It's the racing sim so good, they're giving it away! Ok, so it's only for the weekend. As you've probably heard by now, Steam users will be able to try SimBin's WTCC: Race Game for free this weekend (January 18-21, 2006). Steam is not without its problems but being able to try out a full game for the weekend is a pretty nice feature. You can start downloading Race (just over 1GB) right now via Steam and the full game will be unlocked at 1PM PST (check Time Zone Converter for your area). The SimBin faithful will be happy to know that the price has been dropped to $29.95 (or $26.95 if you buy within the next 10 days.... but wait, there's more!). Aren't you glad you bought it for $44.50 on release day less than two months ago? Me too! I actually wouldn't mind the price but this game just doesn't measure up to the quality of the other SimBin titles in my opinion. Of course I'm referring to GTR, GT Legends and GTR2 which are all excellent sims. If you like touring car racing, WTCC: Race is certainly worth a try but one of the rFactor mods may be a better choice.

Note to Win2k Users: WTCC: Race still hasn't been patched to run under Win2k. If you're interested in trying the game this weekend, see my post about getting Race to run under Windows 2000. It's a pretty simple fix.

Mr DutchDevil has released the three layout version of Watkins Glen for GTR2. It's a conversion of Jason's excellent Watkins Glen track for rFactor. I love the rFactor version and it's great to see this track make its way to GTR2. You can download the track from FileFront or Rapidshare. For more info, you can check out the release announcement thread at RSC.

Madcowie has released his Off Road Racing Trucks mod for rFactor. Yes, it's as much fun as it looks! For now, the ORR mod includes one very nice stadium track which can be raced in both directions. There are more tracks on the way. The mod is a blast and definitely worth a try, even if it's "not your thing". Download mirrors and screenshots can be found below. If you want to try these ORR trucks with some other tacks, check out the V8 Buggies mod which includes the Iron Mountain dirt track. Frank.f55's Pike's Peak mod would also be worth a try with these beasts.

Download the Off Road Racing Truck Mod for rFactor (23MB):
Finish-Line.net
rFactorCentral

The highly anticipated F1 1979 mod for rFactor has been released! This thread at RaceSimCentral has all the info about the mod along with some download mirrors. Of course you can also find some download links and info at rFactor Central. The mod comes in two parts; one being the actual mod and the other being the track pack. Cars and tracks included are listed below.

Update: A link to download the GP79 1.1 patch has been added below along with a link to the readme that includes a list of the changes.

F1 1979 Cars:
Alfa Romeo 179
Arrows Cosworth A1 Mk1
Arrows Cosworth A1 Mk2
Arrows Cosworth A2 Mk1
Arrows Cosworth A2 Mk2
ATS Cosworth D2
Brabham Alfa BT48
Brabham Alfa BT48 front wing
Brabham Cosworth BT49
Ensign Cosworth N177
Ensign Cosworth N179 Mk1
Ensign Cosworth N179 Mk2
Ferrari 312 T3
Ferrari 312 T4
Ferrari 312 T4 Slow config.
Fittipaldi Cosworth F6A
Ligier Cosworth JS11
Lotus Cosworth 79
Lotus Cosworth 80 Mk1
Lotus Cosworth 80 Mk2
Mclaren Cosworth M28
Mclaren Cosworth M28B
Mclaren Cosworth M28C
Mclaren Cosworth M28D
Mclaren Cosworth M29
Merzario Cosworth A1B
Rebaque Cosworth HR79
Renault RS-01
Renault RS-11
Renault RS-12
Shadow Cosworth DN9
Shadow Cosworth DN9B
Shadow Cosworth DN9C
Tyrrell Cosworth 009 Mk1
Tyrrell Cosworth 009 Mk2
Tyrrell Cosworth 009 Mk3
Williams Cosworth FW06
Williams Cosworth FW07
Wolf Cosworth WR8
Wolf Cosworh WR8B

F1 1979 Tracks:
Kyalami
Long Beach
Jarama
Monaco
Dijon
Silverstone
Monza
Osterreichring
Watkins Glen

Download the F1 1979 Mod for rFactor:
F1 1979 Mod (230MB)
F1 1979 Track Pack (144MB)

Download the F1 1979 1.1 Update:
F1 1979 1.1 Patch (35MB)
View the 1.1 Readme.txt

I just got an e-mail from the LFS team stating that their Live for Speed patch "V" is now available. Released on the same day that I received my shiney new Logitech G25 wheel ... how did they know?!? There's way too many changes to list in this post but you can read all about them on the Patch V download page.

Here's just a small sampling of the changes included in the patch:

• Smoother online racing
• Car sound improvements
• Automatic update system
• Compatible with Windows Vista
• Improved support for S1 racers
• New script system (see the download page for details)
• Fixes and improvements in all areas