The History of the AusterlitzRing – Part 1 (1945-1974)
This post is an exercise in creative writing. Everything written in this post is entirely fictional but interwoven with real facts. Not only did this take a lot of research, it took a whole lot of effort in creativity. This is part 1 in a 2-part series. Already read part 1? Go to part 2 by clicking here! It was supposed to be the Dutch version of the infamous Nordschleife. But decades of lawsuits meant the project was delayed until the times caught up to the plan. This is the...
The AusterlitzRing, the third Dutch circuit
As a kid, I loved drawing fictional race tracks. Sadly, none of those designs have withstood the test of time. They might still be somewhere buried deep within a cardboard box at my parents’ place. However, digging through the many boxes looking for something that might not be there is something I don’t want to put my parents through. A couple of years ago, I stumbled upon the subreddit “/r/racetrackdesigns”, which is a whole subreddit dedicated to people’s fictional designs for race tracks. At some point, I uploaded a design...
ACC player counts in review: November 2021
Last month, as I wrote in my October review, I had given up hope of seeing the 1.8 update of ACC in 2021. Of course, this turned out to be nothing but another commentator’s curse. On Wednesday the 24th of November, the update finally dropped. In this episode of “Playercount in review”, I’ll dive into the numbers to see what this update has brought us in terms of player activity. Spoiler alert: a whole damn lot. A short TL;DR in advance: November 2021 started out with a slight decline, with...
I’m in love with Forza Horizon 5, and here’s why
If you’ve read this blog or at least seen a bit of the content on it, you might know that I’m knee-deep into sim racing. Particularly, Assetto Corsa Competizione (ACC). What you might not know is that I haven’t driven in ACC for nearly half a year now. I still love the game and the idea it represents, but due to life getting in the way I haven’t found the time and energy to actually play it. Getting into ACC after a long day of work would not only require...
ACC player counts in review: October 2021
The days are running shorter. The temperature is going down. And, another month has run its course. November 1st marks another month done, meaning we will once again reflect on ACC’s player statistics (note: I started writing this on Nov. 1st). Last month, I was cautiously optimistic as I expected the declining weather would put people back in their driver’s seat. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Instead of a slight growth, the numbers show consolidation. A short TL;DR in advance: November 2021 was another month of consolidation despite not...
Design: MAX
For the average Dutchman, I’m not that much of a Max Verstappen fan. I am somewhat of an F1 hipster. The people who laughed at me as a teen for watching Formula 1? They have all suddenly devoted their Sunday-afternoons to watching Max do what they previously made fun of: drive in circles. Nevertheless, I respect Max’ driving skills. I certainly hope he will be able to break Mercedes’ hegemony, which has lasted for far too long already. Last week, I posted a design that combined Shepard Fairley’s “Hope” poster...
Design: SEB
I am a Sebastian Vettel fan. Always have been, always will be. Whether he’s winning races or even championships, or not. As Sebastian “Seb” Vettel grows older, he’s also growing more mature. He was always famous for his work ethic off the track. Especially this year, now that the pressure of being a Ferrari driver is no longer on his shoulders. Seb has become very vocal about the environment. And not just with words, but also in his actions. Whether he’s picking up trash after the British GP, opening a...
Design: Nyck de Vries, World Champion
The 2020/2021 Formula E season was a blast. Not just because it was one of the closest fights for the championship title, but also because it saw Nyck de Vries clench it in the final race. This means that Nyck de Vries became the first Dutchman to become an official (non-karting) FIA world champion. As a tribute, I made a design commemorating this fact. Before showing you the end result, I will briefly talk about my “relation” to Nyck (i.e., as a spectator and motorsports fan) and show some of...
ACC Playercounts in Review: August and September 2021
It’s October now. Which means, time for another rundown of ACC’s player statistics. Last month, I was on a well-deserved holiday. Therefore, we’ll be analysing both August and September today. So hold on tight, while I take a deep dive into the numbers of these past two months! In short: the decline is over! The steep downward trend we saw starting in May and which continued over June and July has been halted. There’s even a small hint of recovery. Not by much, but the signs are there. A short...
Design: Formula E (-lectric) Drift
In February 2020, Formula E announced its intention to introduce the Evo version of its Gen 2 design. This Evo design saw an update to both the front- and rear wings, and a new shark fin was added to the existing design. I thought it looked pretty cool, so I started the groundwork for an illustration based on it. I started with a drawing (pictured below), which I scanned and used as a basis for the eventual design which I would make in Illustrator. Unfortunately for me, a couple of...
