Misc Raceroom Advent Calendar 2020: Corners and Cars

11th December: P4/5 Competizione at Spa-Francorchamps
GT3 at Spa never gets old. I don’t need to tell you about corners like Eau Rouge/Raidillion, Pouhon or Blanchimant. And how tricky it is to nail a perfect lap here with GT3 cars. It’s a dance with tyre and aerodynamic grip as well as with your own courage. Even more exciting are multiplayer races on this track, slipstream battles into hard braking zones are a classic part of each event you ever attended online here. But the challenge for today doesn’t say any GT3 car. It’s the Glickenhaus built P4/5 Competizione, a Ferrari inspired monster designed to win the 24h of Nürburgring. It never did, but still is a futuristic car worth a mention. Aerodynamics aren’t as advanced as in more recent GT3 cars, but still create enough downforce to try and get close to a flat out Eau Rouge/Raidillion line. Good luck! @keanos said any of the GTR3 cars can race here, so you can race anyone of them on the Ranked Servers if you like to!
http://game.raceroom.com/de/leaderboard/?track=3870&car_class=1821

Greetings

 

12th December: Pagani Zonda R at Raceroom Hillclimb
This year’s Hillclimb challenge takes place in the French alps and puts you into a supercar. The V12 Pagani Zonda features a lot of horsepower and a lot of downforce. But low speed grip is what is needed around this Hillclimb course and that may be the weakness of this car. In order to achieve a good laptime on this stage, you need to be fast and consistent until the very last turns which is very tricky as there are a lot of opportunities to smash into fences or walls as the track is over 10 km long. Do you have what it takes to pull off a good time on public roads?
http://game.raceroom.com/de/leaderboard/?track=1709&car_class=class-7110

Greetings

 

13th December: Lada Vesta TC at Raceroom Raceway
It’s the third advent Sunday and that means another free to play challenge! This time it’s the latest addition to the f2p selection, the Lada Vesta built according to TCR regulations on the legendary Raceroom Raceway. The car feels pretty much home here if you can deal with its front wheel driven nature. Especially the blind corners are a fun challenge. The trick here is to keep up the momentum all the way through. And as all the runoff areas are tarmac sealed, you won’t have to recover yourself out of gravel beds. But the risk of invalid laps is very high on here as the curbs pull you out of track limits. Finding the right balance is on a razors edge and can only be mastered by few.
http://game.raceroom.com/de/leaderboard/?track=263&car_class=8698

Greetings

 

14th December: DTM 2013/14/15/16 at Hockenheimring
This one is a classic for Raceroom racers. DTM cars around Hockenheim is something you pretty much used to do since the start of your experience. Ultra grippy and high downforce DTM cars out of the old DTM Experience packs are a perfect match for this track. The exit of the Mercedes Arena and the next turn, Mobil 1 Kehre, are nearly flat and require just a little lift or a tap on the brakes. But the trickiest part is to get the car fast around the slowest hairpin on the circuit without spinning. The last section is the Motodrom where you can quickly loose it by pushing too hard during the final turns. While the historic circuit might be missed by many racing fans, the modern layout offers great views, interesting turn combinations and overtaking opportunities every few metres apart. And it might be more exciting to do some hotlaps on, which is what we’re doing here. And race of course. What else would we do?
@Mikki Disco and @MoonieGT praise this combo so let the engines roar!
http://game.raceroom.com/de/leaderboard/?track=1693&car_class=class-1921
http://game.raceroom.com/de/leaderboard/?track=1693&car_class=class-3086
http://game.raceroom.com/de/leaderboard/?track=1693&car_class=class-4260
http://game.raceroom.com/de/leaderboard/?track=1693&car_class=class-5262

Greetings

 

15th December: Porsche 911 RSR GTE at Circuit Zandvoort
This is a killer combo. The brutal power of the RSR and the twisty nature of Zandvoort just match perfectly. If you’ve competed in the Porsche Challenge at Spa (like me) you should feel right back in the groove as this just differs slightly. You got less time to relax now and it’s the Spa middle sector all over again with its own tricks. While powering out of Tarzanbocht feels satisfying, you’ll never get the perfect exit out of Hugenholtzbocht. And Scheivlak is something way different here. I’ve driven several cars around Zandvoort in Raceroom and it may be the praised Group 5 cars that match the difficulty of that car in Scheivlak. In the end, it’s just Zandvoort so you’ll get the hang of it soon. But the way to that point is incredibly stony. @Turtle Power suggested this combination and he made a very good one for sure!
http://game.raceroom.com/de/leaderboard/?track=1678&car_class=class-8600

Greetings and sorry for the delay

 

