Studio 397’s rFactor 2 gains its first big update of 2023, adding a Honda Civic BTCC car, the Long Beach Grand Prix Street Circuit and several important UI upgrades.

Studio 397’s rFactor 2 continues to evolve in 2023, with a host of new quality-of-life and content updates keeping the 2013 sim relevant ten years on. 

Content-wise, there’s less in the Q1 2023 Content Drop than we’ve come to expect in recent times, but with the ability to race against content you don’t own and the new package management system, sim racers will save both time and money going forward.

The Team Dynamics-built Honda Civic Type R has been a front-runner in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) since its inception in 2018, with Dan Cammish coming close to winning the title in 2019. 

The FK8 Type-R joins the other front-wheel-drive BTCC cars already in-game, including the Hyundai i30 N, Ford Focus ST, Toyota Corolla GR Sport and Vauxhall Astra. Alongside two rear-wheel-drive cars – the Infiniti Q50 and BMW 330i M Sport – the 2021/22 BTCC grid is now complete, barring the Team HARD CUPRA Leons. 

The Honda Civic Type R BTCC is available to purchase now from rFactor 2’s Steam Store for £4.44. 

Another BTCC-related update is the implementation of the championship’s new-for-2022 hybrid ruleset. This allows 15s of driver-controlled hybrid boost from an onboard electric motor.

The hybrid rules were designed to replace the cumbersome success ballast system, as well as promote more overtaking and strategic defending. 

All 2022 BTCC vehicles can now use boost, with special hybrid HUD elements also added to their cockpit instrumentation displays. 

rFactor 2’s impressively powerful photo mode now has a bespoke UI which is now much simpler to navigate thanks to the Q1 2023 update. Replay cameras have also been overhauled, making them much more broadcast friendly than before. 

Virtual race TV directors can now pause broadcast cameras mid-pan or hold the same camera for as long as they require, allowing the same car to be tracked over a whole lap, something which is entirely possible at small venues such as Brands Hatch Indy.

IndyCar and IMSA racing venue Long Beach is a street circuit located in California, and home to one of the tighter and trickier venues frequented by sportscars and the Dallara IR-18. 

Thanks to its laser-scanned layout, the rFactor 2 version of Long Beach is set to be right up there alongside iRacing’s, with the 1.96-mile venue’s famous fountain replicated beautifully in-game. And nothing says racetrack quite like a shrub-lined roundabout… 

Long Beach Grand Prix Street Circuit is available to purchase now from rFactor 2’s Steam Store for £7.99. 

As we previously reported two weeks ago, rFactor 2’s GT3 cars have received a huge physics and Balance of Performance (BoP) update, transforming the way the cars behave and sound. 

Although progress has been made, we weren’t blown away by the revisions but it’s an encouraging step forward nonetheless. 

To top off the Q1 2023 update, two much-requested features have been implemented in rFactor 2; the ability to race against unowned content and revisions to the often frustrating package management system. 

The new system allows players to forgo the tortuous process of waiting for rFactor 2 packages to update before being allowed to enter the game’s home screen. In its stead, Studio 397 has granted players the ability to check on the update status of each mod or whether it’s owned or not. 

If players wish to purchase any of the unowned content, they can be directed to a rFactor 2 store link to make the purchase. Handy. 

Have you sampled rFactor 2’s Q1 2023 update yet? How does it rank compared to previous content drops? Let us know in the comments below. 

Stock Car 2018x v1.19 

Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992) v1.05 

Ford Focus BTCC v1.33 

Hyundai i30 BTCC v1.37 

Toyota Corolla BTCC V1.49 

Circuit d’Azure v1.23 

World Wide Technology Raceway v1.11 

Full disclosure – Traxion.GG is part of Motorsport Games and the Motorsport Games family of brands. All Traxion.GG content is editorially removed from Motorsport Games video game development and created by a dedicated team.

This week's Gran Turismo 7 Daily Races features a James Bond legend, on gravel,...

Former works Ferrari driver Kamil Pawlowski has joined esports squad ITB, alongside Mikhail Statsenko,...

February 2023's Update 1.29 is the most significant change to Gran Turismo 7 to...

Moza Racing's HGP H Pattern Shifter is a new seven-speed (plus reverse) sim racing...

The Esports Racing World Cup II is set to be broadcasted live from Simply...

A classic Porsche, Citroën and Honda Formula 1 car are all set to join...

GT Sophy is set to be a leap forward for racing game artificial intelligent...

The 15 female drivers that were able to qualify in on speed for the...

Dutchman Thomas Ronhaar claimed his first ever win in Round 5 of the 2023...

For the second event of the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup at Magny-Cours, it...

A new video from iRacing gives a sneak peek at the new Formula 1600...

The first addition for the Year 3 Pass for SnowRunner, Season 9: Renew &...

Traxion is a collective of racing, esports and gaming enthusiasts. Bringing you the latest news, reviews, updates, opinions, and insight from the most recognized and respected names from the world of racing games. We are building a positive community of likeminded gamers, sim racers and fans and we want you to be a part of it.

The 15 female drivers that were able to qualify in on speed for the...

Dutchman Thomas Ronhaar claimed his first ever win in Round 5 of the 2023...

For the second event of the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup at Magny-Cours, it...

A new video from iRacing gives a sneak peek at the new Formula 1600...

The first addition for the Year 3 Pass for SnowRunner, Season 9: Renew &...

This week's Gran Turismo 7 Daily Races features a James Bond legend, on gravel,...

This week's Gran Turismo 7 Daily Races feature the Subaru Impreza 22B at Red...

This week's Gran Turismo 7 Daily Races feature the Porsche 911 GT3 (996) at...

This week's Gran Turismo 7 Daily Races feature the BAC Mono at Maggiore, Gr.4s...

This week's Gran Turismo 7 Daily Races feature Gr.4 cars on the Circuit de...

© 2022 Traxion.gg. All rights reserved. Part of Motorsport Games, Inc. | Beta Version 0.91