Once I began dabbling in sim racing, I had no thought how deep the rabbit gap would go. It started innocently sufficient: a curiosity for digital racing, a rising appreciation for the rising world of esports, and—like lots of you studying this—the temptation to construct my very own sim rig. Fanatec gear rapidly entered the image, and earlier than lengthy, I discovered myself absolutely immersed on this digital motorsport universe. However to actually perceive what makes this world tick—and the way it connects to BMW M Motorsport—I made a decision to do one thing completely different. I packed a bag, picked up the brand new BMW M5 (G90), and pointed its nostril towards the Austrian Alps.
This was no extraordinary street journey. BMW M Motorsport had invited a choose group of world-renowned sim racers and particular company on a three-day bootcamp within the mountains of Ebbs, Austria. The aim? To arrange bodily, mentally, and emotionally for the upcoming 2025 Esports World Cup in Riyadh. However past that, it was a approach to unplug from screens, reconnect with nature—and one another—and convey real-world group spirit to the digital paddock.
The Drive to Disconnect
The journey started in Munich, naturally. I used to be handed the keys to a brand-new G90 BMW M5—a 717-horsepower hybrid brute cloaked in Frozen Deep Gray, good for carving by Alpine passes. The drive was a soul-stirring warm-up act, climbing towards the Tyrolean border the place screens fade and the air feels completely different. As soon as in Ebbs, the digital world stopped. From there, every little thing continued on foot: a one-hour hike into the mountains led us to our headquarters—Berg’ok‘hof Kaisertal—a distant alpine lodge and our base for the following three days.
It didn’t take lengthy for issues to get critical. After settling in, the group was welcomed with a keynote on psychological energy, adopted by mobility and stretching classes to organize for the journey forward. The message was clear: this wasn’t going to be a wellness retreat. It was going to problem you—and make you higher for it.
Teamwork at 1,600 Meters
The next day began with a 6-kilometer hike to the Ritzau Alm, however that was simply the prelude. Ready for us was the Naunspitze Ridge—a jagged climb reaching 1,600 meters. Climbing gear was handed out. Security directions got. After which, the true work started. For many of us, together with the skilled drivers, this was unfamiliar terrain—bodily and mentally. However that was the purpose. Because the climb progressed, one thing clicked. Drivers started serving to one another assess routes, providing a hand, or simply phrases of encouragement. They weren’t opponents anymore. They have been teammates.
The climb was guided by Jürgen Eberhart, a WINWARD RACING group supervisor and mountain professional, together with Matthias Haunholder, an expert Austrian freeskier and excessive sports activities filmmaker. And whereas I’ve skilled some fascinating experiences in my life, together with a North Pole journey, this was genuinely probably the most demanding challenges I’ve ever confronted. The summit, although, was unforgettable. Planting a BMW M Motorsport flag on the peak felt symbolic—for the game, for the group, and perhaps for this entire new journey I used to be on.
Shelter Constructing and Sim Legends
However the mountain wasn’t the one take a look at. Later that day, the group hiked again right down to take part in a shelter-building workshop deep within the woods—one other lesson in belief, teamwork, and improvisation. Regardless of the sore legs and drained minds, the group spirit was current and collaborations began to kind. It was additionally the right setting to bond with the drivers—lots of whom are among the many finest sim racers on this planet. This 12 months, BMW is supporting three standout groups within the R1 sim racing collection:
- Crew Redline, owned by Max Verstappen, who gained the 2024 R1 Crew Championship with consistency, tempo, and sheer dominance.
- BS+COMPETITION, the daring, inventive esports arm based mostly in Munich, identified for its revolutionary spirit and shut ties to BMW Motorsport. The group additionally races within the eNascar iRacing Collection.
- MOUZ, certainly one of Germany’s most iconic esports manufacturers, now bringing recent momentum to the R1 grid.
And whereas BMW isn’t fielding a manufacturing facility group within the Esports World Cup, their assist by activations like this bootcamp exhibits a deepening funding within the scene.
From Brazil to Bavaria
One of the crucial fascinating points of the week was studying how these drivers acquired right here. Every story was completely different, however equally compelling. In reality, throughout the COVID period, many of those sim execs routinely outran System 1 drivers in digital races.
Max Benecke, of Crew MOUZ, began sim racing in 2015 and have become the primary to interrupt 11,000 iRating on iRacing. He as soon as dreamt of DTM however now channels his expertise into esports—and BMW acknowledges his abilities. He even works with BMW’s engineering group to check simulators and supply setup suggestions.
Ferris Stanley, now with BS+, got here from humble beginnings in Indonesia. With a Logitech wheel and desires greater than his gear, he climbed his manner into the highest tier of sim racing—ultimately touchdown a spot on the group in Munich.
Caique Oliveira, one other BS+ driver from Brazil, has no aspirations for real-world racing. For him, esports is the vacation spot, not the stepping stone. And judging by his ability and self-discipline, that vacation spot seems shiny.
Then there’s Moritz Löhner, who began sim racing at seven. His sim profession led to real-world drives within the DTM Trophy and LMP3. From Spa-Francorchamps podiums to a current return to sim racing with MOUZ, Löhner proves that the Gran Turismo film isn’t a fluke. He has hopes to proceed racing in each the digital and actual world.
Trying Forward: From the Alps to Riyadh
Whereas my journey with the group ended after a couple of days—off to cowl the 24 Hours of Le Mans—the groups have been simply getting began. The Esports World Cup 2025 in Riyadh is about to be the most important occasion of its type. Working from July 7 to August 24, it should function:
- 2,000 elite gamers
- 200 Golf equipment
- Over 100 international locations
- 25 tournaments throughout 24 video games
- A staggering $70 million prize pool
Automotive esports titles like Rennsport are on the coronary heart of this progress, and the R1 collection is racing with the BMW M4 GT3 on iconic tracks just like the Nürburgring and Daytona. The full prize pool for the sim racing portion alone? $500,000.
In response to Timo Brückner of BMW M Motorsport, the model sees this area as an extension of real-world racing. “We wish to assist the groups who race our automobiles and provide them among the BMW Motorsport experience,” he stated. “It’s a bridge between sim racing and motorsport—and perhaps sooner or later, certainly one of these drivers will race for BMW in the true world.”
What I realized within the Alps is that sim racing is not confined to the display. It’s a worldwide, bodily, emotional, and deeply related expertise. It’s the place engineering meets digital, the place expertise meets tenacity, and the place the boundaries between actual and digital motorsport are blurring.
For BMW, it’s not only a branding train, it’s additionally a approach to share their motorsport experience. And for me, it was a humbling, inspiring, and infrequently exhausting glimpse right into a world I’m solely simply starting to grasp.
