Focus on: Bartosz Groszek, #11 in the ranking

This week, we focus on 2022 TCR Eastern Europe champion Bartosz Groszek, the 25-year-old Polish driver who made his official TCR racing debut in the virtual world in 2020 competing in the TCR SIM Racing championships held during the coronavirus lockdowns. He then made his ‘in-real-life’ TCR debut in 2021, winning his home race at Poznań in his first year in TCR Eastern Europe, before going on to win the championship the following season.

His results in the last two years in the competitive series means he’s well-placed in 11th overall in the new TCR World Ranking during the winter break.

As a sim racer turned real-life racer, Groszek still makes the most of sim racing to keep his skills up to scratch.
“We see that more and more racing drivers are trying their hand at sim racing,” said Groszek. “So, I have the advantage in that my adventure began with it. Sim racing definitely helps me in real racing. When I have free time, I like to sit on the simulator and practice for the upcoming season. For example, I did a 24-hour race at Daytona two weeks ago. Sim racing helps me in two ways - the first is getting to know new tracks; thanks to hundreds of laps done on the simulator, I can then sit behind the wheel of a real car and after two laps I feel like I have driven the track many times. The second way it helps is the fight on the track. It’s helped me learn the muscle memory on how to behave in a given situation on the track. This is definitely the reason why sim racing drivers are so good on the track, especially when it comes to overtaking.”

Speaking about the new TCR World Ranking, Groszek added:
“For me, such a ranking is a hit. Finally, we have a comparison to other drivers competing in other TCR series and we can compete with them in this ranking. It also helps in talking to sponsors if they see that you are at the top of the ranking. It seems to me that the competition next season will be on an even higher level because everyone will be fighting for points in the ranking and qualifying for the world finals. Which is very good and motivates to continue hard work. Such a ranking reminds me very much of those in sim racing.”

Picture: TCR Eastern Europe