Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
ISR
Club Documents (FSR Forum)
Formula SimRacing
Formula SimRacing (FSR) is an international sim racing league. It is
owned and organised by the International SimRacing Club which was founded
in 1999. The first season of the league was in 2001. Currently, the
racing simulation game rFactor is being used for all events. FSR conducts
its championships exclusively with Formula cars.
History
The International SimRacing Club (ISR Club) was founded by Kurt Baumann
(Switzerland) in 1999 in order to build up the world's first and foremost
Simracing league. FSR's first season ran in 2001. FSR is by now arguably
the world's highest simracing league using Formula cars.
Format
Formula SimRacing (formerly named GP3GL) was built and designed to support
realistic racing simulations and to establish simracing as an acknowledged
sport in the international press. FSR is divided into two categories:
The World Championship category and the World Series category, whereas
the World Series itself consists of currently two sub-categories (World
Series Ace, World Series Pro).
The World Championship category is the league's highest category. In
order to compete, interested parties are required to purchase licences
from the International SimRacing Club. All Team Owners and Administrators
are automatically members of the Club and have democratic rights with
regard to the targets, activities and financials.
Although many of the world's best simracers are racing in this category,
Formula SimRacing had a special highlight in early 2006 when ChampCar
driver A.J. Allmendinger was competing in the World Championship.
The World Series league can be seen as a place for rookies and advanced
simracers. Participation in the World Series for teams and drivers is
free, the number of teams and drivers is unlimited. The main target
of the World Series category is to prepare rookie drivers for participating
in the World Championship category.
World Championship history
2001
GP3GL (today?s Formula SimRacing, FSR) started out in 2001 with using
the Grand Prix 3 simulation by Geoff Crammond. The first official qualification
of the World Championship was held at Melbourne, Australia. The first
man who got pole-position was Artur Mlodzinski, driving for Famm RIN.
The first official points race was won by Italian driver Ernesto de
Angelis for Virtual-Games in a time of 1h28:39.385s. Second came Heimen
Brons with a time of 1h29:02.968s and third was Benjamin Voelkel in
a time of 1h29:34.191s.
The winner of the first race took pole-position in the second race
in Malaysia, Sepang. However the roles were changed in the race, as
the first pole-sitter Artur Mlodzinski drove to his first victory in
the championship. Behind Mlodzinski it was again the Dutch driver Heimen
Brons finishing 2nd, the podium was completed by Jari Montonen. The
second race saw 14 drivers finishing and a total of 17 different nations
participating.
After the first two races it was Artur Mlodzinski and Ernesto de Angelis
together that won the first 7 races. In Canada it was Christian Neumann
with his first victory of the season and his career. He would need to
wait 4 more years until he took his 2nd victory in Austria 2005. Jari
Montonen finished second with his Virtual-Games car, showing a good
pace. He would get his first win later in the season. After Melbourne
it was Roy Kolbe who began to win many races. The German driver for
Virtual-Games took 5 wins in the first season of GP3GL. It was Max Dell?Orco
who won the last race of the season in Japan.
The final standing saw some outstanding results. Artur Mlodzinski wrote
history of being the first champion in the GP3GL with a total of 154
points. The second place was divided by not 1, not 2, but 3 drivers!
Scoring all exactly 100 points: Jari Montonen, Heimen Brons and Roy
Kolbe. The constructor champion was Virtual-Games.com with a total of
255 points, followed by Famm RIN and NetrexGP.
2002
For 2002, Formula SimRacing switched games from Grand Prix 3 to 'F1
2001' from Electronic Arts and switched to 'F1 2002' later in the year.
FSR's second season kicked off on March 3, 2002 in Australia, Melbourne.
58 laps on the 5,313km long circuit lead into a total distance of 308km.
There were 3 championship contenders who would battle the whole season
long for the 2002 Formula SimRacing World Championship trophy: Ernesto
de Angelis (ITA, Team Racebase), Roy Kolbe (GER, Virtual Games) and
Artur Mlodzinski (POL, Kiwi Racing).
