Esports has been a relatively new but exciting and important part of the Britcar portfolio, starting with the first Britcar E-Series taking place during the lockdowns of 2020 and developing into the first running of the Motorsport UK ButtKicker Britcar 24hrs in November 2022. Working with the governing body for motorsport in this country and their e-sports department to develop the first community event for Motorsport UK and to bring back the virtual version of the race that isiconic in the history of Britcar and Silverstone. 2023 sees this event return with a host of sponsors on board including the returning ButtKicker who are once again offering prizes for the class winners of ButtKicker Gamer systems and software.
Andrew Luden, Head of Gaming at Guitammer, the manufacturers of the ButtKicker haptic feedback system said. “We’re thrilled to again partner with Britcar, they’re leading the way in sim racing esports and producing events that showcases sim racing as the competitive, highly skilled, and engaging motorsport discipline it is. With the 2023 ButtKicker® Britcar 24 Hours of Silverstone The Guitammer Company’s ButtKicker brand continues to highlight the importance of haptics in sim racing, allowing racers everywhere to Drive Better With ButtKicker.”
The popularity of the Britcar esports endeavours and the virtual running of the iconic Silverstone 24 hours has brought some of Britcars real world sponsors into the virtual realm with official BEC and Britcar tyre supplier Goodyear, BEC and Britcar recommended fuel supplier Sunoco, BEC and Britcar Championships sponsor VBOX and BEC and Britcar Simulator partner Sim Dynamics joining the roster. Sunoco are keen to use the esports market to help spread the message of their sustainable fuels with Sunoco FAS, their 70% sustainable fuel with 65% less green house gas emissions which will be the recommended fuel for all Britcar championships is 2024. VBOX supply datalogging and in car timing systems to competitors in the real world and have adapted their systems to work with the popular simulators on the market so you have access to the same data and information that you would have in the real world, helping racers hone their skills on their home simulator setups between races. Sim Dynamics have been a new sponsor for the British Endurance Championship and Britcar Trophy this year, both running a Clio Cup and TCR Cupra in the Britcar Trophy and British Endurance Championships respectively and having one of their simulator rigs on display and tested by many Britcar racers in the Britcar hospitality tent all year. Sim Dynamics uses over 35 years of professional motorsport experience to build simulator systems for real world racers. With customers ranging from the World Endurance Championship to the Caterham Academy the knowledge, passion and skill of Sim Dynamics to cater a system to the customers needs is well proven. With unrivalled support and customisability of equipment, Sim Dynamics creates long term relationships with their clients to change and adapt their systems as their real-world career develops
The 2023 Buttkicker Britcar 24 hours of Silverstone in association with Motorsport UK is being run on the iRacing platform on the weekend of the 2nd – 3rd December with 3 classes mirroring the 2023 British Endurance Championship. Class 1 is for the all powerful GT3 machines with Class 2 for GT4, arguably the most competitive class in the 2023 British Endurance Championship and Class 3 is for TCR cars. The race kicks off at 12pm and you can tune in on Racespot.tv for live coverage of the whole event or check out their YouTube channel for a post event full race replay of this and last years races.