Racing Unleashed Racer and Challenger League: All you need to know

Imagine a sim racing competition with some of the world’s best drivers, supplemented by a championship open to all, that uses in-person high-end motion-equipped setups.

Perhaps it could be held in bespoke simulation lounges across Europe, connected to complete each round, too.

And then, there was a plentiful prize pool to boot.

Sounds cool – it also already exists. This is everything you need to know about Racing Unleashed’s pinnacle esports challenge.

What is the Racer League?

Racing Unleashed’s Racer League is a professional-level sim racing esports championship, uses Formula 1-style single-seater racing cars and in-person motion simulators.

What is the Challenger League?

Racing Unleashed’s Racer League is a sim racing esports championship, that uses Formula 2-style single-seater racing cars and in-person motion simulators. Unlike the Racer League, it is not for professional sim racers only, and is open to anyone who qualifies through on of the company’s lounges.

Why you should follow the competition

The Racer and Challenge Leagues are some of the most unique competitions in sim racing as they utilise high-end motion simulators. Each driver competes in-person at one of Racing Unleashed’s lounges across Europe, which are then linked over the internet seeing all competitors within the same live race.

The use of these high-level simulator rigs provides an interesting dynamic, with the drivers adapting their style to suit a carbon-fibre single-seater cockpit that features movement on three rotational axes.

Racing Unleashed’s Formula Simulator

The devices used by the competitors are state-of-the-art. Each replicates a real-world single-seater, with an Italian-made fibreglass construction.

Each is fitted with pitch, roll and yaw movement (3 DOF) which has been designed in-house, specifically for Racing Unleashed’s simulators. Naturally, there is a triple screen set-up, hydraulic brake pedal, integrated speakers and a five-point harness that includes g-force emulation.

Each runs Assetto Corsa Pro by default.

A fresh race format

Across the eight Racer League rounds, a race format that alternates will be in use.

For the first round, each competitor will have a single lap to qualify and set the grid. For the second round, there is a Top 10 reverse grid based on the points standing. Then, for the third round, back to single-lap qualifying and so on for the rest of the season.

Each race will last around 30 minutes.

Racer League 2024/25 entry list

The top 10 championship finishers from last season have already locked in their place for the 2024/25 season. The rest of the grid – there are another 13 drivers locked in for the rest of the season – will need to pre-qualify at a Racing Unleashed lounge to make the 20-strong grid.

In total, 20 cars will take to each race, with the three reserve qualifiers on standby should a competitor not be able to make it to the in-person locations.

Four-time champion Michal Smidl will be keen to retain the crown, ahead of 2023’s vice-champion Alejandro Sanchez.

The regular 10, from last season, are listed below alongside the 13 extra drivers who have pre-qualified for the first round – including Gran Turismo World Series champion Coqué Lopez.

Those looking to enter the Racer League in future will first have to compete in the Challenger League.

• Michal Smidl
• Alejandro Sanchez
• Angelo Michel
• Siro Zambra
• Enrique Maranon
• Vojtech Polesny
• Sebastian Hirsch
• Florian Hasse
• David Cid
• Christoph Holstein

Round 1 attendees alongside existing Racer League members

• Sinan Demirbas
• Loris Mistretta
• Janik Pletscher
• Marcos Valverde
• Nico Fahland
• Agustin Torlaschi
• Coqué Lopez
• Lorenzo Heyder
• Joshua Heyder
• Mohamed Ramzy
• Dominik Dedic
• Ivan Kaufmann
• Javier Loro

Racer League 2024/25 schedule

There will be eight rounds in total for the Racer League, and each round will also feature the Challenger League too.

The live broadcast for each will begin at 18:30 Central European Time and the track for each is not known until 10 days before each event.

• Round 1 – 26.10.2024
• Round 2 – 23.11.2024
• Round 3 – 14.12.2024
• Round 4 – 18.01.2025
• Round 5 – 15.02.2025
• Round 6 – 15.03.2025
• Round 7 – 12.04.2025
• Round 8 – 10.05.2025

Racer and Challenger League Prize Pools

Another interesting element is the significant prizes up for grabs. In total across the two competitions, 135,000 CHF (just over €144k by today’s, 26th October 2024, exchange rate) is up for grabs.

In the Racer League, the championship winner will receive CHF 10,000, with payouts down to 10th. There is also a maximum prize of CHF 3,000 per race.

The same process is true of the Challenger League, although with CHF 3,000 and CHF 750 respectively.

How to watch the Racing Unleashed Racer League 

Each round of the 2024/25 Racer League will be broadcast live on Racing Unleahsed’s YouTube channel – those not taking part can watch along, with English-language commentary and presentation.