It was Roy Kolbe who dominated the season opener at Melbourne by taking
the pole position and chequered flag. The so called "hot trio"
of 2002 won 9 out of 17 championship races. Other race winners were
Max DellOrco (Brazil), Joshua Lyon (Great Britain, Hungary, Japan),
Greger Huttu (Germany, Belgium, Italy) and Adriano Calligarich, who
won the most glamorous race in the 2002 Formula SimRacing World Championship
schedule, the Monaco Grand Prix.
Roy Kolbe was leading the point standings for 9 consecutive races but
suffered from a disqualifcation in Montreal, Canada. It was Ernesto
de Angelis who took advance of this and took over the point standings
for good. Roy Kolbe was even falling back to third when Artur Mlodzinski
won the last race of the season in Suzuka, Japan.
On the way to a well deserved championship, Ernesto de Angelis finished
every single race and all of them within the points. With only 3 wins,
de Angelis showed the world?s elite what consistancy means.
Dimity Gerades' Team Racebase won the 2002 Formula SimRacing constructors?
championship in dominant fashion. There were 116 points that seperated
Team Racebase and runner-up finisher Virtual-Games, managed by Rogerio
Barroso.
2003
The third season of Formula SimRacing saw Roy Kolbe taking a brake from
racing and kicked off with simracing legend Greger Huttu (NetRex GP)
dominantly winning the first five races. Huttu started his FSR career
in 2002 already, but also he needed half a year to be every time competitive.
Now he sorted out all his problems and started with NetrexGP into season
2003 in a style nobody expected. Not only did he win those five races,
he also got five pole positions in the respective qualifyings.
In the wet race of Brazil Huttu showed his extraordinary driving skills
and lapped everyone except Domink Binz, who finished half a minute behind.
One race later in Imola he was even stronger and won with an incredible
lead of 1m30sec. It was the biggest gap ever we saw in FSR history until
2003. Huttu?s ambition to win the title was more than clear.
But in the sixth GP in Austria, Huttu was, as well as a few other drivers,
disqualified after Qualifying and finished only 9th in the race. For
the first time in 2003, someone else than Huttu won a GP: Joshua Lyon
(Kiwi Racing).
The next race was to be held at Monaco, where Joshua Lyon put his Kiwi
Racing car on Pole, outpacing Huttu by four tenths. Lyon also dominated
the race, whereas for Huttu it was all over after a crash in lap 23.
After this race Huttu retired from FSR. The reason for his retirement
was said to be that he had to attend military service in his home country,
but it is not completely certain.
However, the show went on, and so the road was now free for the other
title contender Joshua Lyon. In Canada he finished behind race winner
Dominik Binz and Yannick Lapchin. The next two races though in Europe
and France, Lyon dominated and took a comfortable lead in the rankings.
Thereafter, he missed the GP of Britain and it was Binz who took his
chance and got the victory when for the first time EA's new game F1
Challenge '99-'02 was used. In Germany, Lyon was back on P1 and destroyed
all ambitions of Binz to win the title, after Binz finished with big
problems three laps behind in eigth. The field moved on to Hungary,
seeing a great battle between Binz and Lyon. Indeed Binz struck back
and finished just six tenths ahead of Lyon.
The circus moved to Monza in Italy and it was Adriano Calligarich who
secured his second career victory, this time on his home track. He was
followed by championship leader Joshua Lyon and another Italian, Fabrizio
Pescali. The last two races went to Joshua Lyon, who secured his first
FSR World Championship title in his second season.
2004
The year 2004 was to be the big showdown between reigning 2003 World
Champion Joshua Lyon of Kiwi Racing and fast but never successful Roy
Kolbe of Virtual-Games.com.
The season started well for the two top chances, qualifying 1st and
2nd on the grid for the first race of the season at Albert Park. The
fairytale was soon over on Sunday however when the two ever so slightly
touched on the run to turn 1.
