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Sim racing is organised at national level in New Zealand by the NZ Sim Racing Collective (NZSRC), formed in 2024 when four of the country's leading sim racing communities joined forces with NZ Esports, the national sporting organisation for esports. Its events are broadcast live and free on NZ Sim Racing TV on YouTube.
New Zealand's first official iRacing national championship, recognised by NZ Esports and the NZSRC, with MOZA Racing as title sponsor. Every driver races the Porsche 911 Cup (992.2) on fixed setups. Qualifying is on Wednesday 21 October 2026, followed by six finals rounds on Wednesdays from 4 November to 9 December, live from 7:40pm with TrackSpot.TV commentary. See the first event listing for the full calendar.
The NZSRC's first national title, run on Gran Turismo 7 over a six-round, 12-race season organised by HoonCorp and backed by Toyota Gazoo Racing NZ. It ran on Monday nights earlier in 2026, with Matt McEwen crowned champion, and the winner's prize was a Toyota Gazoo Racing NZ Academy day at Hampton Downs.
Between the national titles, NZ sim racers run leagues and endurance series across iRacing, Assetto Corsa Competizione and other titles, and the NZ Toyota 86 E-Cup on iRacing has crowned champions including 2026 winner Cooper Prout. NZ Esports also uses the NZSRC to run New Zealand's qualifiers for international esports events: Hugo Allan won the NZ iRacing qualifier for the Global Esports Games and heads to Los Angeles in December.
Sim racing is one of the cheapest ways into competitive racing, and several entry points cost nothing.
The GT7 New Zealand Championship had free entry for New Zealand competitors, and the MOZA iRacing Championship opened to anyone in NZ with an iRacing account, with pre-qualifying hot laps deciding the final grid. Entries for the 2026 MOZA championship closed on 15 October, so watch the broadcasts now and look out for the next series.
Sim racing stands have appeared in the paddock at big events such as Supercars at Taupo, with leaderboards and prizes. Highlands National Motorsport Museum in Cromwell has driving simulators and a VR hot-lap room, and SupaKarts in Christchurch has a V8 Supercar simulator.
New Zealand has long-running communities running leagues for every skill level. The NZ Sim Racing Hub is the place to find them (see Who to Contact).
Sim racing has no MotorSport NZ licence ladder. Competition runs through communities, leagues and the national championships, with entry rules set by each event.
Pick the game your target series uses: iRacing for the MOZA New Zealand iRacing Championship, Gran Turismo 7 for the GT7 New Zealand Championship.
Leagues are where most drivers build race craft and clean-driving habits. The NZ Sim Racing Hub lists the main communities.
National titles are open to New Zealand citizens and residents who live in NZ. The MOZA iRacing Championship also requires an iRacing account with the required car and tracks and a D-class sports car licence or higher, and finalists need a driver cam.
The MOZA championship used pre-qualifying hot laps (the fastest 48 advanced), then qualifying races, then a 26-car finals grid. Expect time trials or qualifying stages for any national title.
Toyota Gazoo Racing NZ has linked sim titles to real-world prizes such as Academy days and scholarship weekends at Hampton Downs. For the licence path to real circuit racing, see our Circuit Racing category.
What you need depends on the game and how serious you are.
Gran Turismo 7 runs on PlayStation. iRacing, used for the MOZA New Zealand iRacing Championship, runs on PC and needs a subscription account with the cars and tracks for each series.
You can start with a controller, but most competitive drivers use a force-feedback wheel and pedals on a stable rig or seat. New Zealand retailers including Speednation, MRP and Racing Sims stock sim racing hardware, and MOZA Racing, title sponsor of the iRacing championship, makes wheel bases.
Finalists in the MOZA championship need a driver cam, and a webcam or phone is fine, so the broadcast can show them racing.
The national championships run equal cars on fixed setups (a Porsche 911 Cup in the iRacing series), so results come down to driving rather than hardware spend.
Runs the national championships and broadcasts.
Facebook: facebook.com/kiwisimracing
Broadcasts: NZ Sim Racing TV on YouTube
The sole recognised national sporting organisation for esports in New Zealand, and a backer of the NZSRC.
Web: nzesports.org.nz
The central place to find NZ sim racing leagues, retailers and broadcasts. Find it through the NZSRC Facebook page and its Discord.
Speednation and MRP (mrpsimracing.co.nz) back the iRacing championship prize pool, and Racing Sims (racingsims.co.nz) runs sim racing competitions around the country.
Yes. The NZ Sim Racing Collective, working with NZ Esports, runs officially recognised national championships. The GT7 New Zealand Championship ran earlier in 2026, and the MOZA New Zealand iRacing Championship will crown the first official New Zealand iRacing Champion, with qualifying on 21 October and finals from 4 November to 9 December 2026.
On NZ Sim Racing TV on YouTube. The national championships are broadcast live with commentary from the TrackSpot.TV team. The MOZA iRacing finals go live from 7:40pm on Wednesdays.
Not a MotorSport NZ licence. The national titles are open to New Zealand citizens or residents living in NZ, and the MOZA iRacing Championship also requires an iRacing account with the required car and tracks and a D-class sports car licence or higher.
It can. Toyota Gazoo Racing NZ backs sim championships as a pathway, and prizes have included a Toyota 86 academy day at Hampton Downs and entry to a Toyota 86 scholarship weekend. Drivers like Hugo Allan and Peter Vodanovich came through esports before racing in the Toyota 86 Championship.
It depends on the game: Gran Turismo 7 runs on PlayStation, while iRacing runs on PC. Finalists in the MOZA iRacing Championship also need a webcam or phone as a driver cam for the broadcast. Local retailers such as Speednation and MRP stock sim racing hardware.
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