Let’s face it – while the entire world seems to be out, enjoying warm rays of August sun while being spread out on a blanket, we sim racers prefer to spend the hottest time of the year sweating it out in our rigs. Rightfully so.
Those, however, who do spend this summer month on distant shores, will miss out on a lot of action. Let’s take a look at SimGrid’s events for August 2021.
SimGrid x VCO World Cup Round 4 – Coach Dave Academy 12h of Kyalami
Round 4 of the Sim Grid X VCO World Cup heads to South Africa for the Coach Dave Academy 12h of Kyalami across the 19th, 21th and into the early hours of the 22nd of August.
Last round, the series’ Balance of Performance system brought a sudden halt to the smashing dominance of the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, as seen during the Thrustmaster 24h of Spa Francorchamps. With only three Aston Martin teams finishing within the Top 15 in the subsequent 12h of Donington, the remaining 13 will be able to roam freely through the field without any Success Ballast. Will we see the Return of the Vantages, above all with championship leader Simware.pro? Or will the Bentley of the current P2 in the championship, DV1 Triton Racing, show another stunning performance and close that tiny six-point gap to that agonizingly close premier place in the standings?
Qualifying will start on the 19th with practice for both splits at 19:45 CEST. After the Drivers Briefing at 20:00, split 2 will roll out for their qualifying at 20:10 and the top split will follow soon after at 20:30. The qualifying night will end with the Top 10 Superpole for split 2 at 21:00 and for split 1 at 21:30.
On race day, split 2 will start their final practice at 12:00 CEST and will soon see the green light at 12.30, just after the Drivers Briefing at 12:10. Split one will have their final practice at 12:30, Drivers Briefing at 12:40 and then it is time for the Coach Dave Academy 12h of Kyalami to begin at 13:00.
Don’t miss out on the action on The Sim Grid YouTube Channel.
Sprint Cup S4 Rounds 3 and 4
This month will see rounds 3 and 4 of Sim Grid’s Sprint Cup S4. The 36 teams’ concentrations levels will find their ultimate test on the 5th of August when they will be racing it out on the narrow and treacherous turns of Mount Panorama. Due to the Sim Grid x VCO World Cup, the series will have a three-week break before it moves on to the Eifel region in Germany on the 26th of August. Here, drivers may be relieved to find more space on the iconic Nurburgring; but rest assured, there will be even less room for error.
So far, the series has not come to a rest as chaotic carnage in round one and a soaked qualifying in Kyalami have been keeping drivers on their toes. With many variables thrown at the teams in these two opening rounds, there is, however, one common denominator that manifested so far: The field is close. Very close.
With drivers qualifying only hundredths or even thousandths of a second from each other, they are battling it out on track in spectacular fashion. In this thunderstorm of a season-opening, the UKOG47 team has emerged on top of the standings, followed closely by Carbon Simsport and four other teams within a tiny 6-point gap.
Still, everything is possible for the championship. However, there will be no doubt that the first teams will finally announce their aspirations for the title in style. Do not miss out when practice, as always, starts at 20:00 CEST before the drivers briefing, qualifying, and the race at 21:00. Both of these races will be broadcasted on The Sim Grid Youtube Channel.
SOP Motorsports GT Challenge World Endurance Series
SOP Motorsport will launch its very first endurance series, and they sure got their numbers right: Over the course of 3 months, 49 teams with a total number of 126 drivers, covering 48 nationalities, will compete against each other in this 5-round championship.
The series will kick off in Suzuka on the 1st of August and will head to the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit three weeks later on the 22nd of August.
Rapid Drivers Club – ACC Community Super League
Rapid Drivers Club invited seven sim racing communities to challenge each other in this 7-round GT3 series. Each community will be represented by four drivers per race, who will all be driving the McLaren 720s. Each and every racer on track will score championship points which will all be added up at the end of the season to see which community has the best drivers.
Round 2 will start on August 7th in Suzuka.
Pro League Racing – Beginner’s Cup Season 1
Eventually, every new sim racer finds her – or himself – in hair-raising situations, where the epic battle with the driver in front of you and the even more severe fight to keep your car on track, is topped with unnaturally fast alien drivers suddenly appearing in your rearview mirror, flashing their lights at you.
If this scenario is causing you cold sweat, then the guys from Pro League Racing have something for you. Their first league at SimGrid, the Beginner’s Cup – Season 1, is open to AM drivers only, promising a six-round championship with drivers at a similar pace and no need to be worried to get lapped by aliens. Drivers will also get support from Pro and Silver drivers to help them with their race craft.
If you are new to sim racing or easily get nervous in traffic, make sure to check out this rare opportunity. The season kicks off on the 15th of August with two 20-minute races and a 10-minute qualification session for each. Round two will be two weeks later on the 29th of August.
On The Limit Community Racing – Someone Call 911 – Porsche Cup Big Spa Grid
While the tongue-in-cheek title may suggest otherwise, the guys from On the Limit Community Racing, aka OTL, really mean business: A 90-minute race on the legendary Spa-Francorchamps with a grid consisting of 80 (yes, eighty!) of one of the trickiest cars ACC has in its garage: The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
If you think this race will all be about warming up the tires and surviving lap 1, then watch out for the Porsche’s sensitivity and if drivers will be able to keep their right foot steady throughout the race, as they won’t have Traction Control to rely on.
Brace yourself for this fun but also very challenging 90-minute race on the 17th. Practice starts at 20:00 CEST before the drivers briefing, qualifying, and the race at 21:20.
SPQRacing – Suzuka Multi by Night
On the 19th, the Italian Community SPQRacing will be hosting the Suzuka Multi by Night, one of the few multi-class events this month. It features 25 GT3 and 20 GT4 cars on a very technical track that becomes even trickier by night.
The race will be seen live along with post-race stewarding and will require drivers to pit at least once. With their fresh set of tires, they will be driving off into the Japanese night to finish this 90-minute race in fashion.
The event starts at 21:00 CEST and will be broadcasted on SPQRacing’s twitch channel.
BSKIT Motorsport – Combined Sprint Series Season 2
The guys from BSKIT Motorsport are getting ready for their second season of their Combined Sprint Series. It features team racing with two cars driven by either a Pro or an AM driver. Their points will be combined and at the end of the season we will see which teams have fought their way up to the top of the Pro, Am and Pro-AM standings.
Their test event will launch on the 6th and on two weeks later the season will be ready to go with its first 90-minute sprint race.
August is bursting with great action on track, standing testament to the fact that for us sim racers there is no need for a vacation: Racing each other on track is the vacation. Make sure to stay tuned in to our YouTube channel and our social media accounts to not miss out on any of the heat.
