GTR is a game which the sim racing enthusiasts have eagerly been waiting for for the last few months. The exact release date is still unknown, but we received a press demo from Simbin Development Team last week and I've been doing laps at Spa ever since. First a really brief look at what GTR is all about before inspecting the key features of this press demo.

GTR is a completely new game from the makers of the GTR2002 mod for F12002, Simbin Development Team a.ka SBDT. It simulates the FIA GT series and with an official license the game will include all the real tracks and cars. SBDT haven't build their own engine, so GTR still relies on ISI's game engine like SBDT's previous efforts. This time, though, they've had access to the latest version of ISI's engine and to more information about car handling data from real racing teams. The press demo features only one track, but it's a special one - Spa. There's two cars to drive, from both the GT and N-GT classes. Lister Storm is the GT car and from N-GT you have the Morgan Aero 8. This demo is work in progress and a lot of things aren't finished so in this short preview I'll mainly cover things like physics and track modelling.

First time starting the game the menus reveal that the ISI engine is being used. All the menus are familiar, they look different but the functions are the same. They are not the simplest and most effective, but if you're familiar with them from previous ISI games you will have no problems setting everything up. Like I mentioned, Spa is the only track in the demo and you can't race against any AI cars yet. After getting my wheel and pedals set up I chose the Lister and headed off to Spa. Before going to the track I checked the car setup options in the garage. The setup options are very familiar from the previous ISI games and the GTR2002 mod. There are some differences like the ability to change the power and coast side of the differential. The main physics guy behind the project, Doug Arnao, has included setups for both cars in the demo so I chose his Lister setup. The excitement started to grow as it was time to hit the track.

When you start driving among the first things you will notice are the sounds. The engine sound is great giving you a sense of power, and it doesn't sound as simple and basic as in many other sims. Blasting along the straight after Eau Rouge feels great with the whine of the transmission. Another thing that hit me was the fantastic feeling of speed, and no doubt the great sounds help in creating that feeling, too. The car handling is quite familiar from the GTR2002 mod, although the rearend doesn't feel as slippery all the time and the car isn't as nervous. The feedback you get from the car is better than before. The car bounces up and down over the bumps and especially under the braking. The effect might be just a bit overdone, but you can set it to your liking in the menu. I changed the G-force effect down to 50% and it felt better. I've always liked the force feedback in ISI sims, and GTR is at least as good if not better in that area. You can feel all the bumps thanks to the visual and force feedback. Riding the kerbs is also fun, because you can feel how the car reacts to them and that allows you to correct the car quickly if it gets out of shape. Running wide on the kerbs you can also feel the car getting pulled towards them. Continuing with kerbs, I feel they are better modelled than in any other sim so far. Some kerbs on the inside of the corners you can use to your advantage if you're careful, but some throw the car out of balance just enough to not make it worthwhile riding them. On corner exits you can use the kerbs more, but they're slippery and you need to be careful with the steering and throttle inputs to not lose the car.