F1 23 Children in Need Challenge Puts the Spotlight on Sim Racing

There’s nothing quite like the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Nowhere else will you find such an eclectic gathering of classic racecars and contemporary supercars.

They aren’t just static displays, either. Throughout the weekend, you’ll see and hear old and new cars tackle the famous Goodwood Hillclimb in timed laps, culminating with the final Sunday Shootout. Simply put, it’s a petrolhead’s paradise that every car enthusiast should experience.

This year’s Festival of Speed celebrated the 75th anniversary of Porsche, with a spectacular parade of cars from the manufacturer’s past and present lining up in front of Goodwood House.

Other models shown off to the public for the first-time included the McLaren Solus GT LEGO 2K Drive cover car, Lotus Emira (the successor to the iconic Lotus Elise), and electric Hyundai Ioniq 5 N hot hatch.

Heycar hosts F1 23 Children in Need challenge Goodwood Festival of Speed

Sim racing was also well represented with heycar hosting a special F1 23 competition for a great cause.

Located next to the First Glance Paddock, six state-of-the-art sim racing rigs featuring F1 23 were set up at a special stand hosted by used car marketplace and official partner of the Festival of Speed heycar.

Players were invited to test their skills and set a qualifying lap around Silverstone, with the fastest times of the day displayed on a leaderboard. Several F1 content creators and streamers were at the event showcasing their sim racing skills at the virtual Silverstone including MrDaleJE.

Showing how it's done was F1 esports champion Jarno Opmeer, who set one of the fastest times of the weekend.

F1 23 teams up with Children in Need

Two of these rigs were dedicated to a unique BBC Children in Need fundraising challenge.

At the end of the competition, the fastest 50 entrants will enter a ballot. Two of the fastest competitors will then be selected at random to appear on TV in a live race during Children in Need’s 2023 appeal while raising funds for the charity.

The tournament kicked off at the British Grand Prix before continuing at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. After that, the travelling tournament will appear at CarFest on 25-27 August before visiting other UK sites throughout the autumn.

Competitors who enter the challenge will be able to donate to BBC Children in Need, with all proceeds going to support local charities.

Not only is this a great incentive, but it’s also another encouraging sign of sim racing entering the mainstream.