Racing Spirit Sim Championship

A Competitive Sim Racing Championship Aligned With Real Motorsport

The Racing Spirit Sim Championship is a selection-based sim racing championship run on Assetto Corsa, designed to bring together talented sim racers and real-world drivers in a structured and competitive online racing environment aligned with real motorsport standards.

The championship provides a platform where drivers can compete at a high level while experiencing the professionalism, discipline, and racecraft expected in real-world racing. It is open to drivers of all experience levels who want to take part in a serious, broadcast-level online championship.

Drivers compete from their own personal sim racing setups and equipment, connecting online to a professionally managed championship environment.

While the championship itself is first and foremost a competitive league, it also serves as a driver identification platform for the Racing Spirit team. Throughout the season we evaluate drivers not only on outright pace, but on the qualities that make a complete racing driver — including racecraft, consistency, professionalism, composure and coachability.

Drivers who demonstrate the right attributes may be considered for future development opportunities and potential real-world motorsport experiences with Racing Spirit.

Championship Format

The Racing Spirit Sim Championship is contested across 8 rounds, held on Wednesday evenings at 20:00 (SAST).

Drivers compete in identical machinery to ensure close, competitive racing and to place the focus firmly on driver skill.

Platform: PC Assetto Corsa (Content Manager)
Car: Mazda MX-5 Cup – Fixed Setup
Grid: 35 selected drivers + 5 wildcard entries (maximum 40 drivers)

Each race night follows a structured format:

• 20-minute Practice
• 10-minute Qualifying
• Race 1 – 25 minutes
• Race 2 – 25 minutes (Top 15 reverse grid from Race 1)

Points are awarded in both races at each round, rewarding commitment, consistency and racecraft across the entire season.

All championship rounds are broadcast live on YouTube with race commentary, allowing fans and followers to watch the racing unfold live.

Circuits

The championship will feature a selection of South African racing circuits, including:

• Killarney International Raceway
• Aldo Scribante Circuit (TBC)
• Zwartkops Raceway
• Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit

The full championship calendar will be confirmed ahead of the season, with Round 1 taking place at Killarney International Raceway.

Why the Mazda MX-5 Cup?

The championship uses the Mazda MX-5 Cup as its spec vehicle for a very specific reason: it rewards driver skill above everything else.

The MX-5 Cup is widely respected in both real-world and sim racing for producing extremely close, competitive racing. With modest power and minimal aerodynamic influence, the car places a strong emphasis on the fundamentals of driving such as braking technique, momentum management, precision and racecraft.

Because every driver uses the same fixed setup, the focus shifts entirely onto the driver rather than setup advantages or engineering knowledge. This ensures a level playing field where performance differences are determined by driving ability and decision-making on track.

The MX-5 platform mirrors the philosophy of many real-world development categories, where drivers must learn to extract maximum performance from balanced, momentum-based cars.

How the Selection Process Works

Entry to the Racing Spirit Sim Championship is by application only.

Drivers submit their application through the official online form, where we collect information about their sim racing background, motorsport experience and motivation for joining the championship.

Applications are reviewed by the Racing Spirit team to identify drivers who best fit the competitive and professional environment we are building.

Driver selection is based on a combination of factors including:

• Driving ability and performance potential
• Commitment to participating in the full championship
• Professionalism and attitude
• Racecraft and consistency
• Suitability for the Racing Spirit environment

The championship grid consists of 35 selected drivers, with 5 wildcard positions available to bring the maximum grid to 40 drivers.

Because the championship prioritises the complete driver profile, selection is not based purely on outright lap time. The organisers reserve the right to select drivers who demonstrate the qualities that best align with the objectives of the championship.

Applications remain open throughout the season, allowing the organisers to maintain a reserve pool should additional positions become available.

Racing Spirit also reserves the right to remove previously selected drivers from the championship if they fail to demonstrate the standards of professionalism, conduct, commitment or sportsmanship expected within the series. Continued participation is based on alignment with the values of the championship and not solely on on-track performance or results.

Communication

The Racing Spirit Discord server is the official communication platform for the championship.

All important information — including announcements, race briefings, server details and driver communication — will be managed through Discord.

All drivers must join and remain active on the server throughout the championship.

The Racing Spirit Philosophy

At Racing Spirit, we believe that great drivers are defined by far more than outright speed.

Motorsport demands discipline, consistency, professionalism and the ability to work within a team environment. The Racing Spirit Sim Championship is built around these same principles.

Our goal is to create a competitive platform where drivers can push themselves, develop their racecraft and experience the standards expected in professional motorsport.

For some drivers, this championship will simply be an opportunity to compete in one of South Africa’s most organised sim racing environments. For others, it may become the first step toward future development opportunities within the Racing Spirit team.

In either case, the philosophy remains the same:

Compete hard. Drive clean. Represent yourself professionally.

The Racing Spirit Driver Pathway

The Racing Spirit Sim Championship is more than just an online racing league — it is also a platform used by the Racing Spirit team to observe and identify promising drivers.

Throughout the championship, our team will be monitoring drivers not only for their pace, but for the qualities that define strong racing drivers: racecraft, consistency, composure under pressure, professionalism and coachability.

Drivers who demonstrate the right combination of ability, attitude and commitment may be considered for further engagement with the Racing Spirit team.

This could include:

• Driver evaluation and coaching
• Test opportunities in karting or circuit racing
• Integration into Racing Spirit driver development programmes

These opportunities are not guaranteed and are offered strictly at the discretion of the Racing Spirit team.

However, the championship provides a unique opportunity for talented drivers to place themselves in an environment where their abilities can be recognised and evaluated by professionals involved in real-world motorsport.

For drivers with the ambition to progress beyond sim racing, the Racing Spirit Sim Championship provides a platform to showcase not just speed — but the complete driver package.