Sim racing has been one of the most dynamic experiences in all my years of gaming. There’s nothing I like better than preparing for events and engaging in competitive sim racing to test my abilities. I was fortunate that I found a wonderful international sim racing organization when I became confident in my virtual driving abilities to enter events.
However, I quickly realized that there weren’t enough guides for new players who wanted to take my path and decided to change that. Therefore, this blog will give you an essential guide to sim racing organizations, explore the best ones and their features, and give a few tips on which to select based on your player preferences.
What is a Sim Racing Organization?
Firstly, it is essential to know what I mean when I say sim racing organization. A sim racing organization provides a platform for sim racers to organize, host, and run events. Such organizations can exist locally or internationally, but an international sim racing organization is the ideal institution to work with as a beginner.
What Does an International Sim Racing Organization Offer?
We mentioned what a sim racing organization is, but their services extend well beyond the core function. Several international sim racing organizations differentiate themselves based on the quality of their events and the degree of control they offer to their organizers or hosts.
Following are some essential services they offer:
A platform for Racers and Organizers
An international sim racing organization is a platform for sim racers and organizers. Think of it as a marketplace, except the products are the events that organizers are hosting for players—the more popular the events, the better the platform’s reputation in the gaming community.
A few organizers, like iRacing, are popular enough to have created their platform for hosting events. Depending on their structure and agreements, the other platforms sometimes can collaborate with such organizers by providing players an avenue for participation.
However, most platforms host unique events for players because popularity is their primary source of competition.
Skill-Based Event Suggestions
This feature is one of the best for new players because it helps them find suitable events based on their skill level. Don’t get me wrong; your skill will improve when you game independently or with friends. However, competitive gaming is another field altogether.
Most participants are incredibly skilled, and some even have real-life racing experience helping them ace their performance during virtual racing events. Therefore, you need to take things one step at a time and develop your racing expertise before you compete in top-tier events.
Sim racing platforms are run by people who know and understand this fact; hence, some include this feature for player benefit.
Simplified Participation
The best part about sim racing platforms is that they have simplified event participation. Although the participation rules are technically up to the organizer, the platform also plays a critical role in redirecting players to suitable options.
The best platforms minimize the complexity and allow sim racers to sign up for events they are interested in more efficiently.
Quality of Gaming Community
Few platforms can control the quality of their gaming community, especially if most of the featured events don’t have strict rules about behavior. However, this factor becomes critical to their success, and more platforms are making efforts to prevent players from using abusive language or creating a toxic gamic environment.
iRacing is the pioneer in establishing effective rules by charging a membership fee and upholding their gaming rules for all players. So, you have them to thank for regulations that prevent a higher-level skilled player from using unnecessary aggression to intimidate lower-level players.
Prizes
The prizes organizers offer to players make a significant difference in player interest. Although this feature is also in the organizer’s control, more international sim racing organizations are now negotiating with organizers to ensure some of their events offer prizes that attract more traffic.
So, it is always best to review the prize range for events that suit your skill level before choosing to participate.
Best International Sim Racing Organizations
There are several sim racing organizations to choose from when looking for gaming events, but all have unique areas of specialties. Let’s explore the details to determine which are best suited for you.
iRacing
iRacing is my favorite of all sim racing platforms, although it only offers the events it organizes itself. I prefer iRacing because they have created one of the best online gaming communities and managed some of the most popular sim racing events. However, that’s only one reason for its popularity.
Behavior Management Strategies
Creating a positive gaming community was no easy task. The platform relied on two primary strategies to ensure it achieved this goal:
- It charges a membership fee for players who want to access its events
- Its team has created strict gaming and communication rules to flag abusive language or gaming behavior. Players get warnings if they break the rules and get blocked if they refuse to be better.
The first strategy is not very popular in the gaming community since players can’t always afford to spend $30-$50/month on membership and another $15-$25 on their preferred cars. However, the screening has also helped deter poor behavior from members because they want to protect their investment.
Gaming Events
iRacing hosts some of the best sim racing events, including F1 Championships, eNASCAR International iRacing Series, Porsche Tag Heuer Supercup, etc. These events have some of the highest application rates and feature some of the best sim racing players.
They also offer attractive cash prizes for winners and give extensive exposure to top players, opening up several sponsorship opportunities based on their performance.
World Sim Series
Unlike iRacing, the World Sim Racing Series is a general platform that invites multiple organizers to create, host, and manage their sim racing events. This platform is also top-rated, with 35,000+ active sim racers participating in available events.
I have never been an organizer, so my analysis of their best features comes from the perspective of a sim racer.
One-Click Participation
World Sim Series Features one-click participation, making it easier for players to find their preferred events and participate. There is no fee involved, so you don’t have to worry about payments. However, you may need to buy your car or features depending on which software the organizer uses as the base.
Attractive Prizes for Winners and Participants
I was amazed as a first-time player to discover that this platform offers winning and participation prizes. So, I got some great merchandise simply by participating in events and seeing them through to the end.
The winning prizes aren’t close to the top, but they are attractive, so don’t take them lightly.
SimRacing.GP
SimRacing.GP is an impressive platform with hundreds of communities, attractive competitions, and incredible tracking features. This platform wins on multiple fronts.
- It is powered by Amazon Web Services, allowing it access to worldwide servers. Therefore, players can participate irrespective of where they are living.
- Its discord integration allows players to communicate freely without switching away from the game onto a social media platform.
- The stats tracking feature keeps an accurate record of progress, allowing players to analyze their performance critically.
- Has a flexible pricing system. Players can start participating for free and join their preferred communities. Once they decide to upgrade to a paid version, part of their payment supports their communities, creating a cycle of improvement.
Of course, these features are an add-on for the fantastic range of events sim racers can access, making it a great platform.
Wrapping Up
I hope you enjoyed reading this blog and know which international sim racing organization will suit you best. You can also check out our other blogs for more information about sim racing.
