David O'Reilly
A bad quali means I can go forwards in the race.
It's incredible to think about it but Formula SimRacing has its fifteenth birthday this year.
It started in 2001 with Grand Prix 3 simulation by Geoff Crammond. It's first race was at Albert Park GP circuit in Melbourne. Later that year Artur Mlodzinski made history by being crowned the first FSR World Drivers Champion.
In 2002 the scene was set as the the International SimRacing Club by then itself in its third year took the decision to move platforms from Grand Prix 3 to 'F1 2001' from Electronic Arts. Later in the same year the championship migrated to 'F1 2002'. The club has ever since sought the most realistic and accurate simulation to run the championship.
2002 was also the year that saw the arrival of one of sim racings greatest legends Greger Huttu. However it took Gregor 6 months to become competitive and it was 2003 when he came out of the blocks sprinting with 5 straight wins in the opening races. However the standard in FSR is always extremely high and Gregor was out-qualified for race 6 at Monaco by Joshua Lyon. Huttu crashed out on lap 23 and retired from FSR. Lyon took the title in what was his second season.
2006 saw the move from the EA titles to ISI Rfactor using Jason Tedstone's 'F1Champions' Modification.
In the ensuing years the constant has been extremely high levels of driving and competition. If you are FSR World Champion you are one of the best if not the best sim-racer on the planet.
2014 the biggest news was that the International SimRacing Club decided that rFactor 2 was ready for the pinnacle of sim-racing so FSR moved to rFactor 2.
The change of platform mixed it up a bit and the great (then) four time Champion Bono Huis didn't get it all his own way in 2014 and it seemed with 2 races to go that the French racer Morgan Morand had the title sewn up. However in a dramatic final round Huis took his fifth title.
Now its 2015 and two winter series have been been held on the further updated platform. One unofficial in the brilliant ASR Open Wheeler Classic mod and the second the Official FSR Winter series in the ISI stock Formula Renault 3.5 2014. Wet weather testing is scheduled for later this month. Meanwhile the the Formula ISI has been tested and further tweaked after the experience of 2014 to further enhance its suitability.
Morgan Morand the French racer will return to see if he can wrest the Drivers Champion trophy that he so very nearly won in 2014. Reigning champion Bono Huis is taking a break after 5 straight titles. Several drivers will be stepping up to Championship from Ace and we expect to see several drivers racing for wins. Likewise some talented Pro drivers will step up as their results now require it under the rules or because their talent and ambition dictate it. There will be a lot of new faces in Pro fighting for results and recognition from top teams.
The scene is set for the most exciting and unpredictable FSR season yet.
The FSR League in essence consists of three levels.
- Pro "The entry point”. 60% of GP distance. Auto Clutch,Traction control and ABS on low.
- Ace "The step up”. 80% Race distance. Auto Clutch Only.
- World Championship. 100% race distance. No assists.
The season will open on April fourth at Albert Park Melbourne with thirteen other race weekends completing the full calendar.