rFactor 2 | Early Access Look at the New BTCC Content

BTCC for rFactor 2 Early Access 01.jpg
rFactor 2 gave me a chance to try out the new BTCC DLC content including two new cars and two new tracks set for release to the public on May 9th.

rFactor 2 has moved to a quarterly content release model in 2022, and the Q2 release set for May 9th will include the first batch of BTCC content. This first batch includes two BTCC cars and two new tracks on the BTCC calendar offered as DLC.

For fans of BTCC expecting a full game based on the series, this isn't ideal news. However, BTCC, Motorsport Games and Studio 397 have entered into a partnership that extends to 2027. We can expect more BTCC cars and updated liveries for the rFactor 2 content to be added later this year, and a separate BTCC game can still be expected in the future, though no timeline has been confirmed.

The Cars
The two cars on offer as part of this DLC release are BTCC series compliant versions of the Infiniti Q50 and the Toyota Corolla GR.

BTCC for rFactor 2 Early Access 02.jpg


The Infiniti Q50 won the 2021 BTCC championship , while piloted by Ashley Sutton and Aiden Moffat. It sports a rear-wheel drive layout and handles in a similar manner to a GT4 car. It's a blast to drive in rFactor 2, as curbs are very much in play and the car has a tendency to get loose on corner exit if you're too aggressive with the throttle.

The Toyota Corolla GR won three BTCC races in 2021 thanks to drivers Rory Butcher and Sam Smelt. Unlike the Infiniti, this is a front-wheel drive car and shares more in common with TCR race cars than GT4 in terms of handling. This car is also very forgiving when pushed hard through corners, and the fun factor is high thanks to more throttle being the answer when the car gets loose.

The Tracks
Donington Park and Brands Hatch are the two British tracks offered as DLC in this Q2 release.

BTCC for rFactor 2 Early Access 03.jpg


Donington looks and drives very well in rFactor 2. The trackside details are impressive, down to detailed spectators, curb scuffing and even the occasional aircraft taking off in the distance. This track was the highlight of the BTCC content for me, as it seems to be a great version of the circuit across many facets, and lends itself perfectly to tight racing action with the new cars.

Admittedly, I'm not a big fan of Brands Hatch, though this new version for rFactor 2 seems as good as any in sim racing. Like Donington, the level of trackside detail is exceptional and adds to the immersion of driving here.

Pricing and Availability
The two cars and two tracks are scheduled to be released as DLC on Monday, May 9th. There are a number of ways to purchase them:
  • Cars can be purchased for £4.29/$5.32/€4.99 each
  • Tracks can be purchased for £7.73/$9.59/€8.99 each
  • The ‘Touring’ bundle that includes the two BTCC cars, Brands Hatch and Donington Park can be purchased for £21.64/$26.83/€25.16
  • The Touring car ‘Double Pack’ which includes both BTCC Cars can be purchased for £7.72/$9.59/€8.99SRP
  • The Q2 ‘All in’ Pack including all the content from the Q2 drop can be purchased for £27.01/$33.50/€31.41SRP
Game Updates
In addition to this new content, the release of the BTCC content will coincide with several quality-of-life updates to rFactor 2, including:
  • A new sound engine
  • Particle effects
  • Downshift protection system
  • Further photo options
  • A refreshed safety car
  • Enhanced brake ducting settings
  • Additional user interface refinements
Let us know if anything (or everything) in this first BTCC content release or game update is something you're interested in trying or buying on Monday on Twitter @RaceDepartment or in the comments below!
About author
Mike Smith
I have been obsessed with sim racing and racing games since the 1980's. My first taste of live auto racing was in 1988, and I couldn't get enough ever since. Lead writer for RaceDepartment, and owner of SimRacing604 and its YouTube channel. Favourite sims include Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2, Automobilista 2, DiRT Rally 2 - On Twitter as @simracing604

Comments

It is fair to compare what the cost to benefit ratio is for each sim. Up to each person to make their own determination as to what they are willing to pay. I don't read stating the Q2 content is expensive to some as whinging.

rF2 is seldom going to be the cheapest option as the player count in small, car and track licences aren't free and the dev's need to eat.

AC and ACC have large player bases and the base game plus DLC have been available for some time (2014 and 2019 respectively) so discounts are going to be deep to intice people.​
 
Am I the only one who can't upshift on the Formula Pro?
No.
The new update to v1128 seems to be getting stuck downloading the latest updates of the Formula Pro & the IR 18. The fix is to unsubscribe from the two cars, then reboot rF2. It will download the newest versions of the cars. Formula Pro should be v1.19 & the Indycar IR 18 should be v1.43. Once you get those cars updated, the car will shift properly and you'll also get the full sound treatment.
 
Last edited:
Now that Q2 content has dropped, does anyone that has purchased any or all of it have any regrets? Buyer's remorse anyone?
No regrets here. Only had an hour to try it out before I had to call it a night, but the cars (feel and sound) and tracks (feel and look) are fantastic. A bit more optimisation on the tracks is needed for VR as I'm getting framedrops I don't see in other S397 tracks.

I appreciate the price is high and has turned a lot of people off, but I'm fortunate enough to have enough disposable income to wear that.
 
Last edited:
Premium
All ACC DLC together, it costs less than rF2's Q2 pack, it's literally a Robbery. No way am I going to buy a DLC for the price of a full game, these people are sick.
Good for you, now, do us a favour and stop posting just to be negative on something that you do not intend to buy. The BTCC content is AMAZING and wipes the floor with basically everything out there.
Best Brands Hatch in the business, hands down.
Brilliant FWD/RWD driving feel contrast.
New sounds are amazing too.
 
