Announcement

When it comes to Motorsport, Great Britain can easily be identified as a key player. It´s not just the home to many renowned racing teams in different series, it´s also the nation with the most winning Le Mans 24h drivers, an achievement that does not come easy. When you’ve got a lot of talented and respected drivers in your country, there is a natural urge to also deliver some of the most thrilling sports- and race cars to show the rest of the world why Motorsport is at home in the UK. And true, it´s also the home to our very own Dom Duhan, who might consider that the greatest achievement of his home country 

Powerful engines, sophisticated suspensions and aerodynamics that let their work seem magical, that´s what is needed to create a race car that can take on the world. Some might say there are even cars that are too strong – welcome to our Two Strong Package!

No matter if you want to take on the future of sports car racing and build a new legacy with the McLaren Senna GTR – a car that not just looks out of this world- or you want to strap yourself into the Aston Martin Vantage GTE to claim victory in a class filled with top notch manufacturers – this is the right pack for you.

Get it now on Steam:

Two Strong Pack

McLaren Senna GTR

Born from a legacy that has already shaped our minds as motorsport enthusiasts for years, this 4.0l V8 twin-turbocharged beast takes you from zero to the future in just a blink of an eye. Be at the forefront of what might soon become the pinnacle of sports car racing in the endurance world, and take on the challenge of your life while maneuvering through race traffic that seems to be frozen in time while you head towards your podium.

Aston Martin Vantage GTE

Built to conquer one of the toughest classes in all of motorsport, this 4.0l V8 turbocharged Grand Tourer means serious business. Created by AMR, the motorsport experts of Aston Martin, this car doesn’t just look fast, in the right hands it’s meant to be on the front row, collecting more trophies a season than a normal household could ever fit. Are you ready to lead the charge?

Another big announcement! We are incredibly excited to be releasing another stunning set of cars. This time, SIX awesome current-gen single seaters from Tatuus, which form the first two steps of the FIA ladder to Formula 1 – the proving grounds for speed, racecraft and passion.

The cars have been meticulously created with extensive data from multiple partners. We worked directly with Tatuus and  Engineering Consult who work with Mucke Motorsport.

It’s been a long road, and we think you will enjoy these cars as much as we do. These cars will form a great part of our competition ladder in the future and will be used in other e-sport activities. So if you like competition, stay tuned! 

The cars will be available as part of your default installation!

Background

Just over a year ago, Italian race car manufacturer Tatuus was approached by the Tatuus Pack project leader Wito van Kuijeren to set initial guidelines to bring the full range of Tatuus open wheel race cars into race simulation. Tatuus, based in Monza, saw the opportunity and provided a huge data set for each vehicle, from engine and dynamics data to tyre data from all over the world. These six cars entering the rFactor ecosystem now race in almost all continents, starting in Europe with MSV F3-016 (BRDC British Formula 3 Championship), F4-T014 (Italian F4 Championship / ADAC Formula 4 / SMP F4 Championship) and WSK F3.T18 (Formula Regional European Championship). In New Zealand, the Toyota Racing Series features the incredible FT-50, in Asia the F.3 T318 for the F3 Asian Championship and finally in the USA, the Tatuus PM-18 and USF-17 cars are used in the Road to Indy.

Gianfranco De Bellis, CSO of Tatuus – “First of all thanks to Studio 397 and Engineering Consult for the incredible effort they put into this project. We at Tatuus are just as proud. Making our cars available in such a realistic way to all our drivers, but also the sim racing world is impressive. We produced over 1000 Formula Renault’s between 2000 and 2009, The F4 hits numbers close to 500, and with the introduction of the F.3 T318 we also produced 200 cars till date.”

Giovanni Delfino, CEO at Tatuus. “It was clear that we would be involved in a project like this. As far as I know no other race car manufacturer ever worked that close with a race simulation program with the sole purpose to make a our cars as realistic as possible and available for the public, including all teams running these cars and the drivers racing those. With this, rFactor 2 covers 70% of the FIA ladder and that’s impressive.”

Wito van Kuijeren, CEO at Engineering Consult. “This is the biggest project for me to date. I have many years running Tatuus cars on track (bought my first one in 1995) and in my job as race engineer race simulation has always been a big part of my work. With rFactor 2 and the development in esport it was clear the whole program would benefit from a proper platform. This platform is rFactor 2. We can create highly detailed cars, that match real car performance. Engine, boost mapping and tyre models are without doubt best out there. Now we have all, taking it one step further and make these cars available for all, and expect some awesome online leagues with them.”

