Five of the Best Free Sim Racing Games

Sim racing and esports journalist. Occasional Motorsport photographer, eSports competitor and distinctly average cyclist.

Community supported site: This article features links to carefully chosen products. We may earn a commission when you purchase through some of those links.

Featured image: Trackmania

Have you just jumped into sim racing head first? Have you just spent thousands on a top-of-the-range sim racing rig and have no money left to buy any driving games? Well, you’re in luck, as there are a few excellent racing games out there you can play for free.

From rally cars to single-seaters to driving road cars and sportscars, the following titles are sure to tickle your fancy while you save up for a £2 copy of Assetto Corsa in the next Steam sale…

RaceRoom Racing Experience

KW Studios’ RaceRoom Racing Experience is the definitive, free-to-play racing simulator. With 13 cars and five tracks available to sample, RaceRoom offers more free content than any other sim.

Not only that, but players can also drive any of RaceRoom’s cars for at any time (albeit only on the RaceRoom Raceway circuit) for no extra charge, including fully licenced DTM cars (modern and historic) and varied fields from the WTCC, WTCR and ADAC GT Masters series.

RaceRoom was released back in 2013 and although it has received force feedback and physics updates in recent times it undeniably looks rough in comparison to the likes of Assetto Corsa Competizione, rFactor 2 and a modded Assetto Corsa.

However, fans of the simulation are looking forward to long-awaited graphical improvements that KW Studios teased back in May, as a video showcasing an upgraded Algarve International Circuit (better known as Portimão) was teased.

The flip side of this is RaceRoom will run well on all but the most aged PCs.

Although RaceRoom’s free cars are rather hit-and-miss in terms of desirability, the Saleen S7R, Lada Vesta and Formula RaceRoom Junior are still quite intriguing to drive, with truly quality tracks like the re-worked Portimão and Sepang available to race on.

Not only is RaceRoom highly regarded for its audio design, featuring some of the most realistic exhaust notes this side of a race track, but it also provides a superlative VR experience.

And if you do enjoy the sim’s free cars and tracks it’s possible to purchase every single piece of content for around £50 during one of the game’s many sales. Bargain. Take note, iRacing.

Copa Petrobras de Marcas

Developed by Reiza Studios, Copa Petrobras de Marcas is the official game of the Brasileiro de Marcas series, a Brazilian touring car championship ranked just under the country’s premier four-wheel category, the Stock Car Pro Series.

Brasileiro de Marcas does without the star quality of its bigger touring car brother, which has featured the driving talents of Rubens Barrichello, Ricardo Zonta and Felipe Massa over the years, but this free game is a microcosm of what makes Reiza’s early sim racing titles so great.

Featuring the official tracks of the 2013 championship, including the likes of Interlagos, Brasília and Curitiba, the game allows players to choose from four equally balanced front-wheel-drive touring cars from Ford, Chevrolet, Mitsubishi and Toyota.

Marcas came after Reiza’s 2011 sim Game Stock Car – which incidentally also had the Marcas cars – and was released as a free download at the behest of series sponsor Petrobras.

Although the cars require a little bit of set-up fettling (priority number one should be to set up their steering ratio to prevent catastrophic understeer), they still retain the physics sweet spot Reiza forged its reputation on in Game Stock Car, Game Stock Car Extreme, and the granddaddy of them all, Automobilista.

Richard Burns Rally

Although originally released some 20 years ago, Richard Burns Rally is more popular among the sim community now than it’s ever been.

The reason for this? Mods.

Yes, RBR has been tweaked and updated over the years and brought kicking and screaming into the present day, as it now stands as the connoisseur’s choice in terms of virtual rallying.

Modders like the legendary WorkerBee have helped fix some of RBR’s major problems over time, with the Hungarian-based RallySimFans (RSF) mod popularising the game thanks to updated visuals, sounds and physics. And it’s all free.

But why is it free? Well, technically RBR is abandonware thanks to both its developer, Warthog Games, and the publisher, SCi Games, folding. Additionally, the tragic death of 2001 WRC champion Burns a year after the game’s release put a sad full stop on the whole complicated saga.

However, RBR’s handling is still sublime, with WorkerBee’s New Generation Physics (NGP) continually developed to make the most of Warthog’s incredibly detailed handling model.

Modders have also added a stack of iconic rally cars and stages to RSF, with clever options like VR compatibility, FMOD sounds, fully working cockpit gauges and customisable pace notes and cameras elevating the experience further.

All in all, RBR is the most comprehensive rally sim out there, so you’ve no excuse not to go online now and compete against fellow enthusiasts. Don’t forget your bobble hat!

Live for Speed

Live For Speed is now 21 years old but it’s still relevant thanks to its timeless physics and recent addition of community-made mods. Although the sim is technically not ‘free’ it does have an enlightening free demo.

And it contains one of my favourite sim racing combinations ever…

Yes, the sim’s officially licensed Formula BMW and the fictional Blackwood GP track are an insanely good duo, with the Bavarian-powered single-seater responding to your deft inputs almost telepathically.

Blackwood is also a challenging and fulfilling circuit to learn, featuring fast and medium-speed turns, with a long back straight ideal for slipstreaming battles.

Also available to drive in the demo are the front-wheel-drive XF GTI and the rear-wheel-drive XR GT, and both are a riot to drive. However, to gain more cars and tracks you’ll need to purchase an S1, S1 or S3 licence from the LFS website, with the S3 licence unlocking all the game’s content plus access to mods.

Although certain aspects of LFS haven’t aged well – its sounds and graphics are very much showing their age, and game updates arrive at a glacial pace – its physics still stand up to scrutiny.

LFS’ VR implementation is better than many modern titles too and its online racing communities are passionate and varied, with rallycross, casual cruises, autocross, drift and circuit racing events all available.

There’s really no excuse not to try LFS, it could be your next favourite sim.

Trackmania

Ok, it’s not a sim like the rest of the titles in this list but Trackmania is one of the most addictive racing games around and it’s entirely free-to-play. The gist of the game’s formula is to pilot cars at ridiculous speeds along outlandish, point-to-point tracks.

Players can tackle jumps, loops, slides and other obstacles to set their fastest stage times and achieve a gold medal. The online leaderboards give the game a ‘just one more try’ feel, helped by the prospect of an instant one-button retry.

Paid subscription tiers are available but Trackmania can still be enjoyed without cash, with 25 new free tracks released in each quarterly Season update.

The game also runs well on mid-range PCs as well as consoles, so there’s no escaping Trackmania’s moreish gameplay.