From the sim racing rig to the NLS podium: Jimmy Broadbent, Steve Brown (SuperGT), Misha Charoudin and Manuel Metzger took their first class win in their BMW M4 GT4 after Brown made a move for the lead on the penultimate lap.
Many sim racers secretly wish they were real racing drivers. For Jimmy Broadbent and Steve Brown (SuperGT), this dream has become true - and more. Last weekend saw the duo take to the track in their brand-new BMW M4 GT4 in the NLS championship, a series dedicated to multiclass racing on Germany's N+rburgring. Circuit experts Misha Charoudin and Manuel Metzger completed the quartet of drivers alongside the two sim racers turned racing drivers.
The trio of Broadbent, Brown and Charoudin already competed last year in an M330i within NLS. However, in preparation for the Nürburgring 24 Hours, their sponsors took things to another level, now seeing them compete in a BMW M4 GT4 in the SP8T class for cars using alternative fuels, so not the "normal" GT4 class.
There may have only been three cars in SP8T, but the competiton included former IndyCar driver Pippa Mann and two-time W Series runner-up Beitske Visser.
Image Credit: Jan Brucke/VLN
The Nürburgring 24H is a race that Broadbent especially has competed in many times on the simulator with some success Brown is no stranger to simulator laps on the Nürburgring either. The Gran Turismo YouTuber raised over £25,000 for the Philippines School Project whilst driving continually around GT Sport's Nurburgring for 28 hours and 200 laps. However, the real race and track are entirely different beasts, of course.
Charoudin can attest to this. The Nürburgring expert who uploads his adventures around the ring to YouTube, having racked up countless laps at the Green Hell and even assisted Kunos Simulazioni with their Nordschleife rendition for Assetto Corsa Competizione - in fact, his visit to Kunos in late 2023 reignited the Nordschleife rumors before the official announcement some time later.
Meanwhile, Metzger is the most accomplished racer of the quartet, having won the VLN (as the NLS was called at the time) in 2011, the 24-hour race in 2016 and multiple other high-level GT races around the world. The Swiss driver suffered broken vertebrae in a crash in 2022, and the long road to recovery now led to his comeback alongside Broadbent, Brown and Charoudin in the M4 GT4.
Still, it is good to see their commitment and efforts paying off on the results sheet as well, like with the one the Black Falcon team had last weekend.
Image Credit: Jan Brucke/VLN
NLS is a very approachable series within sim racing, there are Assetto Corsa mods available as well as Automobilista 2 versions as well for skin packs and cars to fill out your NLS recreation. There is even a faithfully recreated Black Falcon livery for Assetto Corsa Competizione right here on OverTake! And do not forget iRacing, which pits GT3, GT4, Porsche Cup, TCR and, as of last year, Toyota GR86 cars against each other in its Nürburgring 24H Special Event. The 2024 edition is set to run on the weekend of May 17 to 19.
What do you think about the Black Falcon squad's success in NLS? Let us know on X @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
Many sim racers secretly wish they were real racing drivers. For Jimmy Broadbent and Steve Brown (SuperGT), this dream has become true - and more. Last weekend saw the duo take to the track in their brand-new BMW M4 GT4 in the NLS championship, a series dedicated to multiclass racing on Germany's N+rburgring. Circuit experts Misha Charoudin and Manuel Metzger completed the quartet of drivers alongside the two sim racers turned racing drivers.
The trio of Broadbent, Brown and Charoudin already competed last year in an M330i within NLS. However, in preparation for the Nürburgring 24 Hours, their sponsors took things to another level, now seeing them compete in a BMW M4 GT4 in the SP8T class for cars using alternative fuels, so not the "normal" GT4 class.
There may have only been three cars in SP8T, but the competiton included former IndyCar driver Pippa Mann and two-time W Series runner-up Beitske Visser.
Image Credit: Jan Brucke/VLN
The Nürburgring 24H is a race that Broadbent especially has competed in many times on the simulator with some success Brown is no stranger to simulator laps on the Nürburgring either. The Gran Turismo YouTuber raised over £25,000 for the Philippines School Project whilst driving continually around GT Sport's Nurburgring for 28 hours and 200 laps. However, the real race and track are entirely different beasts, of course.
Charoudin can attest to this. The Nürburgring expert who uploads his adventures around the ring to YouTube, having racked up countless laps at the Green Hell and even assisted Kunos Simulazioni with their Nordschleife rendition for Assetto Corsa Competizione - in fact, his visit to Kunos in late 2023 reignited the Nordschleife rumors before the official announcement some time later.
Meanwhile, Metzger is the most accomplished racer of the quartet, having won the VLN (as the NLS was called at the time) in 2011, the 24-hour race in 2016 and multiple other high-level GT races around the world. The Swiss driver suffered broken vertebrae in a crash in 2022, and the long road to recovery now led to his comeback alongside Broadbent, Brown and Charoudin in the M4 GT4.
Recognition For Sim Racing
Not everyone is going to be able to pilot a real GT4 car to an NLS class victory. However, sim racing appears to be taken very seriously by massive automotive brands, not at last due to the marketing implications it has - the official broadcasts repeatedly mentioned that Broadbent and Brown have their roots in sim racing.Still, it is good to see their commitment and efforts paying off on the results sheet as well, like with the one the Black Falcon team had last weekend.
Image Credit: Jan Brucke/VLN
NLS is a very approachable series within sim racing, there are Assetto Corsa mods available as well as Automobilista 2 versions as well for skin packs and cars to fill out your NLS recreation. There is even a faithfully recreated Black Falcon livery for Assetto Corsa Competizione right here on OverTake! And do not forget iRacing, which pits GT3, GT4, Porsche Cup, TCR and, as of last year, Toyota GR86 cars against each other in its Nürburgring 24H Special Event. The 2024 edition is set to run on the weekend of May 17 to 19.
What do you think about the Black Falcon squad's success in NLS? Let us know on X @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
