The fourth season of Porsche Club sim racing begins tonight with drivers heading to Hockenheimring behind the wheel of the new 992 GT3 Cup Car on iRacing from 7.45pm. As well as a new car, competitors will be getting to grips with a new ‘heat’ format and structure for the season.
Speaking to PorscheSport, Season Three Pro Champion Jacob Tofts said: “I’m really excited for the new season and the competition ahead. I think the new format is very interesting and certainly should improve the show compared to last season. My aim is to retain the championship, but also have a lot of fun and find ways to improve over the season. I’m sure it won’t be an easy task, the championship continues to grow and the skill level is higher than ever, with over 50 drivers competing this season.”
The PCGB Sim Racing Championship boasts its biggest grid to date, with over 55 club members set to participate throughout the season. Given the ever-growing grid, there will be a further opportunity to progress into the Feature Race during each round. A consolation heat will take place for those who didn’t qualify during the first two heat rounds. A combined 35 drivers will participate in the final feature race, the top 10 taken from the two heat races and 15 drivers from the consolation race.
Introduced during the third season, the Pro and AM categories will remain for the fourth season but will all compete on circuit during the heat format and also in a closed qualifying session which will determine their position for the heat races. The 20 minute heat racing will surely provide action and drama as only the top ten of the two races and top 15 from the 10 minute consolation will move forward to the 25 minute feature race. Whilst the the Pro and Am categories will have separate championship standings, an overall points structure will oversee the whole field this year. There will be points on offer in all four races, with the larger points available in the Feature Race.
Speaking ahead of the new season, Gavin Halls, Series Organiser said: “We are incredibly excited to get season 4 underway, we have a new car, new race format, and a good influx of new drivers, and some very challenging tracks, so this season has the potential to provide some great racing. With the introduction of the 992 there is a lot of movement between drivers in terms of pace, some haven't quite got to grips with it yet, whilst others who maybe struggled with the previous 991 seem to have gelled and pushed themselves up the grid, we will certainly be seeing some new faces at the front fighting for wins in the Pro class, also the competition in the Am class is looking incredibly tight, I think it will be impossible to predict who will be the contenders until we get a few rounds in to the series.”
Both championships will offer a prize pot of two tickets to a round of the
Club Race Championship in 2022 with PCGB hospitality and also an invite to a trackday where the sim drivers will have the opportunity to test the PCGB 987 Cayman prepared by Parr Motorsport, either as a passenger or driver with an instructor. There will be additional prizes for the safest Pro and AM Driver of the season, each receiving £200 towards an order from Mydas Simulation, courtesy of Crockery Direct.
The championship gets under way at Hokenheimring tonight and concludes at Monza in January 2022, with a full season of racing taking place across 7 rounds of heat racing – plus an all new 120 minute endurance special on 22 December, featuring two drivers teams, each team selected from the highest and lowest scoring drivers on the championship standings after round 5.
13 October - Hokenheimring
27 October - Redbull Ring
10 November - Donington Park (International)
24 November - Imola
8 December - Watkins Glen
22 December - Sebring (120 minute Endurance race)
5 January Road - Atlanta
19 January - Monza
You can watch all the action live on
SimRacersWorld TV
Race preview by
PorscheSport
Images by
Gilles Gardner