Dom Duhan, CDO, Studio 397. “We’re incredibly proud to bring these cars to the masses, having worked at an extensive level with data, we believe we have created some of the most detailed interpretations of cars in sim racing. With Tatuus providing several cars used in the FIA ladder, we are also looking forward to them be used throughout esports competition. Thank you to Tatuus and Engineering Consult for their dedication and patience!”

And now the cars…

All Tatuus race cars are built to the latest safety standards in year of production. They all feature a carbon chassis, stressed engine mounting, 6-speed paddle shifters with auto-downshift. The F.3-T318 (produced in 2017) also features the HALO device and latest front and side impact protection.

Tatuus cars cover the first two steps of the FIA Ladder to F1 and form some of the most intense racing in motorsport.

Tatuus FT-50, year of production 2014. Production number 26. Equipped with a Toyota 1.8L naturally aspirated engine with approx. 205 bhp. The car is run exclusively in Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand. Former champions include Lando Norris, Lance Stroll, Brandon Hartley, Robert Shwarzman, and Earl Bamber, to mention a few.

Tatuus F4-T014, year of production 2014. Production number 250. Equipped with a blown 1.4 Abarth engine with approx. 165 bhp. The car is run in several championships, including, Germany, Italy, Spain and United Arabian Emirates. Since 2014, nearly all drivers have passed through this car on their way to the top level: Lando Norris, Lance Stroll, Ralf Aron, Mick Schumacher, Sophia Floersch, Markus Armstrong, Enzo Fittipaldi, and Liam Lawson, to mention a few.

Tatuus MSV F3-016, year of production 2016. Production number 30. Equipped with a powerful Cosworth 2.0L naturally aspirated engine producing 220+ bhp and big wings, this car matches the performance of the international F3 of the same year. It is run exclusively in the MSV championship. Former champs include Billy Monger, Linus Lundquist, Jamie Chadwick and Enaam Ahmed, to name a few.

Tatuus USF-17, year of production 2016. Production number 40. Equipped with the Mazda naturally aspirated engine producing 175 bhp. The car has identical build spec as the F4-T014 with a bit bigger brakes to handle the heavy road courses that the Road to Indy championships race on.

Tatuus PM-18, year of production 2017. Production number 40. Equipped with a high-revving full-race Mazda engine, this is the big bad brother of the USF-17:  275+ bhp, big wings, big tires and oval-ready. With this car, there is a linear step within Road to Indy straight up to the infamous Indycar. Former Road to Indy champs include Rinus Veekay, J.R Hildebrand, Connor de Philippi, and Patricio O’Ward.

Tatuus F.3 T318, year of production 2018. Production number 220. Equipped with the Alfa Romeo blown 1.7 engine producing 280 bhp. This car comes with big wings and big tyres and an aeromap very similar to its equivalent in the FIA F3. It is actually run in two championships, the ASIA F3 and Regional WSK.

Just a few weeks ago, in our latest roadmap, we announced that Le Mans was coming to rFactor 2. Now, on the weekend that the 2019 edition of this famous 24h race is held, as the real cars pass the checkered flag after yet another memorable race, the racing won’t stop! We are proud to announce the release of the Le Mans 24h track, available immediately!

For those of you who can’t wait, here’s the link to the store, where you can buy your copy of the track right now and start driving!

Background

The story of the creation of this iconic track goes all the way back to the days when Studio 397 was founded, almost three years ago now. I guess, when we chose the name of our company we already showed our intention.

Being new to the game obviously meant that we had to first introduce ourselves to the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) and build a relationship with them. Such things always take time. Over the first two years, we met regularly, explained our ideas and plans, and listened to their feedback. In that same time period, we also entered into discussions with various other tracks and car manufacturers and showed that we were serious about making rFactor 2 the most realistic racing simulation for everybody who enjoys the experience of driving race cars. All these things led to a licensing agreement, roughly a year ago, that all parties were happy with.

Just in time too for doing a laser scan of the 2018 track, as obviously Le Mans only exists in this configuration for a couple of weeks a year. With the license in place and the scan in our possession, production work started a little over half a year ago, with us balancing our track team resources at the time between three big tracks, the Nürburgring, already in production at that time after we announced it at SimRacing Expo last year, Monaco and Le Mans.

As with Sebring, our goal was to create the most realistic model of Le Mans possible for any consumer-oriented racing simulation available. By pairing our highly accurate physics with a very detailed road mesh, we have recreated the track in a way that makes you feel every bump and curb out there.

Graphically, we have used our latest shaders on this track. Improvements to our lighting model and materials are still in full swing. So whilst you will find this track already looks gorgeous, it is safe to say we will do an update once everything is finalized later in the year, and we will provide a more in-depth update on this process in one of our upcoming roadmaps.

Enough said about production and background. Let’s take a closer look at all 13.6 kilometers of this track!

A lap around the track

We’ll start our lap from the pit lane, with an impressive pit building on our right and lots of spectators on grandstands on the other side, as we merge onto the main track on the inside of the Dunlop Curve.

This high-speed turn leads into the Dunlop Chicane, a left-right combination that is followed by the famous Dunlop Bridge.

After that, it’s downhill through the sweeping Esses, a series of fast turns.

Then it’s on to one of the many great corners on the track: Tertre Rouge, a fast right hander that takes us onto the longest straight on the track, so having a good exit here is crucial.

The Mulsanne Straight, or Ligne Droite des Hunaudières as the French call it, in old times was a long straight.

Since 1990, it’s been broken up by two chicanes.

At the end of the straight, jumping over a slight hill, we end up in Mulsanne Corner, where you brake really hard and brake discs glow ferociously. Again, having a good exit onto the next straight is important here.

The next straight takes us to Indianapolis, a very technical corner where you first go right at high speed and then have to brake hard into a 90 degree left hander with some banking. If you mess up your approach here, you’ll pay for it as there is not a great deal of run-off area unless you abort the left hander completely and go straight on.

From Indianapolis it’s only a short sprint towards Arnage, a slow right hander that is followed by a straight that leads us to one of the most exciting parts of the track, the Porsche Curves.

Here you have to be brave to keep your foot down, and even though recent changes have introduced larger run-off areas, the walls are still dangerously close so you most definitely don’t want to get it wrong here.

Next up, we have the Corvette Curves followed by the Ford Chicanes, a series of two chicanes that slow the cars right down. Alternatively, this is where you shoot straight ahead to dive into the pits.

Coming out of the chicanes, you end up back on the main straight to start another lap.

This ends our tour of the track.

Build changelog

With the track release comes a new build too. As always we advise people to update their dedicated servers and game clients. In fact, Le Mans requires this new build.

rFactor 2 version: 1.1112
Steam Build IDs: 3921932 (client), 3921933 (dedicated server)

Changes:

• Improved performance logging to be faster and give more information.
• Fixed skewed driver labels on triple screen multi-view (cockpit and track-side full-screen cams).
• Removed aggressive threading as it’s not that helpful.
• Improved timing to help avoid stutters and real-time freezes.
• Improvements on materials and lighting (see article above for full description).
• Implemented all new ‘digital flags’ – for ‘Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans’.

Summary

We wish you all a lot of fun racing this track in many different classes of cars. Keep practicing, and maybe one day we will all see you driving in the real event. In any case, enjoy your weekend. We’ll be back with more news soon. We definitely have a few more surprises up our sleeves this year!

And now for the big one, Sebring! Since taking over the development of rFactor 2, our goals have been clear: take an already incredible simulation as a base and move the bar higher, push new and exciting features that you want, and give you the chance to experience a professional grade simulator – at home!

So this track release is more than just “a track release”. It’s a milestone for our team in what we’ve set out to do. The level of fidelity and road feel is above and beyond anything that’s out there, and we’re boldly confident you will agree. Of course we’re excited to say the track was created using an extremely detailed laserscan – but it’s not just about the laserscan itself, it’s about the way we utilized the data and converted it into usable detailed information that gets back to the force feedback in your wheel, something that has not yet been done in rFactor 2 at this level. We feel we’ve achieved our goals in the high level of road fidelity thanks to some innovations and, of course, rigorous testing. The end result is… the ‘FFB’ doesn’t lie – you’ll feel every crack in the pavement and every undulation in minute detail. On the straights and as you dive into each turn, those subtle nuances in the track surface will give you the precise control and muscle memory that a real-life driver would have on track. Our development and test teams have all become addicted, driving endless stints and trying to get that elusive extra tenth or even hundredth of a second!

Buy it over here right now!

https://store.steampowered.com/itemstore/365960/detail/18/

On the visual and graphics side, we’re just as excited and pushing ahead. We’ve paid close attention to those essential details that add to the overall immersion. The road surface itself is very precisely modeled on the real thing, with every crack and repaired and re-repaired crack. All the nuances and color variations as well as the overall worn-down, characteristic look from years of racing help to really convey the atmosphere. And with an ultra high level of trackside objects in the environment, from spectators to campers and vehicles, there’s a real ‘track vibe’ from any camera you’re viewing from, which makes watching an online event that much more exciting. Of course, as always, we’ve kept in mind scalability for performance.

