PressClub Global · Article.
Virtual Le Mans dress rehearsal: the BMW M8 GTE is in action at the first ‘BMW 120 at Le Mans’ on iRacing.
Thu May 23 12:02:47 CEST 2019 Press Release
There are still a few weeks to go before the grand finale of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) ‘Super Season’ – the 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA) – but fans can get a taste of what’s to come in advance of the iconic La Sarthe race. On Sunday at 15:00hrs (CEST), the first ‘BMW 120 at Le Mans’ on iRacing gets underway.
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Munich. There are still a few weeks to go before the grand
finale of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) ‘Super Season’
– the 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA) –
but fans can get a taste of what’s to come in advance of the
iconic La Sarthe race
. On Sunday at 15:00hrs (CEST), the first ‘BMW 120 at Le Mans’
on iRacing gets underway. In this two-hour endurance race, sim
racers from around the world will compete exclusively in virtual BMW
M8 GTE racing cars. Then BMW Team MTEK will battle for a top result
in the LM GTE Pro class in the real version of the car on
15th/16th June 2019.
Since February the BMW M8 GTE has been available on
iRacing to the more than 85,000 members of the realistic simulation
racing platform – and has been a firm favourite of the community ever
since. The enthusiastic sim racers who regularly take to the track in
the cockpit of BMW Motorsport’s GT flagship car include BMW works
drivers Philipp Eng (AUT) and Nick Catsburg (NED), both of them also
being in the driver line-up for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Eng said: “I
love simulation racing and spend all my free time doing it. I have the
utmost respect for sim racers. You experience so many different
situations in the races that you can definitely learn a lot as a real
racing driver. It will be the perfect warm-up for Le Mans.”
Catsburg, who alongside Eng, will compete in the BMW M8 GTE
community race just for fun said: “It’s great that iRacing enables
thousands of people to enjoy the BMW M8 GTE. Sim racing is definitely
one of my great passions which is why I am highly motivated for this
coming Sunday. Philipp and I will give it our all.”
The winners of the ‘Top Split’ – the top racing category on
iRacing – will win a special prize: two BMW M Motorsport VIP tickets
for the 24-hour race at Le Mans, including access to the hospitality
zone, a ‘Welcome Package’ and a tour of the garage. The winners of a
‘Random Split’ selected at random will win one of two ClubSport BMW
GT2 steering wheels made by Fanatec. The company focuses on the sim
racing market and offers a wide range of steering wheels, high-quality
pedals, transmissions, cockpits and much more. In the BMW M Motorsport
VIP hospitality zone at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, two Fanatec
simulators will be on hand to give guests at the track the opportunity
to clock up race kilometres at the “Circuit de la Sarthe”.
iRacing is one of the most authentic racing simulations in the
world. The company was founded by Dave Kaemmer and John Henry (both
USA) in 2004. The ‘BMW 120 at Le Mans’ will be streamed live here: www.twitch.tv/iRacing