Lena Bee: Sim Racer, Cosplayer & Sound Designer

Crew Chief Brad: [00:00:00] Welcome to Screen to Speed powered by INIT eSports. In this podcast, we dive into the journeys of remarkable individuals making waves in sim racing and bridging the virtual with the real. From the thrill of digital circuits to the roar of real life racetracks, we explore the passion, Dedication and innovation that drives the world of motorsports.

We’ll hear from athletes, creators, and pioneers sharing their stories, insights, and the powerful ways sim racing is connecting communities and creating pathways into motorsports. So buckle up. Screen to Speed starts now.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Hi everyone. Welcome to any talks. Happy to see you here. I hope you’re doing well and hope you spend your New Year in a good way, uh, welcome. We got today. Let it be with us. [00:01:00] She’s a sim racer cosplayer and gaming sound designer. Welcome, Lena. Hey, nice to be here. Hello guys. Been a while. Hello. Hello. Um, let’s start with, uh, I saw your last video, uh, on YouTube, uh, that you, uh, visited Thailand and can you tell more about car culture right here?

And I know that you also working on your project car. So let’s start with this.

Lena Bee: Yeah, sure. Um, so I somehow, um, dropped into the real car scene. Usually I was always around sim, sim rigs and sim racing, but, uh, somehow I drifted into the actual car scene, into the tuning scene. I was always into cars. So ever since I was a kid, I grew up around this, especially the Thai car scene, right, which, um, I’m half Thai.

So every year we went, there was this huge car scene. Um, just [00:02:00] happening. It’s like it evolved in front of my eyes. Right. And, uh, as a kid, you, you take that in and you’re like, wow, that’s, that’s crazy. Like, uh, that’s all the cool stuff. And I want to do that too, one day. So I always came back from Thailand and, um, I told my friends, I was like, guys, guys, you won’t believe me.

Like there’s like street racing happening on highways and stuff. Everyone’s like, yeah, sure. You know, like whatever they, they can’t imagine very much, but, um, yeah. So this year I actually took a camera with me and I was like, I have to film this, have to document this because, um, we all love racing and we all have motorsports, but I have a huge passion for cars, right?

So I really wanted to, to capture the scene there. Cause I feel like no one really knows about Thailand car culture here. And, um, yeah, it was, uh, it was quite a [00:03:00] journey because, uh, getting to know the people that take you to these like underground locations and meets was fairly difficult, but we were, we just got lucky.

Uh, we were so lucky that the first guy who was our Uber driver just happened to be, uh, uh, I don’t want to say street racer because we have the wrong picture of it, but they, they build cars to, to race, uh, In locations that are quiet, right? And he just happened to be one of those people. So we were telling him about car culture and stuff.

And he was like, Oh yes, yes, yes. I built this. And he was showing us his car, which was like a Mitsubishi Evo, completely tuned. And, um, yeah, this way we got into, uh, the underground car scene in Thailand and we got to film it. So, uh, if you guys don’t know it, it’s on my YouTube, I’m starting to do more videos.

Uh, those that know me probably know me mostly from. [00:04:00] Simracing and Twitch, but I’m trying new things now as well. So it’s

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: yeah, that’s really cool You know, I’ve been to Thailand long time ago. Didn’t really see, you know, a lot of modded and Cool cars here, but when I’ve been into Malaysia, which is not far away.

I saw that even You know people who’s working in taxi. They got This, uh, yeah. Little cute cars with the cool reams and, you know, they, uh, with, with low suspension, it’s really cool, you know, like, uh, even on the streets, uh, you, you see a lot of, uh, motor than tuning cars. It’s, it’s really cool ,

Lena Bee: it, it’s, it’s much easier there to, um, which you, uh, express yourself.

Mm-hmm . Um, uh, in the car scene, but not just in the car scene. I feel like also as a person in fashion and stuff. I feel like Southeast Asia really likes to express themselves in certain ways and it’s it’s a [00:05:00] breath of, uh, fresh air if you come from places like here, I think. Where are you from, by the way, love?

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Um, I’m from Kazakhstan, from Almaty. Uh, you know, we got some car culture right here as well. Um, but. It’s not really huge, uh, but as we got a racing circuit right now, I hope it will grow Um from time to time so we got a really cool bmw club here with a lot of you know, classic bmws and Some modern ones as well And I think we got porsche club also And you know some people really like drift here Yeah, drifting is really popular right here.

So we got two drifting tracks. Uh, uh, that’s, uh, next to the Sokol international circuit, which, uh, work, uh, should work, uh, this summer already for some testing [00:06:00] days and some stuff. Uh, and other one, uh, it’s like 50 kilometers, 70 kilometers also from Almaty. That’s a huge, uh, drift, uh, track, uh, which people using for, um, Competitions and for practice sessions as well.

