THE WORLD'S PREMIER RACING SIMULATION PLATFORM GETS A NEW SAFETY CAR - THE BMW M2 CS RACING.
Sim racing is a big business these days, which is evident in the various platforms available for race fans. One of the most popular is the iRacing league. It’s not uncommon to come into contact with real-world racers in the virtual racing world - even drivers that compete in the world’s top motorsport series like Formula One. iRacing is a fun, inexpensive and highly competitive way for race fans and gamers to get into racing. Well, affordable is relative, some home sim rig setups cost more than actual cars. In iRacing you can race in a NASCAR Cup car, a World of Outlaws Sprint car, an Australian Supercar, an IMSA Prototype or GT car, or a Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 car - all you need is a computer equipped with one or more USB ports, and a digital wheel/pedal or gamepad and a fast internet connection. iRacing organises and manages more than 80 official racing series, or fans can race in thousands of private leagues or even host a race of their own. Signed-up members can drive officially licensed car replicas engineered from the ground up in cooperation with real-world race teams, race on officially licensed, laser-scanned replicas of the world’s greatest racing circuits and race head-to-head with real drivers all over the world thanks to skill-based matchmaking and license progression system ensuring competitive racing at all levels. Now BMW M Motorsport and iRacing will launch a completely new type of cooperation in the 2025 virtual racing season: As “Official Safety Car Partner”, BMW M Motorsport will provide the lead car at some of the largest races on the realistic simulation platform. The car will be the BMW M2 CS Racing, which has been available free of charge for all iRacing users as an entry-level model since December. Sporting a special design and equipped with the characteristic Safety Car roof beam, the car will appear on track at many Special Events.
As in real-world motor racing, a lead car will take the field around a formation lap at classic iRacing events such as the 24 Hours of Daytona, the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring, or the “Petit Le Mans” at Road Atlanta, before the participants launch their hunt for points with a “flying start”. The BMW M2 CS Racing is the youngest member of the BMW M Motorsport fleet on iRacing, while the BMW M2 Racing successor model is ready and waiting to hit the real racetrack for the 2026 season. There is a tradition of BMW M models appearing as safety cars at motor racing events. Since 1999, BMW M has provided the fleet of high-performance safety cars as “Official Car of MotoGP™”, the top level of motorcycle racing. As of 2025, this concept will now be mirrored in virtual motor racing.
“This Safety Car partnership represents a new chapter in the success story shared by BMW M Motorsport and iRacing,” said Timo Brückner, Project Lead of BMW M Automotive Gaming. “Each season, the Special Events attract record levels of participants and have become real community favourites. For example, nearly 20,000 drivers competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona last year. I am delighted that we will enjoy a prominent position next season at the head of the field, with the BMW M2 CS Racing at these highlight events. Just as in real life, this race car is also the perfect entry-level model on iRacing, allowing drivers to later gain experience with the BMW M4 GT4, the BMW M4 GT3, and even in the BMW M Hybrid V8.”
Tony Gardner, iRacing president, said: “We have a strong partnership with BMW M Motorsport dating back more than a decade, having brought seven BMW race cars to iRacing. The M2 CS is the latest BMW to join iRacing and has already proven to be incredibly popular with our nearly 300,000 members. BMW M Motorsport becoming the official safety car partner of iRacing special events further solidifies the partnership and enhances the racing experience for our members. It’s exciting to see how important sim racing is to BMW and its brand – we are looking forward to the iRacing Daytona 24 powered by VCO on 18th January.”
Take a look at the YouTube video that doesn't really show off the new BMW safety car for the series, but it does show you how cool the sim racing is if you're at the wheel of the same BMW that's being used as the safety car: iRacing Onboard Lap: BMW M2 CS Racing at Navarra 25S1 M2 Cup Fixed | Coach Dave HotLaps
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