In a few weeks' time, RaceRoom Racing Experience will launch its newest DLC pack focusing on the Super Tourer era, a period in racing many fans have been begging for. OT Contributors Angus and Connor wonder why these legendary machines are only just arriving in sim racing as first-party content.
One month to go in 2024, and the sim racing space is exploding with exciting announcements, giving even more meaning to the phrase 'Christmas hype'. From Assetto Corsa EVO's early 2025 launch to Automobilista 2 hitting 1.6 soon and now RaceRoom's next historical car pack, the industry is well and truly "popping off". Apologies for the youth term.
But it is that latter news story, set for release on 10 December, that is gathering more and more momentum in the weeks leading up to launch. In fact, the title's next update will bring a quintet of recognisable Super Touring cars to its roster, including the all-wheel-drive Audi A4, rear-wheel-drive BMW E36, Eastern Honda Accord, and a pair of Volvos, the dominant S40 and the antithesis to aerodynamics that is the 850 box.
Models that many sim racing enthusiasts grew up watching as they battled for every inch of track position around the world in various series, the Super Tourer era is one that the community has cried out for years. Yet somehow, this is just the first official, first-party inclusion of the class since it ran competitively. Remember the TOCA/DTM Race Driver games?
Soon joining the Primera were two more models from the same creator, @Patrik Marek. From a few years prior, the same 1998 BMW 320i was inbound to RaceRoom next month, while the most recent addition saw yet another Volvo hit AC's roster, this time the S40.
Raceroom's Swedish Super Tourer pairing joins the Assetto Corsa S40.
In addition to this trio, several external modding groups have worked on the most infamous Super Touring machinery for Assetto Corsa, allowing you to faithfully recreate many of the best seasons of the British Touring Car Championship.
But it seems the announcement of this upcoming R3E pack has the community even more excited than ever for the late-1990s touring cars with a fresh set of liveries by @MR SKINS, this time looking outside of the BTCC. In fact, Super Tourers raced all around the world from Germany to America and even down under, where the Bathurst 1000 was not always run in burbling V8 Supercars. Indeed, the 1998 running, sporting a long list of Super Tourer models, was one of the best editions of the great motor race.
Three liveries for the famous event are available, with hopefully many more on the way.
Honda's underdog, the Accord.
RaceRoom has been on a bit of a hot streak recently with both their 1995 DTM pack and their 2024 DTM offering. This Super Touring addition fits perfectly into their lineup. Many of Germany's tracks, like the Norisring and AVUS, are available. Brands Hatch and Donington Park are also in RaceRoom, meaning you can recreate some of the most famous moments from the BTCC.
Overall, the Super Touring pack is a great addition, and RaceRoom is the perfect platform to implement it. Starting next year, the online portion will be bolstered with Low Fuel Motorsport support, and player numbers could steadily rise as a result. The future is looking bright for touring car fans!
Though there may be side effects of addiction and pale skin from spending more time than usual in your sim rig, relief from said infection is a very simple one - and yet developers have been gate-keeping the prescription for years. The solution to our ailment is greater inclusion of Super Touring racers in racing games.
A few hours a week controlling lift-off oversteer, bashing through gears on a sequential shifter, and brainwashing yourself with the tunes of a screaming naturally aspirated engine is sure to appease your unhinged need to chat about these monstrous touring cars. So why are we only now getting first-party representation for the era?
Well, the answer is no doubt multi-faceted from GT and Formula racing cars providing great popularity online to licensing complexities due to the cars' ages.
Raceroom is the first title with first-party Super Tourers in decades.
In fact, this is not the first time a game developer has toyed with the idea before moving on to something new. Last year, Straight4 Studios, in its search to figure out the focus for its new simulator, pondered a late-1990s BTCC title before evidently switching to its bread and butter, early 2000s GT machinery. Meanwhile, during Motorsport Games' talks of an official BTCC game, the idea of Super Tourer DLC packs caught the community's attention with immediate effect. But we all know how that ended.
At the end of the day, we could spend all day looking into the past, wondering why this often-forgotten category never received the attention of other popular series. But with Super Touring excitement on the horizon, we choose to look forward to RaceRoom's pack in the hopes that other developers finally come to their senses and follow KW-Studios down this retrospective path.
How do you rate Super Tourers among other famous racing categories? Let us know in the comments.
One month to go in 2024, and the sim racing space is exploding with exciting announcements, giving even more meaning to the phrase 'Christmas hype'. From Assetto Corsa EVO's early 2025 launch to Automobilista 2 hitting 1.6 soon and now RaceRoom's next historical car pack, the industry is well and truly "popping off". Apologies for the youth term.
