by Maximilian Benecke (GER) and Enzo Bonito (ITA) from Team Redline. However, as they had already qualified for BMW SIM Live, the tickets went to their team-mates Chris Lulham (GBR) and Patrik Holzmann (GER) in second place. One more regular race is scheduled for 24th October at the Monza circuit. The Season 2 finale at the Hockenheimring will take place on 14th November. There will then be 24 drivers confirmed to race off for the year’s title at BMW SIM Live 2021. Defending champion is Joshua Rogers (AUS) from the Coanda Simsport team. He has already secured his return to the finale by claiming a win in the virtual BMW M8 GTE in the first half of the season.

BMW SIM M2 CS Racing Cup.

Just like the BMW SIM GT Cup, the BMW SIM M2 CS Racing Cup also kicked off the second half of this year’s season in August. The settings for the two races held thus far were the circuits of Monza and Sebring, where Diogo Silva (POR) from the GTC Race Center team and Lorenz Hörzing (AUT) from the Jochen Schweizer Sim Racing Team secured their places at BMW SIM Live 2021. Silva needed no more than a fourth-place finish in the opening race, as the three drivers on the podium had already claimed their tickets for the finale in the first half of the season. The win went to Erhan Jajovski (MKD). The second race at the virtual Sebring International Raceway was won by Michal Smidl (CZE) ahead of Hörzing. As Smidl had already qualified, Hörzing was also able to claim a spot. In September and October, four more races at the circuits of Lime Rock Park, Loch Drummond, Spa-Francorchamps and Indianapolis will provide the opportunity to be part of the year’s finale at BMW SIM Live 2021. Jajovski will be there as he attempts to defend the title he won last year.

BMW SIM Teams at Formula Medicine.

For many years, BMW Motorsport has trusted in the expertise of Formula Medicine to ensure that the BMW works drivers can enjoy optimal physical and mental preparation for their competitive appearances. At the end of July, selected drivers from the BMW SIM Team also had the chance to gain some valuable insights into the training methodology at Formula Medicine during a workshop in Viareggio (ITA), and to get some important ideas for their own training schedule. The multi-day workshop included fitness and mental coaching sessions. These were accompanied by reaction exercises and nutritional advice. Enzo Bonito (ITA) and Kevin Siggy (SLO) were the BMW Team Redline representatives, Arthur Kammerer and Gregor Schill (both GER) took part for BMW Team G2 Esports, Nikodem Wisniewski (POL) and Petar Brljak (CRO) took part for BMW Team GB and Elias Seppänen (FIN) and Attila Dencs (HUN) represented BMW Team BS+COMPETITION.

“The physical training was certainly useful for me as a sim racer, as we are also subjected to relatively significant force feedback effects on the arms, wrist and elbows through the steering wheel. It is important to strengthen these areas and to do something for the knees and stamina in general,” was Kammerer’s summary. “However, the mental coaching was the most valuable aspect for me – and that was the most fun part too. We had these multitasking exercises that showed me how easy it is for unexpected events or distractions to knock me out of my routine. I will now integrate exercises like this into my regular training routine. Good multitasking is helpful even just to discuss strategies during the race or to correctly calculate the amount of fuel without losing concentration, missing the right braking or steering points and therefore posting a poor lap time. Having the mental capacity for both things was an important core topic of the workshop. Overall, a perfect combination for mind and body.”