A Matter of Virtual Velocity

The next phase of the Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS) Reno Air Race series is set to begin at 11:00 PST on 17 March 2023. 

On 25 January, an exhibition match featuring prominent Twitch and YouTube content creators from the Microsoft Flight Simulator community was presented to wide acclaim. The upcoming event, entry in which was open to the general public, offers flight-simulator aficionados of all derivations and skill-levels opportunity to race for glory, bragging rights, and nifty prizes.

The event’s preliminary round will see up to 49 entrants selected at random to compete in seven Unlimited Class races—one race per contestant. The first-place winner of each race will advance to the grand final.

In the final round, the seven remaining pilots will complete one race in each of the event’s four classes: Biplane, T-6, Unlimited, and Jet. Competitors will be awarded points based on their respective finishing positions in each race.

Points will be awarded thus:

• 1st Place: 15 points
• 2nd Place: 12 points
• 3rd Place: 9 points
• 4th Place: 6 points
• 5th Place: 4 points
• 6th Place: 2 points
• 7th Place: 0 points

The pilot amassing the most points after four races will be named the event’s Grand Champion. In the event of a tie, the winner will be the racer with the lowest (fastest) cumulative finish time across the entirety of the four races. In the event a tie persists, the deadlocked contestants will square-off in a single Unlimited Class race, the winner of which will be named the event’s Grand Champion.

The contest is open to players on PC, Xbox, and Xbox Cloud Gaming. Contestants must have access to Microsoft Flight Simulator and the Reno Air Races expansion to participate. Additionally, Xbox players must have an Xbox Live Gold 2 or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 3 subscription to participate in online multiplayer.

The preliminary round will be held on Wednesday, 15 March 2023 at 19:00 UTC. The grand finals will commence one week later, on 22 March 2023 at 19:00 UTC. Both the preliminary round and the grand finals will be livestreamed at the official MSFS Twitch Channel 18.

Supporters are invited to watch and enjoy the racing and to cheer-on the competitors via Twitch chat during the various heats.

Event winners will be awarded hardware prizes. There are also plans to give away Microsoft Flight Simulator and National Championship Air Races merchandise.

FMI: www.flightsimulator.com/reno-air-racing-series/