New car release!
Can everyone please stand up and offer a warm rF2 welcome for the latest addition to our ever expanding content offering within the simulation – the brand-new Formula Pro – the pinnacle of open wheel racing action in rFactor 2.
Here at rFactor 2 we pride ourselves on our ability to offer a diverse and immersive collection of sim racing content, from low powered junior race cars to some of the most exotic and dramatic machinery in the world. With such a fine variety of choice already available to take out onto the track within the software, back at Studio 397 HQ we decided it is about time we add a new and high performance open wheel car into the equation…. something that will represent the fastest and most modern racing experience within the sim, a car that will grab our drivers’ attention from the moment you get behind the virtual racing wheel and turn your first laps out on circuit. After much consideration, research and exchanging of design ideas – the Formula Pro was born.
Formula Pro | Steam Store: CLICK HERE.
With this new car we wanted drama, style, noise and speed to be at the absolute core of our design principles. Right from the very start the Formula Pro lets its intentions be known, from an aggressive stance on those 18-inch Goodyear wheels, to the dramatic sweeps of the aerodynamic lines that make up the body of this new car – the Formula Pro screams speed, aggression and performance, even when standing still.
Bucking the trend of modern open wheel motorsport, for this new car we didn’t want to bolt a hybrid, low revving and muted engine to the back of such a beautiful design, so rather than go down that route we’ve decided that 18,000 RPM and 800 HP sound (quite literally) like a good solution – evoking memories of the V10 heyday of motorsport and giving this car a suitable soundtrack to blast around the circuits of the world.
Although the Formula Pro will be available to purchase as a standalone item within the rFactor 2 Steam Store, we are also pleased to present the new car as part of a wider Formula Pro Pack – a new collection of content that will include three superb Grade 1 listed racetracks: Spa-Francorchamps, the Nürburgring and the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza – plus of course the new Formula Pro car itself. With this pack, we have curated some of the best content available to really stretch the legs of this new machine, and give players the perfect playgrounds on which to get their open wheel racing thrills.
Formula Pro Pack | Steam Store: CLICK HERE
The release strategy for this new car has been broken down into three distinct phases to support the development and expansion of our base offering. Our initial release is scheduled for July 1st 2021, and has been dubbed the ‘Shakedown’ phase – simply put, this represents the very first launch of the Formula Pro car, complete with a set of 12 two-car livery designs and four different tyre compounds (Hard, Medium, Soft and Wet). The car will then be used for the qualification programme of the new Formula Series Esport activation, which begins on July 2nd and is available to enter via the rFactor 2 Competition System. Although the car will already be at a very advanced state of development during this period, we will use the weeks following initial release to further refine both the model and physics, based on our own plans and community feedback, as well as adding additional features and tweaks prior to the full V1 release rollout later in the month.
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As the weeks progress from our initial release, players will see the car upgraded to what will be considered as a full Version 1 build update, including all the final finishing touches and updates to bring the Formula Pro into line with our vision for what we want this new car to become. Physics, graphics, features and 3D model will all be aligned and into their final version state, and the car in its standard form will be considered complete barring any unexpected fixes and updates that may present themselves over time.
Once we have hit that milestone, this is where things start to get interesting. We have some pretty big plans for this car currently in the pipeline, that should see a few very nice changes coming to the public version of the vehicle. Unfortunately these plans are still at a very early stage, so we can’t say too much about them at this juncture, however stay tuned to the Studio 397 website and rFactor 2 social accounts, and we will certainly share more information in the weeks and months ahead.
Goodyear Tyres
In order to bring as much realism and variety into the driving experience as possible, we have worked extensively with the world renowned Goodyear brand to develop a much more detailed and realistic tyre for this new car. Although not a new tyre model as such, we have been fortunate enough to have access to considerable amounts of data from Goodyear for this project, which has given us the opportunity to look much deeper into how our tyres behave within the simulation, how the forces are applied and react with our physics engine, and how we can hopefully improve both the feeling and behaviour on or over the limit out on track.
We have been delighted with the level of insight this new collaboration with Goodyear has started to yield, we hope our community will enjoy the benefits we believe this new data has brought to the wider driving experience.Â
Stay tuned to the Studio 397 website for more information about our collaboration with Goodyear in the next few weeks.
Formula Series – Qualifications Open July 2nd
Formula Series| More Info: CLICK HERE.
As well as the new car, and the new competition ready Formula Pro Pack detailed above, we also have exciting plans in the form of our latest high profile esport activation with the new car – The Formula Pro Series!
Developed in answer to the requests from our community to host a high profile open wheel championship in rFactor 2, the Formula Series is about to step up and take the accolade as our top level formula championship, featuring the biggest and best esport teams and drivers as they look to do battle on some of the greatest tracks in rFactor 2.
Following along the same lines of our now well established GT Series structure, the new category will be opened up for both ‘Pro’ and ‘Challenge’ competitors, with multiple splits and live broadcasts supporting what we expect will be something of an action packed new series of races for the simulation.
For our community drivers, the Formula Challenge Series is right around the corner, with qualifications for the championship set to open from Friday, July 2nd, and will run up to and including Monday July 12th. During this period, drivers will have the opportunity to access the Formula Challenge qualification events via the in-game rFactor 2 Competition System – whereupon they will have to set a time at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit during one of the official qualification sessions. Alternatively, should you not wish to try and set a time during the qualification sessions, you can simply turn up on race day – however be aware, this will mean you are put into the lowest split of the competition.
Formula Series | Official Forum Post: CLICK HERE.
We cannot wait to hear your reactions from a car that we are particularly proud of here at Studio 397, and we are greatly looking forward to sharing with you more details of the exciting ideas we have for this car in the coming weeks and months ahead. We hope you enjoy racing the Formula Pro as much as we have making it, and we look forward to seeing you all out on the virtual tarmac in the very near future!
The Formula Pro 2022 – Now available in the rFactor 2 Steam Store.
