Interview
February 7, 2010

Antoine Buob of Team Rallyesim

by Dan “Chipwich” Blake

In the past two days we looked at Richard Burns Rally and the mega-mod for this title, Rallyesim’s RSRBR. With the news that Rallyesim has just completed a new version of RSRBR for 2010, and now that both the real and virtual rally season are taking a winter break, I thought that it was a perfect time to have a chat with one of the Rallyesim team’s core members and physics editors, Antoine Buob, (aka Mrhorsepower).

Dan: Salute and greetings from the USA, Antoine. My first question naturally is that, since rallying has its roots in Europe and since there are no North American drivers currently in WRC, are you surprised that there are rally fans on the this side of the pond?

Antoine: Hi, everyone! I’m happy to see that there are rally fans in North America! I know that Americans have a very big motorsports following, and love extreme races, so let’s go rally!

Note: Since the interview, it was learned that the Monster Energy Team and American driver Ken Block will be competing in WRC 2010.

Dan: Please tell us a little bit about yourself: where you live, what your hobbies are, and about your interest in rally racing and PC racing simulations.

Antoine: I currently live in the east of France near Belgium and Germany, not far from Sebastien Loeb’s birthplace!

However, I’ll be moving back to Paris in February. In "real life" I’m an architect, a collaborator, and a musician in a "Grindcore" band. I’m known as "Mrhorsepower" on sim forums.

I enjoy building DIY hardware, such as handbrakes, shifters, pedals and button boxes… dedicated to rally. I’m also a vintage musical instruments and hi-fi collector.

I started gaming early, with an Amstrad CPC6128 when I was 7. First I did hex editing… then I tried different gaming platforms, and I found PC, which is the best for customizing one’s gameplay. First, I enjoyed first person shooters (i.e. Doom), Star Wars Pod Racer, and flight simulations.

Then I found rally with Rallyesim, and I started to do some stuff for real drivers, such as skins or pacenotes and show them. I think they liked it, because they took me in their car as a reward, to test for real. That’s a good deal!

Dan: Why didn’t I think of that?

Antoine: So I have the privilege and luck to test many cars, such as the Toyota Celica GT4, Renault 5GT, Audi RS4, Proto Golf 4x4 turbo, Peugeot 306N3 and the best: a 30 minute drive at Dijon in a Proto Porsche 996 turbo… one of my best souvenirs. Now I have a real racing bug!

Dan: Who is your favorite current or past rally driver and why?

Antoine: My favorite is Jean Ragnotti, known as “Le Jeannot”; he represents the good spirit of rally in France. His driving style is awesome, very spectacular, and he’s also a good joker. Try to find some videos on the web; you need to see him! As current drivers go, I prefer Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena of course, who brought us a sixth consecutive WRC victory! I give them a great deal of admiration.

Dan: What was your first rally game or simulation? Tell us about your first encounter with Richard Burns Rally?

Antoine: I discovered racing games with Flat Out and Need for Speed: Underground, and had good fun with them. However, I thought they were too easy, so I started a sim quest, to find more realistic titles. I found a lot: Grand Prix Legends, rFactor, Live for Speed, GTR, and Richard Burns Rally.

First, when I played RBR, I never finished! I thought it was a stunts game! And the tracks were really tight, but the feeling of speed and driving on the razor’s edge are so good!

There are so many parameters that you can’t memorize a complete stage; you’re always improvising in rally. I immediately loved the feeling, immersion, and addictiveness of RBR; I had never felt this in any other game. Then I founded Rallyesim in September 2007. At this point I started to understand what racing is: pushing your limits, dealing with your own fear, never slowing down, all with your heart at 160 bpm!

I really found a kind of family at Rallyesim, and had the pleasure to meet 20 forum members over the last two years; it’s good to see them in person, too!

Dan: Who are the members of the Rallyesim team, and how do they contribute to RSRBR and the Rallyesim championship?

Antoine: The administration team comprises the following people:

Jim (Integration, physics, tracks, weather, RSCenter, general management, web site)

Aube (design, management, skins, pictures, and forums)

Phil63 (integration, software installation, management, textures, and forums)

Beu-C (web site, rankings, integration, championships, and ChronoManager)

Fifou (championships, foreign, management, teams, and stables)

Flat-twin (specifications, car physics, and general assistance)

Mrhorsepower (car physics, tire physics, FFB, sound, track textures, BTB, management)

Arno-F (championships, specific cars, and general assistance)

Also some good friends:

Fabynou (specifications, car physics, rules, and roadbooks)

Parlesportes (integration of cars and tracks, general assistance)

Groslapin (championship ATAC, management of WRC drivers)

Rallye50 (specific cars, roadbooks)

Oliver0513 (engine sounds)

Garyson (3D cars)

Roysteph (3D cars)

Chewcrout (3D cars)

Fufu04 (3D cars)

eddy3spain (3D cars, physics)

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