Porsche opens sim racing facility at Cologne headquarters

German automotive marque Porsche has announced the opening of a dedicated sim racing facility for its factory team to use for practice and competitions.

The Porsche Esports Performance Center (PEPC) is based in Cologne, Germany and will act as the home for the Porsche Coanda Esports Racing Team.

Porsche‘s 324-square-metre facility will house six state-of-the-art sim racing rigs and a workstation for the team’s performance engineers to use. In addition, the facility also features a fitness area and other workspaces.

Porsche Coanda Esports currently competes across a range of sim racing disciplines, including special events on iRacing and in RENNSPORT R1. After three rounds of R1, the team currently sits in first place, five points clear of Team Redline.

“Our goal was to create spaces where our team could perform at an even higher level,” said Nina Braack, Manager of Esports at Porsche Motorsport.

“The Trilux venue offers favourable conditions for the new esports headquarters, not least due to the tailored lighting solutions for the best possible training and working environment.”

The top three teams from the Group Stage of RENNSPORT R1 will qualify for the final of the Spring season taking place as part of the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Porsche has continued to hold a presence within the sim racing sector after it partnered with Coanda Esports in May 2022. The marque has also partnered with the likes of FaZe Clan and the Overwatch Championship Series.

Following the explosion of sim racing during the COVID-19 pandemic, the speed of its growth has started to plateau. Despite this, real-world motorsport is continuing to embrace the virtual racing action.

In April, the FIA launched a competition for women and girls as part of its Girls on Track initiative which encourages women to pursue a career in motorsport.

Elsewhere, esports companies are still expanding into the sim racing space. In January, Legendary Gaming Group acquired a stake in Fyra Simsport, which continues to compete in regional and international competitions.