The middle of the season would heat up for rounds 10, 11 and 12 at
France, Great Britain and Germany. After the French Grand Prix, the
top 3 drivers were separated by just 3 points with Joshua Lyon 83, Yannick
Lapchin (Hernj Grand Prix) 81 and Roy Kolbe 80. Those three drivers
went on to take 1st, 3rd and 2nd respectively at the British Grand Prix
the following week to move Kolbe up to 2nd and extend Lyon?s lead slightly.
From here on Kolbe never looked back. Yannick Lapchin missed the points
at the German GP, Kolbe took the chequered flag and after the race Lyon,
who could manage only 3rd place, retired from the Formula SimRacing
World Championship due to private problems.
Kolbe went on to win 5 of the remaining 6 races to become the Formula
SimRacing World Champion of 2004 by a huge 44 points lead to Yannick
Lapchin. Kolbe?s teammate Gareth Clayton (WAL, Virtual-Games) finished
a very respectable 3rd in the championship, passing Joshua Lyon?s points
total in the final two races. Virtual-Games.com became the 2004 constructors?
champions.
Season 2004 saw the new entry of Twister-Racing in a build up year
to their very successful 2005. MayhemF1 and Holland Racing team were
to be absent from the grid, replaced by MayenceF1 and Twister-Racing.
2005
The 2005 season started with the international press conference on the
19th of March, held by former ISR Club President Steven Holgeth to announce
the Formula SimRacing World Championship driver- and team lineup. The
league didn't use the standard game anymore but Ralph Hummerich's RH2004
Modification.
There were 10 teams that travelled "down under" to Melbourne,
Australia for the season opener. Last year?s Formula SimRacing World
Champion Roy Kolbe (GER, Virtual Games) was able to win the first event
of the 2005 season, although having started from the midfield. Kolbe
profited from a drive through penalty for Hernj Grand Prix driver Christian
Neumann (GER) for crossing the pit exit merge line and a brake failure
of Dennis Hirrle (GER), who was going to compete in his first full-time
Formula SimRacing World Championship season at Twister-Racing.
Dennis Hirrle won his first ever FSR World Championship GP in Malaysia
closely in front of Roy Kolbe.
Kolbe won the Imola GP but was yet again beaten in Barcelona by the
later world champion from Twister-Racing.
The Monaco GP was held on May 29th. Pole setter was Yannick Lapchin
(FRA, Hernj Grand Prix). He set the new track record with a lap of 1:11.665m.
The race was won by Da Silva Racing driver Fausto Pappalardo (ITA).
Soon after, reigning world champion Roy Kolbe announced his withdrawal
from the season.
Dennis Hirrle was the dominant man of the season by winning 11 out
of 19 events. The German was able to put in a new FSR record of winning
6 consecutive races (Europe, Canada, USA, France, Great Britain, Germany)
and to win the most races in a season.
Hirrle secured his World Championship title at the Belgium GP in Spa-Francorchamps,
5 races from the end of the season, where the German was able to lap
the entire field in rainy conditions to finish first.
At the last Grand Prix of the season in Bahrain, Christian Neumann
won in dominant fashion in front of Dennis Hirrle. It was his third
win of the season and his fourth career victory. Scoring 10 points,
Neumann also prevailed against Fausto Pappalardo in the fight for the
runner-up point standings position.
Martin Gosmann's Twister-Racing Team became the Formula SimRacing Constructors'
Champion in its second season.
2006
For 2006, Formula SimRacing switched games from F1 Challenge '99-'02
to rFactor using Jason Tedstone's 'F1Champions' Modification. Before
the 2006 season started, reigning world champion Dennis Hirrle (Twister-Racing)
announced his retirement for after the season due to personal reasons.
The German was barely competitive, instead the season started in perfect
fashion for 2004 world champion Roy Kolbe who switched to the new Coca-Cola
Kiwi Virtual team and won the first three races of the season.
Bruno Marques (Diamond Racing Team) missed the first two races due to
technical problems, nevertheless the Portoguese would prove to be Kolbe?s
hardest opponent for the rest of the year.
At the San Marino GP in Imola, FSR welcomed ChampCar driver A.J. Allmendinger
(Roaldo Racing) in the World Championship category. The American qualified
9th, did a solid race but spun and stalled his engine few laps from
the end.