16th December: Audi TT Cup at Falkenberg
Let’s take a low powered amateur based fwd car to a small Swedish circuit! Sounds like a match in heaven but has some difficulties. We chose the fastest Swedish track of all. And one thing that front wheel drive cars don’t like are fast flat out turns that scrub your tyres and speed off. Additionally, there is a chicane which is tricky to keep tight and a S section after a blind turn where different lines can lead to a very fast exit. The track might not be the longest, but there’s a lot going on during the ride. This one can make addictive! As the laps are short, your thirst for one more lap can be dealt with easily. The result is an extended session on a track that should be no problem with the car you’re in. But after a few flat out laps you might get overcritical with yourself. Let me tell you, push even harder if you notice that! Swedish tracks might come up again the next days…
http://game.raceroom.com/de/leaderboard/?track=6140&car_class=class-5726

Greetings

 

17th December: Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport at Silverstone
This would be a nearly impossible challenge one year earlier. On a track where several corners require long lift off phases, the Cayman would’ve been lost completely in spins. But the recent updates made it a makeable combo. The Cayman is fast on the straights and stable through the corners. Although it still tends to slide sometimes, you can deal with that way more easily. Todays race requires a lot of flow and feel to the car which makes this combo so amazing to drive. Especially the Copse-Maggots-Becketts-Chapel-section is a blast in these cars. Nailing every apex perfect without spinning, sliding or traction control helping you out is breath-taking. In these moments you forget that you’re in a relative amateur car and feel like a F1 driver of old times. Not only that, this combination creates some very good racing. And as all are in the same car, there is no mean M4 stealing the show today.
http://game.raceroom.com/de/leaderboard/?track=4039&car_class=class-6648

Greetings

 

18th December: Porsche 911 Carrera Cup Classic (964) at Bathurst Mount Panorama
If you’ve driven a Porsche 911, you’re good to go in any race car of that era. This fits well with today’s combo: Climbing up a (rather small) mountain with a German cup car that has about the same speed as group a touring car. Sounds not too hard, does it? And I agree, the first metres are easy to do. Once you’ve reached the top part though, trouble starts. Through the Park sections with rises and falls around fast corners. Here you notice that your engine sits all the way in the back of the car. Nothing to worry, you say to yourself as you reach the drop to the Esses. From now on, you must dance your way down. No joke, the next metres it goes down and left and right and left and right, but your car doesn’t want to do so. Be smooth on brakes and throttle and try to aim any apex there is. If you spin, you might not get your car aiming into the right direction again. The walls are very close together here. Once you finally reach the lowest point again, you can start climbing again…and fall deep afterwards.
http://game.raceroom.com/de/leaderboard/?track=1846&car_class=class-7287

Greetings

 

19th December: Tatuus F4 at Motegi
This one is a rather easy combo. Motegi offers some nice racing on a straightforward layout. That is until you reach the final sector. The downhill 90-degree turn keeps locking your brakes until you run wide. Keep it tight and flat under the bridge as you reach Victory corner. This one goes uphill and kills your car balance. You tend to spin and can’t get on throttle as early as you’d like to. And that is with one of the easiest cars to drive. You get the hang of it relatively quickly, but it requires a lot to master all the braking points and turn ins. I know there are some skilled Formula drivers out there who can instantly beat my laptime, so go ahead!
http://game.raceroom.com/de/leaderboard/?track=6658&car_class=class-4867

Greetings

 

20th December: P1 at Portimão
The last free to play combination is the top prototype tier on an amazing circuit: Portimao has earned worldwide respect this year for providing an awesome to watch race even when there was not too much action at some points. The crest, dips and long sweeping turns look and feel amazing. And it just gets more fun when driving all of that with a high powered P1 car with no ABS and a tad of traction control. You can choose between a roaring V8, a screaming V12 or a Diesel V6 if you bought the Audi. All these different sounds together make a symphony roaring all over the Algarve. And as the track loops around itself multiple times, you’ll get all of that very frequently. All that creates very entertaining racing action on a very fitting track. Have fun!
http://game.raceroom.com/de/leaderboard/?track=1778&car_class=class-1714
NOTE: Tomorrow is the scheduled update day!

Greetings

 

21st December: WTCC 2013 at Sachsenring UPDATE DAY
@amsterDAN , I’m sorry I had to rearrange your combo a bit. We’re not doing TCR but TC2 on the Sachsenring. The cars are included in Raceroom since 2013 and still provide great racing! The big challenge on Sachsenring are the nearly flat out left handers that make almost the entire second and third sector. They are extremely hard to get right in both rear- and front-wheel-driven cars. And the elevation changes just multiply the fun of the circuit. While entering the Omega curve is challenging in front wheel driven cars, the exit is sliding away in rear wheel driven cars. It all got its ups and downs. Still, the BMW might have the upper hand here, but the front-wheel-driven cars can surprise the BMW in unusual places.
http://game.raceroom.com/de/leaderboard/?track=3538&car_class=class-1922
See you on the other side of the update!