So today we release to you Sebring. The main layout is available in two versions. One featuring the 12-hour race layout, with a packed infield and a lot of spectators, and another that gives you more of a “track day” feel. On top of that we also included two shorter layouts: School and Johnson Club. These layouts are very well suited for smaller fields of cars and somewhat slower cars.

Sebring is completely laser scanned in location, through professional high density, high accuracy, laser scan equipment. We scanned the track just a few weeks before the 2018 “12 Hours Of Sebring”. We then processed, filtered and optimized all the data to produce a clean stream of points for the simulation. We used that data to describe and model everything from centerline to first barriers, so even if you put your tires off the grass, you’ll still get a complete simulation of the grounds, through both physics/FFB and graphics.

History

The Sebring race track is built on the site of Hendricks Army Airfield, a United States Army Air Forces training base for Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress pilots in operation from 1941 to 1946. Sebring as a well known racetrack has a long and colorful history, dating as far back as 1950.

The brain child of Alec Ulmann, a Russian entrepreneur, who had a unique vision of the old airfield. As a motor racing aficionado, he saw an airfield and its access roads combined as one whole ‘racetrack’, full of potential. This is part of the main reason even today that Sebring remains a very engaging track to drive on.  Although lacking in any real elevations, the combination of surfaces that alternate during a lap – part road, part airstrip –  become a uniquely challenging and varied set of turns with a rhythmic and enigmatic flow. In short, it’s hard to explain why it’s so fun to drive, but it just is.  Sebring is a track with ample room to race, and yet it still doesn’t feel spoiled with miles of runoff.

And today, decades later, the tradition of racing passion continues unbroken, with most notably the “12 hours of Sebring”. “America’s oldest sports car endurance race” – currently in its 66th year – is where some of the best world class multi-class racing can be found!

Turn by turn

Sebring 12 Hour Layout

The 12 Hour layout of Sebring is 5.95km with a total of 17 turns:

Turn 1: The Initiation

Sebring’s first turn gets you right into the mind set with its undulating concrete surface: it is extremely bumpy, fast, and blind ! On entry, stay as far as you can on the outside right without clipping the pit-wall, and dive into the apex while staying heavy on brakes. It is key to keep the brake pressure steady as you ease into the inside wall apex. If you manage that, you’ll be able to floor it out and sail onto the tarmac section. Take it wrong and you’ll watch helplessly as your car slowly drifts to the outside. Sawing and the stabbing brakes like a maniac won’t always help you to avoid ending up on the dirt and grass. It’s a fine line!

Turn 2, 3, 4, 5: Smooth in Smooth Out

Just off T1, if you made it safe and sound, you’ll need to quickly gauge your speed into the incoming chicane-like series of bends. Key here is ease it in, stay one gear higher to keep the car settled to avoid snappy rear oversteer. Hold a steady amount of throttle, utilize the suspension roll to glide through and accelerate out onto the big bend in one swooping motion. Carry too much speed and you’ll most likely end up visiting the grass outside of T5, too little and you’ll bog down and lose momentum.

Turn 6, 7: The Big Bend, and the Hairpin Awaits!

Once you’re safely through T5 you’ll have space to make an easy pass if you’ve carried slightly more momentum than the cars in front of you. Here on the Big Bend full throttle is essential – but keep your wits, and prepare for the hairpin that comes up quicker than you think. The hairpin at Sebring, as you can see by the enormously generous runoff, has seen many cars obliviously fly off as if brakes were not even a thing. This short concrete section will easily catch you off guard. Overestimate the braking zone and a lock up is a certainty. It’s a deceptive entry and oh-so-easy to get wrong, even after you’ve taken it hundreds of times.

Turn 7, 8, 9: Fangio! Watch those tenths of a second fall.

Just out of the hairpin you’re quickly back on tarmac. This transition needs to be taken into account, a slight bit of over throttle and you risk losing the back-end completely. If you’ve hit it just right, you’ll see a big boost by getting on throttle early. The short abrupt bend of T8 can be taken full on, but keep your trajectory as straight as possible just until you need to start merging right onto the iconicly named Fangio bend…

Turn 10, 11: Cunningham and Collier

This next pair of tight snappy off-camber turns is easy to get wrong, but exhilarating when you hit it just right. The trick here is to brake a touch earlier and keep enough rolling momentum while retaining the minimal amount of lateral grip to stay on track. Avoid clipping the inside right curb of T10, and progressively ease on the throttle just as you reach the apex of T11, at this point you want to squeeze hard with max throttle with quick up-shifts going into T12.

