If you ever played Papyrus’ seminal Grand Prix Legends then you’ve read his name. Rich began working as a tester on NASCAR Racing (1994) and was with Papyrus at the end. In this interview, published in 2022, we discuss his time at the legendary studio and the design of Grand Prix Legends, including initial feelings of hurt at not being asked to join iRacing.
Video game development is rarely about one man, but if it was, then Terence Groening should certainly get a mention for his contributions to the genre as the man responsible for the physics of Sportscar GT, EA’s PC F1 and NASCAR games of the early 2000’s, rFactor, rFactor 2 and every title and rFpro simulator that spawned from ISI’s engine.
This interview with RSC details his early life and career, through to him joining iRacing in 2021.
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One of the first successful steering wheel and pedal controllers found in sim racing, the T1 was released between IndyCar Racing and NASCAR Racing (Papyrus 1993/1994), and was advertised with a box insert (pictured right) in NASCAR Racing and also the IndyCar Racing Track Expansion Pack. Inside the IndyCar Racing box on late release and all boxes with Stefan Johansson’s Penske PC-21 on the cover was also an order form, showing that both Papyrus and Thrustmaster recognized the need to work together very early on. It’s very possible that sim racing would have struggled to take hold in the same way it did without this supportive hardware.
Although the device had no force feedback, there was some resistance due to a rubber band that provided centering tension on the wheels 270 degrees of rotation. The wheel had two buttons on the dash and a built-in two-switch gear stick also on the right that served as a sequential shifter. The pedals were built with space for a clutch pedal, but by default just had the throttle and brake fitted that operated as roller wheels.
The only real flaw in the T1 design that users commonly experienced was with the pedals and the springs giving way with sustained pressure; This was found to be because the pedals simply traveled too far. Users learned to modify them – limiting the travel of the pedal – to prevent the spring breaking. This issue was fixed with the T2 (below).
The T2 was essentially a re-release of the T1 with some minor changes such as the thicker, smaller diameter wheel and clamps to secure it properly to a desk. The pedals were improved, functioning as actual pedals rather than roller wheels seen in the T1. They still operated as a single axis.
There were different versions of the T2. Older ones had a blue aluminum plate, supposedly to increase strength (presumably trying to prevent damage from people putting their weight on the wheel), while newer ones did not.
The T2 was advertised with an insert in the IndyCar Racing II box:
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