With such a long winter ahead of us, what’s a Canadian racer to do? Simple! Put down the helmet, pick up the video game controller and try Formula 1200 sim racing!
The four-round Canadian F1200 eSports Championship has just been launched with the goal of helping one competitor to make the leap from virtual racing to real life racing. The series races virtual Formula Vee cars (that’s what the rest of the world calls a Formula 1200 car) at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (formerly Mosport). The sim races are run on the iRacing platform in partnership with Podium eSports and are broadcast live on YouTube.
The series’ grand prize is a test day in a real F1200 race car at Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga.
The first race took place on January 19th 2024 and it was incredible! Sixteen drivers of varying experience levels signed up to compete, and there was hard-charging action from the front to the back of the field. Online racers starting up front included pole-sitter Aloo Gobi, lone American driver Samuel Beelow, and speedy Brandon Hawkin. Strategic passes made for an exciting virtual race up front, while some wild action happened further back. Thank goodness these are virtual cars!
The next round of the Canadian F1200 eSports Championship is tomorrow Friday February 9th 2024 so there’s plenty of time to sign up if you’re looking for some fun and competition. It’s cost-effective at only $50 for the season, and remember that incredible grand prize to the overall winner.
To sign up for virtual F1200 racing visit: PODIUMESPORTS.COM!
Check out this 1 minute teaser video featuring footage of our very own Daniel Demaras in his championship winning No. 12 MagiSeal Formula 1200 race car (quite an honour).
And if you’d just like to take a peek at what the racing action looks like, you can always visit the YouTube channel to see what all the fuss is about!
My brother-in-law and nephew are avid racing fans. I think Formula 1? They have an entire game setup with steering wheels and everything. Not a gamer myself but I think it might be fun to do a simulated race!
When my son was little, we got him an X-Box and a steering wheel controller for Christmas one year. But trying to balance the wheel on his knees was not fun.
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So my dad went to a junkyard and got the seat out of an old Acura, bolted it to a piece of plywood he’d painted black (to look cool).
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That thing has been taking up space for years now, but made the whole racing simulation more immersive.
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But as a ‘grown-up’ myself, I could never get into this stuff. The whole ‘no fear of death’ thing makes me drive like a maniac.
What a great story. Reminds me of something my own dad would have done. Once he built us a huge marionette stage complete with stage lights and curtains. I only wish it was still taking up space but it’s long gone.
I love that your dad painted the plywood black. That’s what reminded me of the puppet stage because it was also plywood painted black.
I didn’t want to show off my dad’s handiwork … but since you mentioned you dad … the paint was just step 1.
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He went to an industrial supply store and bought a sheet of aluminum diamond-plate. The kind of stuff they put on the steps of big-rig trucks. Dad made a ‘floor’ and bolted it to the plywood. This would keep the kid’s shoes from scratching up the paint, and it looked cool.
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But you dad went a step further didn’t he? Full lighting system? I’m going to tell my dad that he’s going to have to step up him game.
Your dad is a boss! Adding the diamond-plate is perfect. I’ll have to go back to that photo and see if I can espy the cool footrest: