Another year is behind us - and what a year it’s been! In 2024, we successfully completed five championships:
WSC P2
Grand Prix History
Renault R5
Lotus 25
TTM – Tourenwagen Meisterschaft
Special Events Highlights We also hosted some thrilling special events, including the spectacular 6 Heures du Mans - THR’s 4th Endurance Race - where 114 drivers from six communities battled it out for top honors. We were fortunate to have PirateLaserBeam and King-Kodiak providing English commentary, and Dennis, Guido, Florian, and Sebastian delivering a superb German broadcast. Another standout occasion was our 6th Anniversary Celebration Race, where we tackled a full-length GP at Mexico in classic GPL cars.
Community Growth and Milestones
Our Discord community surpassed 2,500 members.
Our YouTube channel now boasts 715 subscribers.
More than 550 people signed up on our website.
Our Facebook news is followed by 538 users.
Real-Life Meetups and Expo Visits One of the most memorable moments of 2024 was our very first THR Orga real-life meetup in September. After spending so much time together online, it was fantastic to finally meet in person! Special thanks to Remco from Heusinkveld and Modder Legend Bazza for joining us that weekend - if you’d like to see what we got up to, take a look here.
In October, we had the pleasure of meeting the teams from 3DRAP, the CEO of PIMAX, and the friendly folks at Newcomer Endgametec at the Simracing Expo in Dortmund. We’re excited about the prizes they’ve generously contributed, which we’ll be raffling off in the coming year.
A Great Year for THR Throughout 2024, our championship framework ran seamlessly, and we enjoyed countless fantastic races without technical hiccups. It’s been a joy to organize and watch everyone on track, even if I didn’t personally feel like racing much this year!
Right now, we’re hosting two Time Attacks (the Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/2 at the Nordschleife and the Toyota 86 Tuned at Tsukuba) to keep things exciting during the Christmas break. Our next Endurance Race is set for January 26.
Looking Ahead I’m confident we’ll share even more fun in 2025. As the year winds down, I’d like to extend my deepest thanks to all of you. Our community keeps on growing, and it’s heartwarming to see our starting grids consistently full. It’s just as remarkable to watch members support one another with technical help and advice in Discord.
We’ve reached a point where many of us longtime THR drivers all know each other’s racing style, strengths, and weaknesses - just like a real-life racing league. Thank you for being an essential part of THR.
The 6th Anniversary Race at the iconic 1967 Mexican Grand Prix circuit delivered an unforgettable spectacle. The race brought together a grid of skilled drivers in a celebration of THRs history and precision racing. From the green flag to the checkered, fans were treated to intense wheel-to-wheel action, strategic brilliance, and moments of sheer brilliance.
A Dominant Victory for Jaroslav Cerny
Jaroslav Cerny of Team Lotus proved unstoppable, clinching victory in commanding fashion. Leading all 65 laps, Cerny showcased a masterclass of consistency and pace, clocking a best lap time of 01:44.255 and achieving a stellar 99.08% consistency rate. His flawless performance left competitors in the dust and earned him the title of race winner, crossing the line with a total time of 01:54:06.626.
The Chase for Glory
Behind Cerny, the battle for the podium was fiercely contested. Florian Masse kept the pressure on throughout, finishing a mere 5.877 seconds behind the leader. Despite matching Cerny’s best lap time of 01:44.255, Masse was unable to close the gap but secured a well-deserved second place with an impressive consistency of 99.02%.
Simone Porcu rounded out the podium in third, delivering a standout performance that included the fastest lap of the race at 01:44.065. Porcu’s determination and skill earned him a 45.751-second gap to the leader and accolades for his pace on the track.
Midfield Magic and Battles
Further down the order, FMG of Vixen Racing Cars Ltd and meisterJaeger showcased their prowess, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. The midfield battle saw intense rivalries, with Nat Stevenson and Stefano Bucci pushing their vehicles to the limit to secure strong finishes in sixth and seventh. Each driver demonstrated remarkable car control and racecraft, highlighting the depth of talent on the grid.
Moments of Triumph and Heartbreak
Notable performances included gilvil77’s eighth-place finish and pitman’s valiant effort despite falling one lap short of the leaders. Kari Uotila and Mika Hakala rounded out the top eleven, each displaying grit and determination to navigate the challenging circuit.
The event wasn’t without its challenges, with drivers like Richard Rossier and Ian McIlroy grappling with mechanical difficulties and race-ending incidents. Despite these setbacks, the camaraderie and spirit of competition shone through, exemplifying the essence of sim racing.
A Celebration of Racing
The 6th Anniversary Race at Mexico was more than just a competition; it was a tribute to the enduring passion for motorsport. From the vintage charm of the 1967 layout to the cutting-edge precision of the GPL Mod, the event reminded everyone of the timeless appeal of racing. Congratulations to Jaroslav Cerny and all the participants for delivering a race to remember.
3DRAP is so kind to offer THR a pair of their Racing Gloves, which we will raffle short after race end. (Eligible to participate in the raffle are all drivers who finish the 6th Anniversary Race and have already raced in at least 3 Main Events of THR.)
On Saturday the 15th of December 2018 we had our first THR race. This means that THR will be 6 years old in a few days and we have experienced a lot in these four years:
First Race
Our first race was held with the GPL Mod at Silverstone and we had 4 Racers on track. Our race format in the first weeks was to run as many 20-minute races in a row as we were able to. Our first regular driver was Ben Barson. Thanks a lot for showing that the community idea was not that bad.
Our AC server
The first races were hosted on Duderei's home server. But we quickly moved to a professional hoster. The first entry in our STracker Database is from 2018-12-25. After that we changed the hoster 2 times until we moved to a rented LinuxMachine (thanks franglais) which runs the ServerManager and 5 AC-Servers.
Cause of lag spikes we decided to switch to another hoster and rented a more powerful server, which is our home since 3 years now.
Races in THR
Over the 6 years, 1,540 different drivers have raced on our servers. We have driven tens of thousands of laps and countless kilometers.
We had around 264 official events, more than 120 weekday races and many fun races. We hosted 18 Special Events and we have completed 29 championships and the next upcoming are already planned. Our former champions can be seen on the Wall of Champions.
Discord
The Discord Server has been set up on 2018-12-07. Our first member besides Dude and me joined on 2018-12-14. Currently we have 2,458 Members. Some of them are very quiet or bots, but no matter what time of day, there are always more than 400 members online. What I find crazy is that I have written nearly 32,000 messages in our THR Discord. The number of PMs are also high, but I can´t count them. On Top our THR Orga members have written more than 51.000 messages.
Website
The Website followed a little later. The first entry is from 2019-01-17. It contains 236 pages and 377 news and I wrote more than 183,000 Words. Funfact: You will need over 12 hours to read them all.
To represent our races we have made around 300 posters. Our Website has more than 270,000 visits and more than 997,000 views.
Nearly 1 year after our foundation we started our Youtube-Channel on 2019-02-17. At first we started with a short PromoVideo which was made by Bo Stamper. Another year later we started to stream our races and with the help of Klopstick and Ted we produced another brilliant PromoVideo which has been watched 1.509 times since then. To celebrate the start of our fifth GPL championship, Greg produced another stunning video which has been watched 709 times until today.
Evgeny deserves a lot more subscriptions. If you haven´t done it already hop over and subscribe his channel. And if you like, you can do the same with our THR channel.
The channel contains more than 323 videos/streams and has 712 followers. It was visited 59,500 times and more than 6.100 hours of our videos were viewed. The most successful Live-Stream was the one from our 6hour 4th Endurance race at Le Mans, which is still a blast to watch and had 3.901 viewers until now.
Social Media
Besides of the above we have a Facebook site, which get not much attention from our side, but has 538 followers, cause of the website news which get posted on Facebook automatically. Also an unused Twitch Channel, an equally unused Instagram Account and some other cool things which I might have forgotten.
Shop
We opened our own THR Shop on 12/21/2022. The idea behind the store was to send prizes to our championship winners / participants.
Since the opening we have donated 37 prices to our members and on top of that sold around 29 products. It doesn't sound like much 😉 but those who have ordered are very satisfied with the quality of the products.
I want to send out a very special thank you to the members of the Orga - Group. margar, Flashor, Flow, franglais and Valentin. I appreciate our meetings and the decisions we make! In September, we had our first real-life meeting, which was a great success and an amazing experience. Our teamwork is the reason why THR is running so well!
I would also like to thank the members of THR Race Control. Last year we have changed the process format, which reduced your workload significantely. It's great that you guys took and still take the job so seriously!
Also many thanks to everyone who supported THR with your help!
The most important part of THR > YOU
But the most important thing is the community that has grown up around THR.
Thank you all for being members of THR and for making THR what it is!
It is also nice to see, that you help each other in Discordand that you respect each other. I appreciate that very much!
I would also like to thank those who have made a donation via Paypal or started to be a Patreon of THR! That's phenomenal!
Your [THR] pitman
Full Length GP at Mexico
Following a tradition we will celebrate THRs 6th anniversary with a full length GP over 65 laps at Mexico which got a phenomenal update made by our driver Phil Noobson.
3DRAP is so kind to offer THR a pair of their Racing Gloves, which we will raffle short after race end. (Eligible to participate in the raffle are all drivers who finish the 6th Anniversary Race and have already raced in at least 3 Main Events of THR.)
THRs 5th Endurance Race
And in January we will have our 5th Endurance race (6hrs at Le Mans). Further details will be published in the upcoming days.
This time we have the GPL Mod cars on track. But fortunately the Belgian Authorities have banned the Mighty Three (Eagle, Ferrari and Lotus). That gives us the opportunity to let the slower (almost forgotten) cars shine on track.
FANATEC has faced challenging months recently, but CORSAIR has now taken over the company. Initially, it was unclear what direction things would take.
A few weeks ago, Boosted Media conducted an in-depth interview with Andy Paul, the CEO of CORSAIR. The interview shed light on CORSAIR's plans for FANATEC and what SimRacers can look forward to. After a period of uncertainty, this insight has brought a sense of confidence – CORSAIR seems committed to doing well. Yesterday, we had an online meeting with FANATEC where the upcoming Black Friday deals were revealed.
I’d like to share these deals with you here. If you decide to make a purchase, please consider using our links on this page, as THR benefits from the affiliate commissions.
Will from Boosted Media has conducted a long and interesting interview with Corsair CEO Andy Paul. The interview was about the acquisition of FANATEC. About what Corsair plans to do with FANATEC and what the future should look like. I found the interview very interesting and it gave me back some of the trust I had lost in FANATEC. I think Corsair means well and will do well. I've been holding back on promoting our FANATEC affiliate link for the last few months, but after what I've just heard, I'd like to mention it here: https://thracing.de/fanatec.html As written, the interview is really interesting, but if you don´t like to hear the whole interview, here is a summary:
Overview of the Interview
The video features an in-depth interview with Andy Paul, the CEO of Corsair, discussing the recent acquisition of FANATEC and the challenges the brand faced over the last year. Paul elaborates on the brand's history, the reasons for the acquisition, and how Corsair aims to revitalize FANATEC’s image, customer service, and product lineup to restore customer trust. ---
Context and Background
FANATEC’s Recent Issues: Early in 2024, FANATEC struggled with supply chain disruptions and delays, leaving many customers frustrated due to unanswered support requests. The brand faced significant financial difficulties, leading to leadership changes and ultimately Corsair's acquisition.
Corsair’s Acquisition Strategy: Corsair purchased FANATEC primarily to scale up in the sim-racing market. FANATEC’s existing reputation and customer base align well with Corsair’s experience in gaming and high-end PC components.
Interview Highlights
Current State and Immediate Goals:
Corsair aims to stabilize FANATEC's operations, starting with inventory management, customer service systems, and factory payments.
Initial steps include integrating FANATEC’s customer service into Corsair’s global systems, aiming to reduce response times from weeks to within a day by Black Friday.
CEO's Perspective on FANATEC's Challenges:
Paul noted that FANATEC’s previous CEO, Thomas Jackermeier, was more of an enthusiast than an experienced business leader. This lack of experience in managing rapid growth led to missed financial cues and increased debt.
Product and Design Strategy:
Paul emphasized that Corsair will focus on enhancing FANATEC’s product lineup rather than consolidating it. This includes creating a clear range of products to fit various price points and markets while still prioritizing high-end gear.
Corsair plans to help FANATEC leverage larger factories, which could lead to reduced production costs and potentially lower prices.
Distribution and Marketing Plans:
FANATEC will keep its brand identity but benefit from Corsair's larger global network, entering retail channels like Amazon and Best Buy.
Corsair also plans to introduce complete sim-rig setups to reach a broader audience and explore partnerships with sim-racing arcades, hotels, and experience centers.
Focus on Community and Customer Service:
Andy emphasized Corsair’s commitment to improving communication with customers and providing fast, reliable support.
They have structured customer service into different levels to better handle inquiries, with high-priority issues receiving attention without being held up by simpler inquiries.
Long-Term Vision for Sim Racing:
Looking ahead, Corsair intends to make sim-racing rigs as immersive and realistic as possible. Paul envisions future technology developments creating an experience that feels indistinguishable from actual racing, despite challenges like sustained G-force simulation.
Corporate Culture and Employee Engagement:
Paul underlined the importance of motivation and support for FANATEC employees to improve morale after a challenging year.
With a structured leadership approach, Corsair will handle FANATEC as a subsidiary, allowing the brand to maintain autonomy in product design while benefiting from Corsair’s resources.
