The 2024 season of the Italian Championship is just around the corner for the SIM Freem eSports team. New cars and new talents from all over the world are ready to battle it out in the tournament. The complete SIM Maranello 2023/24 team was introduced, alongside Sky Motori commentator Matteo Pittaccio and all the sponsors. Also attending the event were Cristiano Martelli (Chair of ACI E-sport), Massimo Foffano (CEO of Freem), professional driver Lorenzo Patrese, and Sim Freem’s new partner Push More. Most worthy of note were Andrea Terzi’s presentation of the brand new 6DOF simulator and the SIM Freem eSport Pink (women’s) team’s participation in the 2024 championship. Let’s see how it went!
It’s time to take stock: the contribution from Federico Soave, Team Principal for SIM Freem eSport
SIM Maranello is excited to present the new 2024 SIM Freem eSports Team, which will be embarking on an exhilarating adventure in the world of simracing and esports in another season that promises to be filled with extraordinary achievements and innovations! Following a triumphant 2023, where the team excelled in every championship and dominated the podium by securing the top three positions, we are geared up to overcome our own limits to reach new and ever-higher goals. Federico Soave (Team Principal of SimFreem eSport) chatted to us, taking stock of the season that has just ended and looking back over some of the highlights of the season:
“We’ve had an excellent season. We managed to earn the top three positions in practically all the championships. We entered the Virtual Le Mans Series and came third in our category. It was exceptional. We were a wild card. […]After realising that we had the ability to compete, our engineers worked hard on developing some excellent setups. The only blot was the accident we were involved in when racing in Spa, which meant we came in eleventh. The points we lost there stopped us winning the championship. After the last race then, which was Le Mans, when all the results and points were put together, we ended the season third.
What’s new? Andrea Terzi presents the brand new 6DOF
2023 was not only a year of great sporting achievements but also of continuous improvement and astonishing innovation. SIM Maranello has worked hard to implement significant product enhancements, guaranteeing state-of-the-art performance and an unparalleled gaming experience for drivers and fans. During the opening event of the new season, Andrea Terzi (engineer of the SIM Maranello vehicle) revealed some major news about – obviously – the long-awaited 6DOF:
“First of all, we have restyled our standard model, the RST-PRO. In addition to that though, we’ve been working on the construction of a go-kart simulator, to offer an opportunity to all those drivers who needed to train on a simulator but didn’t have the means. [..]It was also essential to give them hardware that could reconstruct their own IRL driving position.
So what we did was create a real kart chassis, which we then kitted out with motors and sensors to allow us to effectively interface this hardware with the software that we usually use. It was a challenging job because reproducing real sensations on a piece of hardware is not easy.
The second model we’ve been working on is the 6DOF: an advanced professional simulator which also functions perfectly in a home setting. […]Here at SIM Maranello, we believe strongly in simulation. We are committed to it. I have been racing simulators since I was 10 years old. The fact that a non-professional user can now access simulators to allow them to compete represents the birth of a new world and a new branch of motor sports, sim racing. As with anything, the sooner you get there, the sooner you can start making history. We want to be there from the beginning. We pushed hard to enter the Virtual Le Mans championship because it is an important, acclaimed championship. […]We brought home a fantastic result, racing alongside the big-name brands.”
Arrival of a new partner: Push More
And the news doesn’t end here. 2024 will be bringing a new partner to support the Sim Freem eSports team for the new season, called Push More, a Veneto-based company that produces and markets high quality sports supplements. Attending the opening event of Sim Freem, Push More’s CEO Edoardo Albertin announced the birth of this partnership:
“We see ourselves reflected in the values that emerged today, from the interviewees and their words. Which is why we want to make a significant contribution. […]We have recently developed an effective product for improving concentration and focus, which is vital for both real-world and virtual racers, in endurance races and training, for example. It will definitely be a fantastic aid for all drivers!”
While clearly an esport, sim racing is simply another branch of motor sports; the talented Lorenzo Patrese talks us through it…
There are times when the real world and the virtual world are two sides of the same coin, and this is the definitely the case with Lorenzo Patrese, During his speech, this professional driver and undisputed motor sport talent focused on the similarities and differences between real-world motor sports and esports.
“Just like motor sports, the field of esports is highly professional. In some ways, it is even more meticulous than in real life. From a driver’s viewpoint, it’s all about the detail in esports, like when braking, for example. As for the differences, well, the sensation of actually being there, in the car, comes to mind. But they are making great progress in that aspect. […]Since I joined this team I have encountered so many similarities. The working environment is very professional. The engineers, the working method adopted, the discussion between drivers… everything is the same as on a track.”
An all-female team: the “Pink” division
SIM Freem eSports is proud to finally announce the participation of its women’s team in the 2024 season. Striding towards greater diversity, inclusion and representation in the world of esports, the women’s team embodies all the same values, commitment, and passion for racing, demonstrating that talent and determination know no gender boundaries. As Lucrezia Milanese (driver for the SIM Freem eSports Pink team) states:
“I was passionate about this project from the start. I have already run my first endurance race. After some initial nerves, it went really well and my anxiety gradually faded as we headed for the finish line. I was so happy because I’d managed to meet the goals I’d been set. We are getting ready for the next stage at the moment and hope to keep performing well there too.”
All the best to the SIM Freem eSports Teams for the 2024 championship!
Everything is ready for 2024. It looks set to be a year full of great challenges, exciting victories, and unforgettable moments. And the support of our fans and determination of its teams are crucial if SIM Maranello is to reach new heights and successes, writing another inspiring page in the history of SIM Freem eSports.
