Sim Racing Moments

[Paul Jeffrey]

Can you tell us about your favourite moments from your sim racing past?

Positivity can sometimes be a little hard to come by in the world today. The general population often like to focus on the more negative side of life, often leaving out or altogether missing some of the finer things we have to enjoy - sim racing fans are no different.

Now I know nothing is perfect, and if one tries hard enough then bad things can easily be found - but generally speaking, I think sim racing is in an incredible place right now, and I want to use this thread to spread some of that love.

So folks, have a think and tell us, and the world, about some of the things you love about sim racing..

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[numbersevenhull]

Loads of fun times from playing Grand Prix 4 'hotseat' with my brother swapping a joystick as controller.

But of everything, I'd have to say the first time you pop on a VR headset and are suddenly inside the games you have followed for years and years, that really is something. An extraordinary moment of wonder I'm sure many of us share, otherwise known as

"Holy f**k, I'm inside this car"

 

[MarcG]

I've had hundreds of great moments in Sim Racing, from battling AI to battling Humans, many great memories.

One Tale; I was entering the final couple of laps running and worrying about my fuel, the Low Fuel Icon flashed up and I realised my worst fears...I wasn't gonna make it! So I did what everyone does and panic, I had already been doing the usual of coasting and lifting off, low rev gear changes and all that. But now I had to deal with simply slipping it into neutral which was more hair raising than anything I had done in Sim Racing before. Anyway after a few straights and low speed with the guy behind me closing at concorde pace I entered the final turns...the car spluttered and the engine died...thankfully it was a bit downhill (maybe Road America, really can't remember) and I rolled across the line and beat the guy behind me by a hairs breadth...all for 16th Place!

 

[MarcG]

Loads of fun times from playing Grand Prix 4 'hotseat' with my brother swapping a joystick as controller.

But of everything, I'd have to say the first time you pop on a VR headset and are suddenly inside the games you have followed for years and years, that really is something. An extraordinary moment of wonder I'm sure many of us share, otherwise known as

"Holy f**k, I'm inside this car"

Oh yes you've nailed that (which had actually slipped my mind), sitting in the Classic F1 Cars in Assetto Corsa in VR for the first time was simply mind blowing and VR continues to be the best thing to ever happen in Sim Racing for me.

 

[FeltHat]

But of everything, I'd have to say the first time you pop on a VR headset and are suddenly inside the games you have followed for years and years, that really is something. An extraordinary moment of wonder I'm sure many of us share.

I still remember my first time in VR sim, Zakspeed Capri at Falkenberg, lovely

As to favorite moments then everytime i sat in Super Truck or everytime i push throttle in Corvette Greenwood First RD Wreckfest event or recent first R3E Group C event, fun times.

Making video montages from past races, when you can finally hit that render button and upload a video, priceless
Now im waiting for Group 5 event at Bathurst, that sure would be the best, and Super Trucks in VR in AMS2

 

[Nick Hill]

My first win against human competition - iRacing spec Miata @ Charlotte road course. I had the lead on the second to last lap on the oval section, got overtaken, but realized all I needed to do was drive a clean last lap and I was all but guaranteed to pass for the win on the oval section of the final lap (which is exactly what I did!)

Quite a thrill... ironically, I've barely played iRacing since!

 

[BorisK]

Indianapolis 500 (1989) by Papyrus on PC AT 286 made me the lover of Sim Racing forever )

 

[Kranky Pantz]

Favorite moment?
The first time I played Assetto Corsa in VR after buying a used Oculus DK2 off of Craigslist, well before the CV1 was released.

Brands Hatch Indy in a KTM X-Bow (open-wheelers are the best in VR )

It felt like I was part of an exclusive club which had a well kept secret, of which there were very few members of at the time.

 

[TheReaper GT]

My favorite moment by far is a 10 lap race around Nordschleife with the Mazdas on iRacing. A friend was trying to learn the track and we agreed that he would follow me, turns out we finished 1-2 and he was super ultra happy, mega fun.

 

[RasmusP]

Doing my first ever real online race in early 2017 with the Abart 500 at Zandvoort in AC, hosted by Bram himself.
Practiced a lot offline, thought I would be one of the fast guys, came dead last.
Then a few weeks ago I won my first race ever. First acc club race on here with Bram himself again with me on track.

What a journey for me and a big step for me to finally put a win on my belt. Two very important moments

And of course getting totally wasted by @FeltHat in wreckfest. That was a fun moment too

 

[Lentoveloz]

It was exciting to play Grand Prix Legends again thanks to the efforts of the GPL Preservation Society and SRMZ. Even at 36 frames per second, it was like going back in time and seeing my passion for virtual races being born. It was also great to go back to GTL with the release on Steam. It was gratifying to dominate NASCAR cars in 2003 and start running in ovals. With the Reiza games, it's great to ride the race track that I know the most, Brasilia (Brazil). And every time I visit GTR2, I know why I will continue to be in love with virtual racing until the end of my days.

