UK-based esports organisation Guild Esports has joined forces with sim racing venue operator Drive Lounge to create a grassroots sim racing initiative.
The initiative aims to identify aspiring sim racing drivers and develop them to become the next wave of drivers to compete in international competitions.
Guild Esports and Drive Lounge say its initiative will offer ‘a structured pathway for amateur drivers to refine their skills’ with the aim of giving them an opportunity to join the organisation’s sim racing team.
Qualifiers are open to drivers who subscribe to The Guild membership costing £34.99 per month. The membership includes £30 worth of sim racing at a Drive Lounge venue and exclusive entry into the qualification tournaments. Each qualifier runs throughout a three-month cycle including several races and tournaments.
The finals take place four times a year, with the top drivers selected to participate in the Guild Racing Team Trials where drivers will embark on training programmes and insight into what’s required to compete in top-tier sim racing competitions.
The sim racing sector has experienced significant growth in the last five years. Guild Esports has been at the forefront of the esport in the UK, partnering with Corsair-owned sim racing hardware brand Fanatec in 2023 alongside raising £600,000 in funding for its efforts.
This isn’t the first time the organisation has collaborated with Drive Lounge. In December 2024, it secured a partnership with the sim racing venue operator to open a venue within Guild Esports’ London headquarters.
Outside of its sim racing initiatives, Guild Esports also competes in the Prodigy Racing League. Described as an ‘e2Real’ racing series, it aims to enable sim racers to make a transition into real-world motorsport.
Grassroots initiatives within sim racing are new avenues for organisations looking to find new talent to compete on the biggest stages. With the likes of Team Redline fielding some of the UK’s best talent on the virtual race track, Guild Esports looks to compete against the biggest sim racing teams with talent discovered through its very own initiative.
