Gaming fair SimRacing Expo to be run for the 4th time in September 01.02.2017: Virtual motorsport enthusiasts have a reason to celebrate in September: The freebie gaming fair SimRacing Expo takes place from 16

Virtual motorsport enthusiasts have a reason to celebrate in September: The freebie gaming fair SimRacing Expo takes place from 16 - 17 September 2017 at Nürburgring.





The tradeshow for virtual motorsport provides a unique chance for visitors to not only get the latest update on simracing and gaming trends but also test them. Entrance is for free.



Last year the world’s best pilots as well as 15,000 visitors made their way to the event at Nürburgring. For this year the promoters promised even more quality as they planned some more new features.



 Marc Hennerici from ADAC Mittelrhein e.V., who organizes and manages the SimRacing Expo, explains them in the interview:




As the SimRacing EXPO is being held for the 4th time this year, the tradeshow is already quite well established in this rather young environment of virtual motorsport. What motivated you back then to set up an event like this?



Hennerici: We‘re currently experiencing a real boom of e-sport worldwide. Virtual motorsport is actually the only sport that is a little lagging behind.



Although the communities are very active and highly committed since the early 2000s, the capacities and resources in the background were lacking in order to set up an appealing event.



Then, since we are the promoter of the Blancpain GT Series at Nürburgring, we had the idea of utilizing the Nürburgring Boulevard and give Simracing a good start in a historic motorsport environment.






Ever since then the visitor numbers of SimRacing Expo have been increasing. Can this also be taken as a sign for an ever increasing quality of the event?



Hennerici: Of course we had to go through a learning curve, that at some point requires nothing else but “Trial & Error“. But together with our partners we’ve always drawn the right conclusions and continuously improved the event’s quality.



Last year’s event has convinced all partners and participants completely. This now enables us to say that we found the basic orientation after year 3. But this doesn’t mean at the same time that we’re resting. Quite the contrary, this year we will continue working on further details.





What do the visitors have to look forward to this year? Will there be any changes with regard to the past SimRacing Expo tradeshows?



Hennerici: One of the novelties will be that beside the ADAC SimRacing Trophy a new virtual competition will be held that the world’s best simracers will be taking part in.


At this point I don’t want to reveal too much. All that I can say is that it will be team based and inspired by real endurance races.



Moreover, we are very happy to welcome the RCCO with their electrically driven slotcars for the first time this year. I guess every spectator that owned a slotcar track can identify and instantly indulges in reminiscences and childhood memories.



Also the RC cars (radio controlled) will make their contribution to the visitors‘ entertainment. They have been participating since the very beginning ot the event and it’s always great to see them passionately organizing such an impressive racing weekend every year.




So far the highlight of each SimRacing Expo has been the ADAC SimRacing Trophy that is held onsite. What makes the participation so special? And how can one participate?


Hennerici: The appeal is definitely the hard knock-out mode. This always bears some surprises and garantuees equal opportunities for everyone as completely identical simulators are provided.






 Additionally, the best simracers are competing against each other here. Among others the stars that have dominated the so far biggest and best dotated virtual racing event (Formula E Event in Las Vegas). The participation is made via online qualification. The conditions of participation will be available on our website soon: www.simracingexpo.de



E-sport is becoming ever more popular. Even soccer clubs such as FC Schalke 04 have their own e-sport teams. SimRacing EXPO has been the first tradeshow that is entirely dedicated to virtual motorsport. Where does the journey lead to? In how far are the borders blurring between real and virtual sport?



Hennerici: Hardly any young professional race driver can afford nowadays doing their race preparation without a simulator. I think that this is one main indicator how close simulations are to reality.



Also, professional race drivers do compete in races set up by simracing communities in their spare time. SimRacing Expo surely was an additional catalyst for this development in 2014. Beside its competition SimRacing Expo is well known for its exhibitors that offer high quality products for virtual motorsport.



Many of the race drivers that were - only a couple of meters away - racing in the Blancpain GT Series found their way to our event, got infected with the “Virus Simracing“ and own a race simulator now.



We are proud to see that other promoters like the Formula E are adopting the concept. As the technology is getting better and better, we are convinced that this trend is continuing.






The venue of the SimRacing Expo is also an inherent part of the event: the Nürburgring. What makes the location so special?



Hennerici: Virtual motorsport meets a worldwide unique history. The Nürburgring is the most legendary race circuit of the world, but shows itself in such a young and fresh manner when everything a real motorsport fan’s heart longs for is provided only within a few meters.



This year again, the Nürburgring will host the Blancpain GT Series on 16/17 September. More than 50 GT3 cars with the world’s best GT race drivers deliver an unbelievable spectacle to spectators.



Many simracers are visiting a race circuit for the very first time and are fascinated by the infernal sound. The SimRacing Expo, where all motorsport hobbies are presented, takes places only few steps away from the grand stands.



One can  say that the complete range of motorsport is shown on that weekend and that the various communities are a part of the big motorsport family!



Find more information here: www.simracingexpo.de





Lukas Eckenberger- also photos