Turn 12 and 13: The Right Angle

Turn 12 is somewhat easygoing, but watch the front end lift during up-shifts. For that short moment you can accelerate and hammer up through the gears. The right angle turn ahead will make you pay dearly if the car isn’t settled by the time you’re starting to brake into T13. Keep an eye on the outside left curb on entry. If you hit it fast enough, chances are you’ll snap over-steer even before turning in. In T13 you want as much coasting speed as possible with minimal braking. Again, avoid the inside right curb, but get as snug to it as you can to maintain a smooth arc and consistent exit speed.

Turn 14, 15, 16: What runoff?

Flying Fortress Straight just off T13 is a good place to look for a clean pass. Here, you’ll edge up into top gears, and just as you have to slow into T14, a very harmonious and gradual series of esses leads into T16. For this last turn onto the Ullman straight, you’ll need to dip just outside on the left side before taking the last mid-speed right hander. Let the inside right curb help rotate in, then be aggressive on the throttle and ride the left-hand exit curb. Keep in mind the outside part of the curb slopes away and will send you into the grass if you hit it while slamming the throttle.

Turn 17:  The Sunset Bend, Hail Mary or Mind the Bump

And now for the grand finale, The Ullman straight and Sunset Bend. The Ullman straight’s 870 meters of straight line speed, the best place to get a tow and slipstream past another car, will send you hurling into the last turn in top gear.

Known as the sunset bend, this is one of the most iconic turns in motor sports. With its teeth-rattling concrete slabs and its vast open space, it lends itself to some very spontaneous and creative racing lines, on entry and on exit, not to mention the mind blowing passing situations. The key here is understanding the terrain and knowing how to manage the big bump at the apex: braking hard and late into the turn, hugging that first right-hand wall and modulating the brakes for what seems like forever.  You need to ease into the invisible apex, letting your intuition and gut feel guide you more than your choreographed memory.  Each time you take Sunset, it’s a new experience to some degree, and it leaves you always feeling you can do it better, motivating you to keep pushing !

Sebring School Layout

The School layout is 3.22km with a of a total of 6 turns and shares the lower half of the track layout with the full 12 hour, as well as the same garage and pitlane.

Turn 2, 3

The first turn at Sebring School layout is the same as the full 12 hour, however you need to be much slower into T2 and T3 that now become a short snappy pair of right hand turns onto the T4,T5, and T6 (which are the same as the 12 hour T15,T16,T17)

Sebring Johnson Club

The Johnson club layout is 2.47km with a total of 11 turns and shares the upper half of the track layout with the full 12 hour. It has it’s own alternate garage and pitlane.

Turn 5, 6

With Cunningham and Collier becoming the first turns, the flow of the Johnson layout makes you feel like it’s in another track altogether.  Flying fortress Straight is shortened and leads into the new turns 5 and 6 then back onto T7 and into the Big Bend.

Ethanol Powered ‘Little Monsters’

We at Studio 397 love all kind of raw racing and motorsport. The good ol’ times of Formula racing are without a doubt, a time where racing was at its purest. The cars were beasts, the tracks always a tough challenge, and the drivers brilliant and fearless maniacs. We’re proud to be able to take you guys back to those days, where every race was the challenge of your life. Two free new cars for rFactor 2 bringing you all the fun and excitement of a classic era. Relive those golden moments with the March 761 and the Brabham BT44b and bring back Formula racing of the 70’s to classic or even modern racetracks.

March 761

A fragile but rocket-like fast F1 car, designed and manufactured by UK based March Engineering. With a background of designing F2 cars and the experience of many different racing series, March Engineering brought this car into F1 in 1976. An interesting fact is that these cars used a sponsorship that changed from race to race, resulting in many wildly different liveries being used throughout the season.

Brabham BT44b

The car used by Brabham in 1975 wasn´t anything extraordinary from just looking at the individual parts. Marrying a Cosworth DFV engine to a Hewland FG gearbox was considered standard practice that time, so the BT44b didn´t stand out. But the team worked hard not only on improving the reliability of this combination, but also on the performance in certain areas, as well as making sure the BT44b features a very low centre of gravity. With all these coming together, Brabham managed to have their most successful season since 1969, finishing 2nd in the constructors championship.