Both championship contenders failed to score at the European GP at
the Nurburgring: Marques did an early mistake and was out of the race,
Kolbe spun in the very last part of the race under pressure from team
mate David Greco who won his first race in the FSR World Championship.
The next race was to be held in the glamurous streets of Monaco where
Bruno Marques was able to score his first ever World Championship victory
in dominant style, crossing the line long before Dominik Binz (Red Bull
Kiwi Virtual) and Dennis Hirrle in 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Roy Kolbe just scored 4 points in this race and he scored his so far
last victory at the British GP in Silverstone. After a third place in
Canada where David Greco celebrated his second season victory, Kolbe
didn?t score any points in the next 3 races: At the US Grand Prix in
Indianapolis, the German was taken out at the start in a mass collision,
the next two races he was forced to miss out due to major technical
problems.
In the meantime, Bruno Marques put in a series of 4 victories in a
row. Since the Monaco GP, Marques never finished in other positions
than either first or second.
For the next GP at the Hungaroring, FSR switched to the new BMW Sauber
F1 Modification by ISI. Roy Kolbe was back racing at Hungary but finished
0,7s behind the Portuguese which increased Marques? championship lead
by another two points.
Two weeks later, Formula SimRacing raced for the very first time on
the new Istanbul Park track in Turkey. Although Marques started from
Pole, he lost his lead immediately to Roy Kolbe at the start who could
win the race in front of the Portuguese and Dennis Hirrle.
In Monza and in Shanghai, Marques was again able to cross the line
right in front of Kolbe in 2nd, but the German's result was enough to
make his team, Coca-Cola Kiwi Virtual, the 2006 FSR World Championship
Constructor Champions. Before the next race in Japan, Suzuka, Bruno
Marques had a solid 18 points lead over Kolbe and thus only needed to
finish in 7th spot in order to win the World Championship on the Asian
continent, whereas Roy Kolbe needed to win the race to keep his chances
alive for the last race of the season. Marques secured Pole Position
over Kolbe by just 0,012s but was passed into Turn 1 by the German who
eventually won the race, but it wasn't enough: Bruno Marques finished
in 2nd, in front of newcomer and teammate Ondrej Kuncman, and thus won
the 2006 FSR World Championship Drivers Championship in the penultimate
race. Marques' team, Diamond Racing, has also secured 2nd position in
the Constructors Championship in Suzuka.
Ondrej Kuncman won the final season race in Brazil in front of his
team mate and new world champion Bruno Marques. It was the newcomer's
first victory in his first season. The podium was completed by Dennis
Hirrle who announced to continue his career as Team Manager at Twister-Racing.
World Championship Winners
Drivers' Championship
2001: Artur Mlodzinski (POL)
2002: Ernesto de Angelis (ITA)
2003: Joshua Lyon (USA)
2004: Roy Kolbe (GER)
2005: Dennis Hirrle (GER)
2006: Bruno Marques (POR)
Constructors' Championship
2001: Virtual-Games.com
2002: Racebase
2003: Kiwi Racing
2004: Virtual-Games.com
2005: Twister-Racing
2006: Coca-Cola Kiwi Virtual
World Championship Records
Most Victories (Top 10):
1. Roy Kolbe (25)
2. Joshua Lyon (15)
3. Dennis Hirrle (11)
4. Greger Huttu (8)
4. Artur Mlodzinski (8)
6. Bruno Marques (7)
7. Ernesto de Angelis (6)
8. Yannick Lapchin (4)
8. Dominik Binz (4)
8. Christian Neumann (4)
Most Pole-Positions (Top 10):
1. Roy Kolbe (23)
2. Artur Mlodzinski (15)
3. Joshua Lyon (9)
3. Greger Huttu (9)
5. Bruno Marques (8)
6. Dennis Hirrle (7)
7. Christian Neumann (6)
8. Dominik Binz (5)
8. Yannick Lapchin (5)
10. Massimiliano DellOrco (3)
10. Ernesto de Angelis (3)
