Hero image: Tri-Nations Esports Cup 2026 race action. Image: Motorsport Australia, via Motorsport Australia
Australia takes the 2026 sim racing title from the United Kingdom and South Africa, overturning a five-point deficit across two races without a single race win.
Australia has won the 2026 Tri-Nations Esports Cup, finishing the two-race final on 172 points.
The United Kingdom placed second on 158. South Africa finished third on 104.
The result was built entirely on field depth. British drivers took first and second place in both races, and Australia still won the competition by 14 points.
Mount Panorama, and an early deficit
The opening 15-lap race ran at Mount Panorama. Henry Joslyn led teammate Marley Joffe across the line for the United Kingdom, winning by 3.5 seconds and setting the fastest lap of the race, a 2:00.751 on lap 12.
Australia filled the places behind them. Dean Mackay finished third and Reece Wakefield fourth, with Joshua Houghton and Phillip Worley completing the Australian presence in the top six.
Noah Osbaldeston was seventh for the United Kingdom. South Africa’s Essie Esterhuyse and Josh Joubert took eighth and ninth, and Jason Munsone rounded out the top 10.
That left the United Kingdom on 81 points and Australia on 76 after the opening leg, with South Africa on 60.
Silverstone, and the turnaround
The second race ran over 16 laps at Silverstone. Joffe won this time, ahead of Joslyn by under two seconds, and set a fastest lap of 1:57.068 on lap four.
Australia again converted volume into points. Wakefield finished third and Mackay sixth. Andrew Skordilis, Phillip Worley and Hudson Hughes added seventh, eighth and ninth. South Africa’s Justin Eloff took fifth.
Six Australian drivers inside the top nine was enough. The five-point deficit from Mount Panorama became a 14-point win.
A three-nation format again
The competition was organised jointly by Motorsport Australia, Motorsport UK and Motorsport South Africa. It returned to its original three-nation shape this year following the departure of Motorsport New Zealand’s esports contingent, after running as a four-nation event in 2025.
Each nation fielded 10 drivers, making a 30-car field for the broadcast. Every competitor ran the Ford Mustang GT3 on a fixed setup, with qualifying preceding each race.
Entry ran through a Time Attack qualifier, which required no licence. Drivers who progressed to the final needed a Motorsport Australia Esports Licence to compete.
Where it sits
Sim racing remains one of the few disciplines where an Australian national team competes under a recognised sporting federation rather than a tournament organiser. Motorsport Australia issues the licence, sets the regulations through its Esports Appendix, and picks the squad.
That is an unusually formal structure for competitive gaming in this country, and it sits alongside a busier federated calendar than usual, with Australia’s Global Esports Games campaign running to Los Angeles in December.
The title holds for the next 12 months.
Source: Motorsport Australia, Motorsport Australia (competition announcement)