Sportsmanship: Running The Perfect Sim Racing Event

One of the fundamental aspects of motorsport will always be sportsmanship. To take to a race track with a powerful vehicle and run side by side with another competitor inches away requires talent, guts, bravery but most importantly, sportsmanship. Neither driver wants to crash, no matter how competitive they may be and with potential for injury if incident occurs both drivers must put some trust and faith in their opposition.

Unlike other eSports, Sim Racing is unique where a human element is a necessity to adjudicate the on-track action. Titles like DOTA or Rocket League has defined environmental rules which outline the boundaries of the game. Whilst simulator software has rules set in place regarding track limits, or other technical rules, a computer will always be unable to determine fault during a virtual racing incident. In football, a referee can make a call if the ball was out of play, or a foul has been committed, but how do we approach this in a virtual environment where the risk of injury or repair bills are removed but fair play needs to be upheld?

Just like real life, our Race Control team can view any incident from any number of camera angles. We can see the telemetry traces from each car, monitoring steering, throttle and brake inputs. Armed with this knowledge, we can have an in -depth analysis of the incident and deem if the contact was unintentional, whether competitors deviated from their path or committed an offence. This can then be addressed and penalties can be applied if required.

This is crucial as without a strict set of rules, the on-track action will quickly turn into chaos. We’ve seen this in real life racing, the series which do not to punish unsportsmanlike behaviour or unnecessary contact suffer from a lack of respect which quickly spreads across the field.

We have an incredibly experienced team at Virtually Entertained, who have many years organising, running and stewarding events in both the virtual arena and in motorsport. No matter if they win, or come last – each one of our competitors appreciates taking part in a clean and fair racing environment. No-one wants to see their race ended at turn 1 by contact or being forced off the road unfairly. Enforcing respect and a sense of fair play amongst our competitors guarantees that every driver has leaves with a positive feeling, knowing when they return they know exactly what to expect and fair play is important.