We take you through the main talking points of the 2023 British F4 Esports Championship ahead of its first round on Wednesday 27th of September.
The British F4 Esports Championship is organised by the official governing body of UK motorsport, Motorsport UK, complementing the real-world ROKIT F4 British Championship certified by FIA series.
The championship features top class virtual racing talent – with additional real-world motorsport input – all racing around the finest tracks in Britain in identical open-wheel cars.
The British F4 Esports Championship uses iRacing, with competitors driving identical FIA F4 single-seaters. iRacing versions of Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Snetterton, Oulton Park, Knockhill and Donington Park will form all eight rounds of the series’ calendar.
World Sim Racing has come onboard for 2023 to act as championship administrator, with Maranello-based simulator producer Wave Italy signing up as an official partner.
Already confirmed to take part in 2023 are the esports branches of the Williams and Aston Martin Formula 1 teams, but the quality has moved up a gear for season two with the likes of Dörr Esports and GUILD Racing – part of the Guild Esports family part-owned by David Beckham – joining the grid.
2022 champion Luke McKeown returns with his Stormforce Racing ART outfit alongside Peter Berryman, with Screen to Speed winner Saoirse Fitzpatrick taking a seat alongside Rachel Konkoly in the Prismatic Motorsports entry .
Real-world F4 British Championship certified by FIA outfit JHR Developments will also be on the grid, running its JHR by 29 Esports squad for former Praga Cup UK champion (alongside YouTuber Jimmy Broadbent) Gordie Mutch and professional esports racer Stanley Deslandes.
Runaway BTCC championship leader Ash Sutton’s Puresims Esports squad is also on the grid, supplying two cars for Harley Haughton and Alexander Davidson, while Williams Esports returns with Moreno Sirica and Josh Lad.
Every British F4 Esports Championship races will be broadcast live on RaceSpot TV’s YouTube channel or on Traxion’s very own channel.
It all starts on 27th September 2023 at 7.15 pm BST / 8.15 pm CEST / 11.15 am PDT / 2.15 pm EDT.
Each round will feature two 20-minute Formula 4 races, plus a supporting 15-minute UK FF1600 Esports Cup race.
Yes, the UK FF1600 Esports Cup acts as a support category to the British F4 Esports Championship and is made up of 26 drivers who all qualified via a time trial at Oulton Park using iRacing’s Ray FF1600 car.
Racers are also required to hold a valid Motorsport UK Esports membership (currently £24.99 per year), complementing the introduction of the organisation’s new Esports Hub.
The UK FF1600 Esports Cup races will form part of the main British F4 Esports broadcast. The entry list is pictured below.
Base Performance Simulators, a simulator manufacturer and driver coaching centre based in Banbury, is set to offer the top three teams in the championship a full day in its bespoke single-seater simulator.
Headed by three-time 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner Darren Turner, Base Performance Simulators will help the three lucky teams develop and improve their driving skills alongside a fully qualified race engineer.
Drivers and teams are also fighting for a share of an £8,500 prize pool, with £3,000 and £1,000 available to the first place team and driver respectively.
The winning team will also receive four hospitality tickets for a ROKiT British F4 2024 round of their choice, with the winning driver enjoying the prestige of winning an officially-recognised British Championship. The winner will also be eligible to attend Motorsport UK’s annual Night of Champions event.
For more information, please visit the official British F4 Esports Championship webpage and the UK FF1600 Cup.
This article originally appeared on traxion.gg.
