Some games stay with you for life.
For me, TOCA 2 Touring Cars is one of them. Back in 1999 I spent hours racing British touring cars on my PC. With a joystick. On a screen that looks like a pixel puzzle by today’s standards.
On October 20, RaceRoom released its Historic Update 2026, and KW Studios calls it the biggest update in the history of the sim. For me the headline is simple. The Ford Mondeo and the Peugeot 406 Super Tourers are now on the grid.
After my first races in VR, I can say it. That 1999 feeling is back.
1999: TOCA 2 and a joystick
TOCA 2 was built around the British Touring Car Championship of the late nineties. Real cars, real teams and real circuits like Brands Hatch, Donington and Silverstone.
My setup was simple:
- A joystick for steering, throttle and brake
- A low resolution screen
- No force feedback, no pedals, no VR
And it did not matter.
The racing was close. The cars bumped and rubbed their way through every corner. Losing a place at the hairpin after a small touch felt personal. That is what kept me coming back, night after night.
What the Historic Update brings to RaceRoom in 2026
This is not a small patch it is a full rewrite. The highlights for me:
- Two new Super Tourers: the 1998 Peugeot 406 and the 1999 spec Ford Mondeo
- The Super Touring class grows to ten licensed cars. The Alfa Romeo 156, Audi A4, BMW 320i E36, Honda Accord, Renault Laguna, Volvo 850, Volvo S40 and Opel Vectra were already there
- Four new historic tracks: Spa-Francorchamps 1995, Laguna Seca in its 1980s layout, Fliegerhorst Wunstorf and the Glasbachrennen hill climb
- A free 2026 update of Hockenheim
- A new interface, a big force feedback update and better VR support through OpenXR
Fun detail: the Mondeo ran a V6, and Prodrive had to do some clever engineering to get its center of gravity low enough.
The only car I still miss from my TOCA 2 days is the Nissan Primera. RaceRoom says it could not get a license from Nissan. Maybe one day.
27 years later: then vs now
The cars are from the same era. Everything around them is not.
That last row is the big one.
| 1999: TOCA 2 | 2026: RaceRoom | |
|---|---|---|
| Steering | Joystick | Fanatec Clubsport DD 15Nm direct drive wheelbase with steeringwheel |
| Throttle and brake | Joystick axis | Simagic P1000 with haptic motors, hydraulic brake (P-HYS) and hydraulic throttle (P-HTS) system |
| Display | Low resolution screen | Pimax Crystal Light VR headset (2880×2880 per eye) |
| Graphics | Blocky cars and flat textures | RTX 5070 Ti 16Gb pushing detailed cars and laser scanned tracks |
| Feedback | None | Force feedback in the wheel, wheelbase and vibration in the pedals |
| Point of view | Watching a car on a screen | Sitting in the car |
In 1999 I looked at a car. Today I sit in it. In VR I turn my head into the corner, glance at the mirror and see a Laguna sitting on my door. The wheel tells me when the front starts to wash out. The brake pedal builds pressure like a real system. The level we are on now is something I could not even imagine back then.
Why the Super Touring class hits the sweet spot for me.
With this update, RaceRoom hit the sweet spot for this class. And it comes down to the same three things that made TOCA 2 so good.
Close racing. Ten cars, all from the same era, all with high revving 2.0 liter engines. Nobody runs away. You fight door to door for laps.
Small touches. A nudge at the hairpin. Rubbing through a chicane. In GT3 or LMP2 that often means damage and a ruined race. In a Super Tourer it is part of the game, as long as you keep it fair.
Great tracks. Brands Hatch, Donington, Silverstone Classic, Bathurst, and now Spa 1995. These are the circuits where these cars belong.
The cars still give me the same excitement as 27 years ago. Only now I feel every kerb, every bump and every touch.
Final thoughts
27 years. From a joystick and a blurry screen to a direct drive wheel, hydraulic pedals and VR. The technology moved on in every possible way.
- The feeling did not.
- Close racing.
- Small touches.
- Great tracks.
If you grew up with TOCA 2, give the RaceRoom Super Tourers a try. Line up at Brands Hatch and it is 1999 again. Just with a much better view.