Conclusion and CEO’s Message to Fans
Andy Paul expressed optimism for FANATEC’s future, noting Corsair's commitment to elevating FANATEC back to a trusted, market-leading position. He reassured fans of Corsair’s dedication to preserving FANATEC’s brand legacy, enhancing customer experiences, and exploring new frontiers in the sim-racing industry.
Last Sunday, margar and me (pitman) had the pleasure of attending the SimRacing Expo in Dortmund, and it was nothing short of an exciting day.
3DRAP
One of the first highlights of the day was reconnecting with our friends at 3DRAP. Beniamino and his colleagues gave us a quick overview of their latest products. The highlight was an exciting update on the Feeling Pro, which is launching soon. This kit adds two extra rumble motors and fans to simulate increasing wind speed, along with six powerful vibration motors for immersive tactile feedback. It’s universal and can be installed on various pedal boards, shifters, or handbrakes. It felt great in the test we did and seem to be an interesting update for our own rigs. https://www.3drap.it/simracing-mods-devices/3drap-feeling-upgrade-rumbles/
Short after we met up with Heusinkveld as well. Linda told us news about their latest developments. For example their Sequential Shifter and their Rest Pedal. Unfortunately Remco wasn´t in Dortmund. Would have been a pleasure to meet him again. So I take a chance to greet him via this article!
The Expo was buzzing with energy, and we got to check out some of the latest hardware releases from Sim Racing giants like Simucube, Thrustmaster, Logitech, and Fanatec.
Simucube showed of their new Active Pedals, which are stunning but still expensive 😉
Thrustmaster promoted it´s new T598 - Direct Axial Drive, which felt little weak (might have been the settings) but surprisingly smooth and reactive.
Logitech showed the whole range of its Sim Racing products on a large booth.
Fanatec also had a massive presence at the Expo, and while their stand was impressive, it felt like business as usual despite some of the problematic noise surrounding them lately.
As we explored the event, we stumbled upon a few standout innovations from smaller brands that really caught our attention.
BDH Race Sim Hardware
One of them was a high-quality Dual Mode Shifter (H-pattern and Sequential) from BDH, a company based in England. The Shifter, composed of the H1 ‘Bazooka’ H-Shifter and the BDH SQ Sequential Shifter within one sturdy chassis. https://www.bdhracesim.com
Endgametec
We were also impressed by the premium SimRigs on display from a new German company, Endgametec. Two guys with background in the metal industry (SimRacers themselves) founded the company and transform their expertise into very stable rigs. It is important to them that the connectors are stable to give the whole rig strength. You can feel their passion for sim racing when Sebastian and Udo talk about their rigs. Many thanks for the time you spent with us and we are already looking forward to the factory tour we have arranged with you. https://endgametec.de
Sim Reactor
Another exciting find was a "budget-friendly" 3DOF motion system from Reactor, another up-and-coming German brand. With a high movement speed of 250 mm/s they conquer the best systems in the market but one of their main goals is to be cheaper then the existing brands. https://sim-reactor.com
Gravideck Motion Systems
There are so many different concepts of motion systems out there, but this one was "interesting". The whole system moves around the floor to to let you feel the movement of the car. Difficult to explain. Better take a look at the system in action for yourself. https://gravideck.com
A particularly special moment for us was when our former THR driver, Alessandro Bezzi, recognized us and invited us to visit the booth of the company he is working for, Racing Unleashed. Their racing cockpits were simply stunning, and it was great to catch up with him and get so many insights about the factory and the development of the cockpits. Oh and it was also nice to hear, that he has great memories about the time he was active in THR.
We had the opportunity to test Assetto Corsa Evo, and while our first impressions were positive, there remains uncertainty about the type of modding support – a crucial factor for THR's future use of the sim.
PIMAX
One of the major highlights of our day was meeting with PIMAX. COO Ying personally greeted us and gave us a detailed rundown of their latest headsets, discussing everything from product specifications to their plans for global markets and marketing strategies. It was also interesting to note that PIMAX was the only VR headset manufacturer represented at the Sim Expo. To our surprise, Ying arranged for me to borrow a Crystal Light headset, which I now have at home. While I haven’t had much time to dive deep into it yet, the FOV and clarity are truly impressive. I will test it and share more detailed thoughts on it in the coming days. PIMAX Crystal Light
As the day came to an end and we made our way out of the Expo hall, we were struck by how quiet it suddenly was. After spending hours in the noisy and busy hall, the silence was remarkable.
All in all, it was an amazing day at the SimRacing Expo. So amazing that I was to focused on talking, testing and experiencing it that I forgot to make a lot more photos. I promise that I will be better next year.
We can’t wait to dive deeper into the tech and experiences we discovered. Stay tuned for more updates, especially my review of the Crystal Light headset!