But it is that latter news story, set for release on 10 December, that is gathering more and more momentum in the weeks leading up to launch. In fact, the title's next update will bring a quintet of recognisable Super Touring cars to its roster, including the all-wheel-drive Audi A4, rear-wheel-drive BMW E36, Eastern Honda Accord, and a pair of Volvos, the dominant S40 and the antithesis to aerodynamics that is the 850 box.
Models that many sim racing enthusiasts grew up watching as they battled for every inch of track position around the world in various series, the Super Tourer era is one that the community has cried out for years. Yet somehow, this is just the first official, first-party inclusion of the class since it ran competitively. Remember the TOCA/DTM Race Driver games?
Super Touring Hype
However, the lack of first-party content has not stopped the category from holding centre stage in recent years, namely in Assetto Corsa. Upon the title's launch, one of the first mods available for the game was the PM3DM 1999 Nissan Primera, a challenging but fun touring car with a thrilling soundtrack.Soon joining the Primera were two more models from the same creator, @Patrik Marek. From a few years prior, the same 1998 BMW 320i was inbound to RaceRoom next month, while the most recent addition saw yet another Volvo hit AC's roster, this time the S40.
Raceroom's Swedish Super Tourer pairing joins the Assetto Corsa S40.
In addition to this trio, several external modding groups have worked on the most infamous Super Touring machinery for Assetto Corsa, allowing you to faithfully recreate many of the best seasons of the British Touring Car Championship.
But it seems the announcement of this upcoming R3E pack has the community even more excited than ever for the late-1990s touring cars with a fresh set of liveries by @MR SKINS, this time looking outside of the BTCC. In fact, Super Tourers raced all around the world from Germany to America and even down under, where the Bathurst 1000 was not always run in burbling V8 Supercars. Indeed, the 1998 running, sporting a long list of Super Tourer models, was one of the best editions of the great motor race.
Three liveries for the famous event are available, with hopefully many more on the way.
A Super Touring Passion
If it was not obvious already, we here at OverTake love our Super Tourers. From the unique five-cylinder Volvos to the plucky Accords, this era of touring car racing holds a very special place in many of our hearts. With KW Studios introducing these cars as first-party content for RaceRoom, the number of sim racers being exposed to this era will help the discipline grow in popularity and bolster grid numbers.Honda's underdog, the Accord.
RaceRoom has been on a bit of a hot streak recently with both their 1995 DTM pack and their 2024 DTM offering. This Super Touring addition fits perfectly into their lineup. Many of Germany's tracks, like the Norisring and AVUS, are available. Brands Hatch and Donington Park are also in RaceRoom, meaning you can recreate some of the most famous moments from the BTCC.
Overall, the Super Touring pack is a great addition, and RaceRoom is the perfect platform to implement it. Starting next year, the online portion will be bolstered with Low Fuel Motorsport support, and player numbers could steadily rise as a result. The future is looking bright for touring car fans!
Why So Slow?
Clearly, the sim racing community's passion for Super Tourers is a terminal diagnosis that one must learn to live with. Worse yet, speak with any non-afflicted member of the community for more than five minutes about these stunning beasts of a by-gone era and you will learn that the passion is highly contagious.Though there may be side effects of addiction and pale skin from spending more time than usual in your sim rig, relief from said infection is a very simple one - and yet developers have been gate-keeping the prescription for years. The solution to our ailment is greater inclusion of Super Touring racers in racing games.
A few hours a week controlling lift-off oversteer, bashing through gears on a sequential shifter, and brainwashing yourself with the tunes of a screaming naturally aspirated engine is sure to appease your unhinged need to chat about these monstrous touring cars. So why are we only now getting first-party representation for the era?
Well, the answer is no doubt multi-faceted from GT and Formula racing cars providing great popularity online to licensing complexities due to the cars' ages.
Raceroom is the first title with first-party Super Tourers in decades.
In fact, this is not the first time a game developer has toyed with the idea before moving on to something new. Last year, Straight4 Studios, in its search to figure out the focus for its new simulator, pondered a late-1990s BTCC title before evidently switching to its bread and butter, early 2000s GT machinery. Meanwhile, during Motorsport Games' talks of an official BTCC game, the idea of Super Tourer DLC packs caught the community's attention with immediate effect. But we all know how that ended.
At the end of the day, we could spend all day looking into the past, wondering why this often-forgotten category never received the attention of other popular series. But with Super Touring excitement on the horizon, we choose to look forward to RaceRoom's pack in the hopes that other developers finally come to their senses and follow KW-Studios down this retrospective path.
How do you rate Super Tourers among other famous racing categories? Let us know in the comments.
