Drive Lounge and Guild launch grassroots sim racing initiative

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Drive Lounge and Guild Esports and Gaming have partnered to create a grassroots sim racing initiative designed to identify and develop the next generation of sim racers.

The sim racing operator and esports organisation have designed the programme to help racers showcase their talent and take their first step toward an esports career, via a pathway to pro-level competition.

The news comes after Drive Lounge and Guild Esports recently partnered to expand Guild’s Shoreditch gaming and racing facility.

To participate in the programme, racers have to subscribe to join ‘The Guild’, with membership costing £34.99 a month. This includes £30 of sim racing time at Drive Lounge, along with entry to the qualifying tournaments, ‘access to a high-performance esports ecosystem, and a loyalty program that includes discounts on additional race time and coaching’.

This pro journey begins with a three-month qualification process, culminating in quarterly finals where top competitors will be assessed for entry into Guild Racing’s pro trials, and if successful, join the Guild Racing Scholarship.

The qualification process will run all year with each qualification cycle taking place over a three-month period. There will be several races and tournaments during the qualification period, all held at Drive Lounge locations, along with time for racers to set their best lap times. Racers must complete a minimum number of events/laps and will be evaluated on their outright performance, their consistency and overall ability and race craft.

Finals will be held four times a year, from which the best competitors will be picked, giving aspiring racers multiple chances to be selected. Those selected will be invited to the Guild Racing Team Trials, a program designed to introduce them to the demands of professional esports racing.

During the trials, racers will be involved in ‘rigorous’ race training in the simulators, alongside gaining professional coaching, and insight into the lifestyle and discipline required at the highest level.

“Becoming a professional sim racer requires more than just speed—it takes dedication, precision, and an expert understanding of race mechanics,” the pair said in a press release.

Guild also have their Guild Racing Academy roster and Pro racing teams that claimed victory in the British F4 Esports Championship and finished sixth in the Esports World Cup last year. This has continued this year with the Guild Prodigy Racing Team competing for the title in the Racing Prodigy P3 Championship, which has allowed sim racers to compete in their own real life championship in the US.

This new initiative aims to bridge the gap between amateur sim racing and the professional esports scene. Aspiring drivers now have the chance to gain mentorship, refine their skills, and compete for a chance to join Guild’s racing team.

Drive Lounge was launched in 2024 and also has a venue in Norwich, with more planned to open.

Guild Esports and Gaming is a British gaming and media brand launched in 2020 with David Beckham as its ambassador. Guild recently acquired a fan engagement platform and Guild invested in Ginx TV.

Dom Sacco

Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.

As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.