We are now starting season 15 and we just ran our 200th points race using Assetto Corsa. For those not in the know this was all started by Brad back in the 2000's as a time trial thing but as technology got better it morphed into online racing with other GRM members and then voice chat was added.
I joined in 2009 when we were running Grand Turismo 4 I think? Maybe it was GT5? The guiding principle set by Brad has been to have fun with like-minded racing enthusiasts of motorsports and racing and when racing treat it like you were at a real track day and respect your fellow competitors. It has been a simple formula that has worked very well. We do deviate sometimes and get a bit less serious and have had some off-the-wall series (like classic VW bugs with NOS). We also, In honor of Wally and his late wife, ran a double-decker bus race on a figure 8 track (because why not). The flip side to this is the group developed a car for Brad that was very close to matching his real car (tested by Brad at tracks he raced on). Brad was going to run in it in the "One Lap of America" so we ran the One Lap schedule as close as we could. But 99 percent of the time we are racing some form of race car/track car or street car. Most recently we ran GT4 cars. They are a great balance of performance that is still easy to drive. The fun is we can take cars from all time periods and all levels of performance. There has also been a lot of teaching of race craft. I have learned so much from so many people over the years about real racing even though it is in a digital format.
Currently, we are between seasons. Next Wednesday (we run every Wednesday night) we will be testing cars from the 90's through the mid-2000s and will be selecting one for a single-make race season. These will be performance cars, not full race cars. Loosely speaking cars will be set up as if you were going to a track day with "GRM" type improved suspension and track day type tires
I was just impressed that we have hit the 200 race mark with Assetto Corsa and that got me looking back at how this whole thing has evolved over the years.
I say this a lot but it is a group thing that is fueled by everyone that has participated. A big thanks to Brad for taking the initiative to start this thing all those years ago. Who would have thought it would be still going on all the years later? I think know when Brad started it but I am betting it is close to 20 years??? Maybe others can chime in on this.
As always if people want to join in take a look over in the sim central section of the forum. The info for how to join us is over there in the start of any of the threads for the race seasons.