Premium
If you project the cost of all cars and tracks for BTCC at the same "discounted" price you get to over $100 if it goes through 3 parts. For something that is just a spill over of a most likely canceled game isn't cheap. Would you consider the BTCC game for $100+ as a bargain considering the market average cost for similar DLCs/games?
It's not a spill over.
No console compatible game (SimCade) would approach the level of detail on how these cars behave and feel on track.
MSG's licensed games are supposed to be oriented towards a broader audience, not true hard core sims.
rF2 would always be slated to receive contents out of those licenses and, yes, the content is expensive, but you quickly forget about the price after you test the cars and the tracks.
The detail on the road mesh in official/DLC rFactor 2 tracks is basically unmatched.
Nothing comes remotely close.
 
Q2 has dropped :x3:
The last time I "dropped" something, it was my iPhone 11, onto a concrete floor. Cost me €200 for a new screen :( I'm assuming you mean released, I see no reason to let the yanks FUBAR the english language. Or were you being facetious?
Standards matter ;)
Btw: Getting back on track. I bought the full pack, and I'm very happy with it, cost €31.44,
that's not too much for 3 tracks and 2 cars.
One thing I've noticed; the BTCC cars crash when driving out of the box in Laguna Seca due to not enough steering lock. But who drives BTCC in Laguna Seca anyway? I only discovered it 'cos I was too lazy to change cars when I was trying the tracks out.
 
Last edited:
Good for you, now, do us a favour and stop posting just to be negative on something that you do not intend to buy. The BTCC content is AMAZING and wipes the floor with basically everything out there.
Best Brands Hatch in the business, hands down.
Brilliant FWD/RWD driving feel contrast.
New sounds are amazing too.
It should be hard to defend something many people attack. Keep fighting Chuck Norris you can win this battle...
 
Last edited:
Premium
It should be hard to defend something many people attack. Keep fighting Chuck Norris you can win this battle...
Nah, it's a "routine-breaking past-time" to reply to people who seem to only know to sh!t post.
I find it quite enjoyable, to be honest, specially since I don't need to make any effort to do it.
 
No.
The new update to v1128 seems to be getting stuck downloading the latest updates of the Formula Pro & the IR 18. The fix is to unsubscribe from the two cars, then reboot rF2. It will download the newest versions of the cars. Formula Pro should be v1.19 & the Indycar IR 18 should be v1.43. Once you get those cars updated, the car will shift properly and you'll also get the full sound treatment.
Thanks!
 
It's not a spill over.
No console compatible game (SimCade) would approach the level of detail on how these cars behave and feel on track.
MSG's licensed games are supposed to be oriented towards a broader audience, not true hard core sims.
rF2 would always be slated to receive contents out of those licenses and, yes, the content is expensive, but you quickly forget about the price after you test the cars and the tracks.
The detail on the road mesh in official/DLC rFactor 2 tracks is basically unmatched.
Nothing comes remotely close.
Still.. To get the full set of cars and tracks it would project the cost to over $100. Totally out of the sim (not the arcade) market except iraicing. Actually iracing could be cheaper if you have bought enough previous content to have the 30% (or 40%?) discount...
 
Still.. To get the full set of cars and tracks it would project the cost to over $100. Totally out of the sim (not the arcade) market except iraicing. Actually iracing could be cheaper if you have bought enough previous content to have the 30% (or 40%?) discount...
And you only need to purchase the car you want to drive for racing a full grid.
 
yep, it's on the more expensive side of things but I do understand why - I think

rf2 was released long ago, so they no longer have ( too many ) new copies sold, so this is their only source of income

with all the updates / redesigned UI and what not - I personally though that it would be better to come up with RF3 with brand new engine, ported physics

it would give them new source of revenue
this would allow them to make it easier to mod , and therefore bringing more people in ( compared to AC, RF2 moding is lot more complex, time consuming )
but more importantly, it would allow them to rewrite some of the design decission / make bigger changes

but yeah, we shall see what' s gonna happen

mind you, a single (well done) plane for MSFS2020 can cost up to $99 , so is' all relative
Any idea what the cost of making a brand new engine is?
Why do you think studio's use Unreal Engine or Unity?
 
The last time I "dropped" something, it was my iPhone 11, onto a concrete floor. Cost me €200 for a new screen :( I'm assuming you mean released, I see no reason to let the yanks FUBAR the english language. Or were you being facetious?
Standards matter ;)
Btw: Getting back on track. I bought the full pack, and I'm very happy with it, cost €31.44,
that's not too much for 3 tracks and 2 cars.
One thing I've noticed; the BTCC cars crash when driving out of the box in Laguna Seca due to not enough steering lock. But who drives BTCC in Laguna Seca anyway? I only discovered it 'cos I was too lazy to change cars when I was trying the tracks out.
I saw that too, the FWD car seems to have the most problem. Those team mechanics stands take up way too much room behind the pit wall. Indycar, on the other hand, the AI controlled IR 18 can easily make the turn out of the garage.
 

Latest News

Article information

Author
Mike Smith
Article read time
3 min read
Views
47,660
Comments
258
Last update

What would be the ideal raceday for you to join our Club Races?

  • Monday

    Votes: 50 12.3%
  • Tuesday

    Votes: 42 10.3%
  • Wednesday

    Votes: 48 11.8%
  • Thursday

    Votes: 46 11.3%
  • Friday

    Votes: 141 34.6%
  • Saturday

    Votes: 240 59.0%
  • Sunday

    Votes: 175 43.0%
Back
Top