► How to watch esports
► From Twitch to YouTube
► Get your motorsport fix
Esports is having a moment. Although virtual racing has become more and more popular over the last few years – especially thanks to the FIA-sanctioned F1 and GT Sport championships – esports has now been thrust into the mainstream by the novel Coronavirus.
Best racing games: a CAR guide
The current pandemic is preventing all motorsport events – or anything that involves large groups of people – and esports has been sucked in to fill the void. We’ll discuss what that means, and the lasting effects it could have on our relationship with motorsport in the future, but before all that; how do you even watch esports?
What races are on, and how can I watch them?
Unlike ‘real’ racing calendars, the ‘stand-in’ sim racing events aren’t being organised much more than a week or so out at the minute, with details sometimes changing right up until a few days before – so unfortunately, it’s difficult to give you a definitive, comprehensive timetable for all of them. Even the official races from F1 tend to be organised during the week, but there are ways to stay abreast of developments.
F1 and esports
Most ‘official’ races will take place on a Sunday, but you’ll be able to tune into practice sessions and more informal races if you’re following the right accounts on social media and Twitch.
How do I watch these eSports then?
One of the easiest ways is to sign up for your own Twitch account and install it on your phone, then hit the ‘follow’ button on the accounts hosting races you want to watch; you’ll get a notification when a stream starts and be able to tune in if it’s a race. Likewise, if you subscribe to these accounts on YouTube, you can get a similar notification.
All the following are hosting racing on Twitch
Broadcasting on YouTube