BTCC-inspired rFactor 2 touring car series set for VCO debut 

TCUK, an independently-run championship inspired by the real-world British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), has announced a partnership with sim racing behemoth Virtual Competition Online (VCO). 

In its fourth consecutive year, Virtual Motorsport Online’s (VMO) TCUK has flourished thanks to rFactor 2’s official BTCC content, mimicking the BTCC ruleset and format while offering dedicated stewarding to enforce driving standards (the Chief Steward role fulfilled by YouTuber and Traxion.GG commentator Aidan Millward).  

Studio 397’s 10-year-old title has released seven of the BTCC’s official cars over the past few months, with an eighth – the Cupra Leon – rumoured to arrive shortly, if the rFactor 2 team’s Instagram Stories last week (Friday 5th May 2023) are anything to go by.

rFactor 2 also has several of the official BTCC tracks in its roster, including Croft, Donington Park, Thruxton and Brands Hatch, with the championship also implementing the BTCC’s hybrid and tyre selection ruleset (and just like the real series, the hard compound will be used for all three races at Thruxton). 

The 2023 VCO TCUK championship will feature a grid of familiar names to motorsport and sim racing fans alike, with BBC Formula 1 Commentator Jack Nicholls slated for a return alongside The Race’s F1 writer Scott Mitchell-Malm. The series has also seen former F1 driver and pundit Karun Chandhok participate in 2021, with Team HARD. Racing’s esports outfit completing a part season in 2022. 

In terms of established sim racing protagonists, the grid will see defending champion – and former GT Challenge winner – Matt Richards race with his eponymous Richards&Co Racing team. He’ll join NetRex GP’s FSR Formula Pro frontrunner Jan Woźnica at the front of the field, with Ryan Elliott also parachuting in from the latest season of GT Challenge. 

Jenson Button and Chris Buncombe’s joint sim racing venture Rocket Simsport will debut on the grid for 2023, with Traxion.GG’s very own John Munro and Ross McGregor taking on driving duties alongside Tobias Blumschein.  

They’ll be hoping to follow up their 2022 Teams’ championship win (assisted by Hitech Pulse-Eight Formula 4 Race Engineer Dan Kell) with another strong season. Former EuroNASCAR racer Callum Cripps will also be on the grid, with Chris Butcher, Lewis Redshaw and Daniel Hurlock all aiming for glory. 

Each VCO TCUK race will be broadcast live on VCO Esports’, VMO‘s and Simply Race’s YouTube channels from 8pm BST, featuring commentary from Cameron Rodgers, with Alex Goldschmidt and Zach Sweeney sharing co-comms duties throughout the season.

Will you be tuning in to VCO’s TCUK series? Let us know in the comments below. 

 VMO TCUK 2023 calendar 

• Round 1     –   17/05/2023                Donington Park National – 16 Laps 
• Round 2    –   31/05/2023                 Brands Hatch (Indy) – 24 Laps 
• Round 3    –   14/06/2023                 Snetterton – 12 Laps 
• Round 4    –   28/06/2023                Thruxton – 16 Laps                       
• Round 5    –   19/07/2023                 Oulton Park Island – 15 Laps  
• Round 6    –   02/08/2023                Croft – 15 Laps 
• Round 7     –   16/08/2023                Knockhill – 24 Laps 
• Round 8     –   30/08/2023                Donington Park GP – 14 Laps
• Round 9     –   13/09/2023                Silverstone National – 22 Laps 
• Round 10    –   27/09/2023               Brands Hatch (GP) – 15 Laps 

VMO TCUK 2023 entry list 

• Matt Richards – Richards&Co Racing – BMW 330e M Sport  
• Ross McGregor – Rocket Simsport – Toyota Corolla GR Sport  
• Sam Dowman – Vaporshield Racing – Honda Civic Type R (FK8)  
• Dave Carr-Smith – Pixelate eSports – BMW 330e M Sport  
• Phil Morby – Team ATGANI – Ford Focus ST  
• Kyle Benton – Team | KRB – Honda Civic Type R (FK8)  
• Luke Mitchell – Kings Racing – Infiniti Q50  
• John Munro – Rocket Simsport – Toyota Corolla GR Sport  
• Lewis Redshaw – Draig Racing – BMW 330e M Sport  
• Jack Nicholls – Kings Racing – Infiniti Q50  
• Scott Morris – TR Powered by Geekz Energy – Hyundai i30 Fastback N  
• Tobias Blumschein – Rocket Simsport – Toyota Corolla GR Sport  
• Adam Lock – Quatermass Motorsport – Ford Focus ST  
• Jack London – Kellamity Motorsport – Ford Focus ST  
• Jan Woznica – Netrex GP – Vauxhall Astra  
• Cameron Brewster – Draig Racing – BMW 330e M Sport  
• Johannes Leppitt – TR Powered by Geekz Energy – Hyundai i30 Fastback N  
• Scott Sovik – Team Ballas eSports – BMW 330e M Sport  
• Thomas O’Leary – Friction Racing – Honda Civic Type R (FK8)  
• Max Spooner – Quatermass Motorsport – Ford Focus ST  
• Chris Butcher – Team Butchie – Honda Civic Type R (FK8)  
• Ryan Elliott – RSR Infiniti – Q50  
• Callum Cripps – Richards&Co Racing – BMW 330e M Sport  
• Anthony Hilton – Mellow Motorsport – Vauxhall Astra  
• Ben Willis – Draig Racing – BMW 330e M Sport  
• Daniel Hurlock – RSR Infiniti – Q50  
• Stephen Hadley – DMA Racing – Honda Civic Type R (FK8)
• Dan Kell – Kellamity Motorsport – Ford Focus ST  
• Murdo MacLeod – TR Powered by Geekz Energy – Hyundai i30 Fastback N  
• Calum Wilson – Richards&Co Racing – BMW 330e M Sport  
• Scott Mitchell-Malm – Kings Racing – Infiniti Q50  
• Phil Garside – Full Send Racing – Vauxhall Astra