During the first lockdown of 2020, the Alfa Romeo Owners Club setup an online, virtual racing series using the popular Assetto Corsa racing simulator for PC.
Open to AROC and ARCA members, it attracted a number of regular drivers and others who took part when they had the time. Amongst those were a few current and past Alfaracers including Andrew Bramah, Paul Plant, Tim Perry, Jon Billingsley and myself.
Using a number of different Alfa models including a Giulietta TCR, GTAm, 75, 8C, and 4C, 3 different championship series have been completed since it began with the most recent series finishing last week. We visited a wide selection of circuits which loosly followed the ARCA and F1 calendars with a few wildcards thrown in for fun. With a mix of Alfaracers, experienced sim racers and newcomers, the latest series was hotly contested over 30 races in 3 classes, Touring, Historic and Endurance. Each taking place every Thursday with the overall championship coming down to the final race of the season!
Bianco Motorsport put up the enviable prize of a fully funded drive in a Twin Spark Cup car at the first round of 2021! Although the overall series was won by an Alfaracer, we weren’t eligible for the prize for obvious reasons so the top placed non-racer, Colin Cunniffe scooped a seat on the grid at Silverstone.
Colin was rapid throughout the series, regularly beating Alfaracers and finishing consistently in the points with the least amount of incindents of any driver. With links to DPMD and Dave Peddie, Colin is already familiar with the championship and we can’t wait to see how he gets on at Silverstone.
A huge thank you must go to AROC’s Guy Swarbrick who put in countless hours to get the series setup and running consitently each week. The amount of work that’s gone into this is mind bloggling considering all the other AROC projects Guy is involved with, so we really do appreciate it.
There were plenty of others who helped out with painting the cars to match AROC sponsors, a panel of stewards, test drivers, server techies plus a commentator for the live streams so a big thank you to them as well.
Video Highlights
Touring
Historic
Endurance
Get Involved
As I mentioned, the series is open to any AROC or past ARCA members and we’re looking for drivers to join the fun in 2021!
All you need is a fairly decent PC, a copy of the game and a gamepad or wheel and pedals. There are plenty of drivers who can offer help and advice and the best place to start is the AROC Racing Leagues Facebook page. There are a few fun races over the Christmas period, open to all so you can come and have a go before jumping into a competitive series.
The first Championship of 2021 has just been announced and will be at UK based circuits in the Auto Italia Giulietta TCR and at international circuits in the Halfords Formula Alfa.
Why not come and have a go!