 

[Rory Wetherington]

Original Nascar Racing, buying a Thomas steering wheel and adding a second phone line and paying long distance charges (200 bucks a mo. average) on the old Hawaii server, forming a team and then meeting my virtual racing teammate in real life ... good times.

 

[robt100]

Theres too many to list really! As a breif run of highlights....
Having raced over the last 15 years against the likes of Valtteri Bottas, Stoffel Vandoorne, Florian Strauss and Nick Catsburg in both casual and league races is always something to remember.

Racing over at TouringProSeries with the streamed events and the toughest competition I've come across was another highlight as it really tested my skills, along with reacing for @Caramidaru Andrei Bogdan at Walk Racing.

Although it was serious (and a pain in the arse) at times......also going head to head with @Ross Macfarlane in a BMW M325 championship. It was one of those time where almost every race we were on another level, pumping out laps 1sec faster than the rest of the grid. Alternating wins and 2nd places, and a few controversial moves from both sides of the fence. Looking back at it I realise it was a great season, those are the kind of things I wish I had more replays/broadcasts on.

And finally, although not a "sim".......... 2 player championships with friends on TOCA 2 has to be up there as some of the most fun moments over the years!

 

[ears]

VR again. That moment. Going from watching games to being in games.

This is my favourite online experience. Started up near the front, got knocked around a bit, dropped to maybe 5th, then started to recover.

Some people made mistakes ahead of me, it led to the closest ever finish I've been involved in for a top end position.

All the more special in VR, looking over to see whether it was my car or the other car going to cross the line first.

 

[bgil66]

When my nephew was 3 and I had a Wingman Formula Force in the 90's putting him on my lap and seeing his smile light up driving a few sims back then. Would love to have those times again

 

[KittX]

Probably when HistorX 1,9 was released, when they've added a bunch of new cars like 330 p4, 70s Trans-Am cars, that was just so big, so much of an effort to get all that done... Same with first couple of releases from Enduracers for rf1. Remember spending hours getting used to the cars. The best of those moments was a feeling that you're in the boat with so great people, a huge community bringing so much effort.
Probably the saddest moment was a year or 2 ago, when going back to rf1 and realizing that it's all lost. A bit compares to a car that was restored once, to the pristine and shining condition, then was left in the cold and wet, outside the shop, and rusted away. Yes the huge effort is still there, and the physics and such, but you understand that industry moved much further in terms of ffb, track aliveness, graphics, you name it... And shame we'll probably never ever get huge mods like that.

*Slightly* prior to that, I remember getting Nascar 2002 season in 2002, was my first Nascar game, I was blown away how good it looked. How the lighting and textures looked photorealistic, how real the cars were behaving while looking at them from TV cams. I've tried many games with technically better graphics, like Rallysport Challenge that was released the same year, but something about NR2002 looks just blown me away.

 

[mantasisg]

Easy to go autobiography mode on this.

So many great moments in nearly 15 years. Basically every new discovery, every new thing learned. Every big improvement made, in all meanings of it.

Greatest thing is quality racing online with people from all over the world. And just having nice chat.

Every great online race. Every competitive position captured. Every hard but respectful racing fight. Every great laptime. Every such moment feels like experiencing greatest moments ever. Can't imagine whats going on in peoples minds when they do that in serious competitions.

I think working on some mod for months and then giving it to public as a gift, as a return for community also makes for great moment and gives value. But I feel like spending all that time and racing online with your community is not less valuable and brings more great moments in total.

 

[robopirate]

Realtime F1 Championships in a Tyrell in Grand Prix 2 together with a friend who actually brought his PC to my place which we then connected to mine with a serial (!) cable. Incredibly fun times with some great keyboard racing. Always went full „A“ - unavoidably. We literally raced whole F1 season with almost binary controls.

After those early days every new game/sim seemed like the logical next step to me, blowing my mind on a regular basis. Until I first put on the Rift and felt like a completely new world in simracing opened up to me.

It for sure are great times for simracing enthusiasts with plenty of quality platforms and also hardware to choose from on the one hand which each have their own strengths and weaknesses and incredibly talented modders on the other who make this hobby as diverse and immersive as it can be. I wish I could support more of these guys that give this community so much and expect so little in return. Can't believe we'll have the 10.000th mod for AC on RD in the next couple of days for example. I can't thank you enough!

 

[Erg]

Running out of fuel at parabolica in a 60min endurance race and losing 2nd place finishing 17th as dsq 50 meters behind finish line.
Maybe not the favourite but a fresh tragic one

 

[Corey Rogers]

Indianapolis 500 (1989) by Papyrus on PC AT 286 made me the lover of Sim Racing forever )

Loved that game. I use to compete against a close friend who won 5 races at Indy. I won 7. I remember crying once on the last lap after I crashed while leading by over a lap. My mother had just come into the room and asked me something and I lost my concentration. I was inconsolable but she couldn't see the big deal and carried on like I was just a big baby playing a game. I played this on an AMD 386SX IIRC.