Greetings

 

22nd December: FrX-90 at Brands Hatch
You know the drill. High powered rear wheel driven car versus tight track. Loud engine sounds in three flavours to keep you motivated. Aerodynamic masterclass of the early 90’s to help you get faster lap times. I’d like to take a last look at the Indy layout. For seven years it was the only layout of Brands Hatch available in Raceroom. Remember the awesome races you had here. DTM 2013, NSU TTS, FrJr, WTCR and many more. Such a nice track that should still be raced, even though we now got the full Grand Prix Course. So, in honour of the Indy layout, let’s race this challenge on…. Nah, I was just kidding. Of course, we’re driving on the proper course! We finally got it, let’s use it as much as we can. The slow corners (and Paddock Hill Bend) are the wheel spinning counterpart to the fast turns of the Grand Prix Layout and therefore complete this wonderful road course. Although F1’s last race was in 1986, lets simulate what would’ve been if F1 continued to race here in the 90’s. GP!
http://game.raceroom.com/de/leaderboard/?track=9473&car_class=class-7214

Greetings

 

23rd December: Porsche 934 Turbo RSR Group 4 at Sonoma
@augustkekule is the last one for this year who gets his explicit wish granted. A Group 4 Porsche Turbo at Sonoma, long layout of course. First, I was worried that the Turbo of this car might be the biggest challenge to overcome, but it’s the cars grip that challenges me the most. Keeping a good line through the chicanes in Sector One is more than tricky. Getting on throttle out of the Carrousel is too late everytime. And I won’t even start talking about the S section. Whoever can handle this car best through there surely is the winner of that race. This combination feels old school, challenging, frightening, and satisfying all at the same time. With that said, this calendar is getting close to its end. One day to go and this will be the big bang, I promise!
http://game.raceroom.com/de/leaderboard/?track=3912&car_class=7282
Note: As Ranked servers aren't up atm, todays server is a non Ranked server called Winter Special #4 but with Incident point limit and a required reputation. Settings should be as always. If not, please PM me. Thanks

Greetings

 

24th December: DTM 2020 at Knutstorp
This is the last challenge. And it might keep you away from holiday celebrations if you’re celebrating today or block you from preparing the fest if you’re celebrating tomorrow. V4 Turbo with 600 hp, no driving aids, limited downforce, and 900 kg of weight. On a track some call the Swedish Nordschleife. I never really got hot with what basically is a paved Motocross track (it really is). The track is tight, twisty and the next corner might be over a crest or in a ditch. The hairpin is way too tight and long and there is a reason why nothing above GT3 will ever race here properly. So, let’s take the best touring cars to drive ever and see what happens. Keep the revs up, trust in tyre grip and slide around the turns while holding down the throttle all the way. This is ridiculously difficult to drive and I’m curious on how fast talented sim racers can lap around here.
http://game.raceroom.com/de/leaderboard/?track=6137&car_class=class-9205
The Raceroom Advent Calendar 2020 has now reached its end. I hope you had lots of fun and enjoyable moments (and maybe some frustrating ones in between too). A very very very big THANK YOU to all who participated in one form or another. Sadly, due to the update most leaderboard times are gone. But I can assure you that I looked at it every day and saw incredible laptimes by the best of Raceroom and many reoccuring faces on the chart. You guys made the calendar what it is now. The Calendar shall return for its third iteration next year if all goes to plan. But for now, let’s look forward to another amazing year in Raceroom! Merry Christmas!
Which combos did you enjoy the most? Which were best suited for races? Which combos were just not good? Please make sure to let me know

Greetings

 

Thank you Olaf! It was incredibly inspiring to read your posts, almost like a novel about raceroom!

 

Olaf, thank you for putting this together, I had a lot of fun trying new cars and tracks that I had not done before. I'm still just getting more serious into sim racing and raceroom, so I often struggle to pick what cars and tracks to drive with all of the choices that raceroom has to offer, so this was a fun month. That's a shame that most of the leaderboards were reset, we will just have to do all of them again I guess!

 

fyi I'll continue setting up servers the next days to have some fun
Official Raceroom Servers as usual as J-F has kindly made that possible for me some days ago before going into his well deserved holidays.
Not Ranked but contain everything else (incident point limit and required reputation) so you can have some good and clean races as usual.
Server is named Winter Special #4 and will mostly focus on some new features from the latest update.
Thanks for all the nice words and feedback, I'm pretty sure the Advent Calendar will return next year
Greetings