It’s been another great year for competitive sim racing (née esports), with new simulators, record-breaking competitions and some of the most dramatic moments in the (e)sport’s history.
There’s a lot that could be included, but I’ve narrowed it down to just five.
5. Dominik Blajer’s comeback wins inaugural Hyundai N Virtual Cup (Assetto Corsa)
A new event for this year, way back in January, and it’s rare to use the original Assetto Corsa in 2025. Hyundai showcased its TCR car in the sim, using an official mod, to provide the usual touring car scenes.
Four regions sent five drivers to the event in Seoul, and Team Europe had some of the world’s best, such as Maximillian Benecke and Dominik Blajer. Blajer’s event started badly, with an eighth-place finish at the Nürburgring, and some thought he was out of the running for the main prize.
But that wasn’t the case, as he fought back to win the final two races. Despite Benecke finishing second to him on both occasions, along with third in race one, Blajer still did enough to overhaul the margin and win by four points. A huge turnaround, and rare that a driver can never finish off the podium and still not win the title.
4. Spain dominates Gran Turismo World Series (Gran Turismo 7)
Spain has a great recent history in the Gran Turismo World Series, winning four of the last eight events before the 2025 season. This year’s star, Jose Serrano, was part of that, winning online in 2022 Round 3, alongside victory in Amsterdam and Barcelona the following year.
Apart from Spain, a country has never won all Nations Cup events in a calendar year, and the Spaniards would ensure their retention of that record by winning all four events in 2025 as well.
Serrano himself would take the London, Berlin and Fukuoka events, with help from Pol Urra winning in Los Angeles, to complete a remarkable simracing year for the country. A seven-month moment of dominance.
3. Grid and Go win first iRacing Daytona 24 after post-race disqualification (iRacing)
Rain has been part of iRacing for a while, but it’s never fallen during the iRacing Daytona 24 Hours until this year. Even four-time F1 World Champion Max Verstappen crashed in the darkness of early morning and rain, leaving Team Redline a lowly third in a race they bamboozingly still haven’t won overall.
But the real drama came not long after that, as Scuderia Ferrari Esports took the lead and made a mistake coming into the international horseshoe. Ole Steinbraten knew he was going to hit the wall hard and do lots of damage to the Ferrari 499P, and so disconnected, knowing it would be quicker than the damage repair.
It was quick-thinking and very quickly executed, but it was also illegal, and by Monday evening, their win had been stripped.
This gave Grid and Go their first Daytona 24 Hours victory, though disappointingly, they never had that moment of crossing the line first on the day. An astonishing achievement, nevertheless.
2. Jarno Opmeer wins record-breaking third F1 Sim Racing (Esports) title (F1 24)
Jarno Opmeer has been a stalwart of the F1 Esports scene from 2019, incredibly never finishing lower than fifth in the championship. After two seasons in the (relative) wilderness with Mercedes, Opmeer moved to Red Bull Sim Racing for another crack at the big prize.
He came into the final event of four races trailing Ismael Fahssi by just four points, but put on an exceptional start to the weekend. He won at Mexico and Brazil, just his second and third wins of the season, and even gave himself the chance to seal the title a race early.
While he didn’t do that, comfortable fifth and seventh-place finishes secured his record-breaking title, his third with three different teams. That also gave him just one finish outside the top 10, showing that consistency really does pay off.
1. Porsche Coanda dumped out of Esports World Cup on penultimate day (Rennsport)
Coming into the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Porsche Coanda were one of the favourites. They topped the online phase in front of Redline, and cruised through the Group Stage on Day 2 after getting a bye through the first day.
But from there, one of sim racing’s greatest teams seemed to have the wheels come off. Day 3 had an ‘Upper Bracket’ and ‘Lower Bracket’ phase, meaning Porsche Coanda (along with Redline and Virtus.pro) got two chances to progress through to the Finals.
Porsche Coanda were roundly beaten in the Upper Bracket by their two big rivals, with only one finish inside the top three as a team, and had to go into another three races against Team Vitality and Williams. Their lack of podiums slowed, but in race two, Vitality occupied all three top spots, leaving the two neck and neck for the top spot.
But it was more Vitality dominance at the final race in Fuji, with a Jiri Toman victory and a Marcell Csincsik defence of second, the French team were through, and arguably the pre-tournament favourites were out. An extraordinary shock, never seen before at the Esports World Cup. Ultimately, it was Team Redline who took back-to-back titles.
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