Communities form The Sim Grid’s core fundamental and are testament to the saying, “The more, the merrier”. One of the most massive communities in sim racing calls The Sim Grid their home, and since its inception, this organisation has gone from strength to strength. We are, of course, talking about one of South America’s biggest sim racing communities, OKBR, arguably the largest eSports competition provider in Latin America.
The Origins of OKBR
Touted as THE hub of esports and sim racing in South America, OKBR serves as the racing centre for sim racers looking to compete in the Latin American scene and outside. The organisation holds multiple events and leagues on various platforms and titles to provide a complete sim racing experience for their community members and beyond. Founded in 1998, OKBR started as a group of friends who met after classes to play racing games on Playstation 1 and Nintendo 64. They put video games in the yard and played all day, bringing people from school and the neighbourhood to participate.
OKBR are the Sim Grid’s technical partners, and OKBR Manager Hugo Santos had nothing but praise for the collaboration at the time of the partnership’s announcement. “In the last few years, we have been working hard to provide better experiences for all drivers, helping them to grow and develop in sim racing and also helping us to develop new event ideas, races, and solutions that help them in their day-to-day races. With OKBR and SimGrid together, all South American players will have the opportunity to race in lobbies where the races are fair and competitive, something that is missing a lot today, with only a few closed league races. We hope this partnership will last, and we can add even more to the community as a whole.”
The Driving Force Behind the Scenes
The driving force behind OKBR is a dedicated team of 4 motorsport enthusiasts who share a love of racing and sim racing. The heart and soul behind the entire operation is none other than Escofil Sanfre. An OKBR Member and the Founder of the organisation, Escofil is also the rFactor 2 manager of the league. A security guard by occupation, Escofil has spent the last 22 years of his life creating, growing, and perfecting OKBR, with the help of his teammates, to make it what it is today. Escofil also has an impressive resume in sim racing with a total experience of 24 years racing in the virtual world. The army veteran, and a father of two, is a hardcore fan of motorsports, real and virtual, and a walking encyclopedia with knowledge about numerous championships, drivers, tracks, and cars.
Aiding Escofil are three more team members. One of them is Andrew Constantino, the Tech and Operations – Assetto Corsa Competizione manager for OKBR. Daylighting as a systems analyst, Andrew has been a part of OKBR for three years and a sim racing aficionado for 15 years. A motorsports enthusiast and speed lover, Andrew takes to the actual tracks as well as a kart driver. When not on his computer or busy racing, Andrew loves to ride his Kawasaki 750cc during the weekends at full speed through Santa Catarina roads!
Robson Gomes is the Operations and Community Manager – Assetto Corsa Competizione at OKBR. A Digital Printer by profession, he has been heavily involved in OKBR for four years and has been trying his hand at sim racing for the last five years. Robson is a graphic design and advertising fanatic and is super passionate about games in general, having a massive collection through the years and PC hardware. We are envious of his collection, without a doubt.
Finally, Hugo Santos is the Marketing and PR – Assetto Corsa Competizione manager for OKBR. A Product Designer, Hugo is the newest member of the team and has been a part of OKBR for one year. However, his sim-racing experience speaks volumes, with six years of virtual racing under Hugo’s belt. Hugo likes to engage in multiple sports and follows most of them, a true fan of every sport but is a proper motorsports enthusiast at heart. He loves to race karts and also plays rugby on the weekends.
Exploding Onto The Scene
Over the years, OKBR organised races and events on GTR 1 and 2, Race 07, rFactor 1, Forza Motorsport 4 to 6, Gran Turismo 5 and 6, Assetto Corsa, Autonomist 1 and 2, Project Cars 1 and 2. In 2019, the League started taking competitions more seriously, focusing on Assetto Corsa Competizione and rFactor 2, organising championships and events for the hardcore sim racing community.
The OKBR League has managed to bring together racers from all over Brazil and a few racers from other countries in Latin America. The partnership with SimGrid consists of, together, offering a space for all drivers to have the opportunity to race competitively without worrying about championships. OKBR’s core project is to, through weekly races, bring racers from all over Latin America to race in a continental championship, being a possible gateway in the future to be able to unite the best racers with the rest of the other continents with ease.
It is with this philosophy that OKBR has managed to achieve the heights at which it currently stands. With such a dedicated team behind the scenes and an even more dedicated racing scene at the front, it is only a matter of time before we see OKBR not only compete in the big leagues but strike down all competition that comes their way. You can follow OKBR and stay connected at The Sim Grid!
