On 12th January, around 800 drivers competed in the initial BMW SIM 120 Cup event on the iRacing sim racing platform. At the virtual ‘Daytona International Speedway’, Maximilian Wenig and Maximilian Benecke from Team Redline GT claimed victory in the BMW M8 GTE – each securing prize money of 1,200 US dollars and a ticket for BMW SIM Live 2020.
A further five BMW SIM 120 Cup events will be held over the course of the season. The calendar next takes sim racers to Sebring, the Nürburgring, Spa-Francorchamps, Road Atlanta and Interlagos. In each two-hour race, two drivers will share driving duties at the wheel of the BMW M8 GTE. Prize money is not restricted to the winners, as the second and third-placed drivers can also each look forward to receiving 600 and 300 US dollars respectively. BMW works drivers will also appear regularly in the BMW SIM 120 Cup. Nick Catsburg and Philipp Eng claimed 13th place as BMW Team CATENG at the first race of the season in early January.
In addition to the BMW SIM 120 Cup events, iRacing also offers users the new BMW 12.0 Series. The BMW M8 GTE is the car of choice for these 12-minute sprint races, which take place on different tracks every week. The championship debuted at the start of December 2019 and is very popular among the users. The BMW M8 GTE is also a firm favourite at the big iRacing special events, where participants can choose their own cars and compete in endurance races. At the virtual 24 Hours of Daytona, 374 teams were competing in BMWs, completing more than 235,000 laps as the race progressed.