Lena Bee: And so, yeah. Nice. Nice. Nice. I don’t know anything about Kazakhstan, uh, car culture, if I’m honest. So it’s also really, I guess, an insight I’ve heard very.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: It’s, it’s really funny actually, because, uh, maybe 10 years ago we had only SUVs, you know, like Land Cruiser Prado, uh, or something like this, uh, that, uh, yeah.

Like the favorite car here for people, uh, but right now I see, you know, a lot of smaller cars, a lot of Chinese cars as we living next to China and some people modding the Zikr, for example, that’s a [00:07:00] Chinese, uh, top tier electric car. Uh, so they trying to boost, uh, and, uh, like electric motors and all this stuff.

Uh, it’s really cool. So, yeah, it’s cool to see that, uh, right now, uh, in Almaty, you can see different, uh, kind of cars and not only SUVs. I’m happy because I’m not a big fan of SUVs, to be honest.

Lena Bee: I feel you. There are, I think there are some, like a few expectations I have, where I like SUVs, but. Mostly I agree with you and then it’s not my thing as well.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: I know that you got a BMW first series, uh, can you tell me about plans for this project car? What do you want to do with it? And do you want to like race it on a racing track? Or do you want to go to the car show with it?

Lena Bee: Yeah, uh, uh, my plans are now to just repair it and have it [00:08:00] working. Because, uh, BMWs are notorious for just staying in the garage, right?

But, um, yeah, once it’s back on, on running perfectly again, I do want to take it to the Nürburgring, so I do actually want to, uh, drive over the track currently I’m putting on some proper, um, tires, uh, some, some better specs because the ones that I have run right now, they’re mostly just for show. Uh, and then I put on a new suspension.

Um, Yeah, depending on if I do it this year, I wanted to put on, um, a downpipe, an intercooler, the typical BMW tunes, right, and just go for a bit more horsepower and, um, yeah, a tune and then it’s, it’s basically, it’s my, my dream car, because the one series, the E82. It’s my dream car. Um, there’s the one M which is my absolute unaffordable dream car because it’s so [00:09:00] expensive, but the one 35, I just comes a second because it’s the car before that.

And I, I liked the engine more. It’s the N 55. It has the, in my opinion, better sound and it has more reliability and I’m not rich, so I need to, I need a reliable car, you know, so a reliable car, so. Yeah,

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: it’s really nice. I used to really like BMWs back in the days. I’m a big fan of E46 third series and I really like the old fifth series, which is like E34, I think.

But I’m not a big fan of modern BMWs, unfortunately, so they look a bit weird for me. Um, so I really like the classic design and, uh, I think the last BMW, which I really like, uh, that’s this first, um, series, uh, BMW, which you got, uh, so yeah, after this one, uh, not a big fan of [00:10:00] design, unfortunately, guys, sorry.

Lena Bee: It stops for me at the F series. I think that one was still all right. Not all of the models, but I think the F 80. The F 82, that was still really nice, the, the F Gen M3 and the M4 from that generation was also really nice. But, um, I wouldn’t say I’m a, I’m not a fan of the new ones. They get, they take time to get used to, I think, like, the new M2 looks, um Interesting.

Uh, I, I don’t know, maybe with the time they get normal, you know, because, uh, this was always the case with BMW when the E46 came out, people were like, Oh, what is this? It doesn’t look anything like the E30. And now we love the E46. It’s like a classic model. I think this will repeat itself over and over. I think that’s the same with the five [00:11:00] series from the E generation, the late E generation.

When it came out, people were like, Oh my God, it’s ugly. And Top Gear was like, Oh, it’s the worst looking car ever. But now, like, I think like it’s already 18 years old or something.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: People

Lena Bee: call it the best, the best looking five series. So I wonder how we will look back at the current generation. Um, BMWs because we make fun of them now and they look very different, but.

I wonder how we look back at them in 15 years, if you say, Oh, that’s a classic, you know? Oh, with the big nose and the pig nose, that’s a classic. Well, who knows, maybe, yeah. Yeah, I think so, because, um, they’re really leaning far out of the window of, of their usual design, of their classic design, so, it’s very distinctive, I’m pretty sure that, well, still people calling, because it just looks like a pig, I guess, it looks like [00:12:00] a pig nose, so the car will always be known for that, but I’m pretty sure that it’s, like, having a distinctive look.

So I think 15, give it 15 years, it will probably age all right, but, um, I agree with you because we are from a different generation. Those cars are just, the older cars also appear a bit more to me currently.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, so I kind of agree with you, maybe in the future, like in 10 years, we’re going to say like, wow, that’s the most beautiful BMWs that we had

Lena Bee: in the history.

Yeah, and then the BMWs that come out at that time will be like, oh god, what are they doing? Go back to the other design, yeah. Yeah. So, yeah. I wonder how they’re Yeah, going to make new jokes,

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: yeah. Yeah. Yeah, what are your favorite cars? Yeah. Oh, my favorite car. I think everybody knows that this is a Porsche 911.

Absolutely my favorite. I really like. Which one? I think I really like old [00:13:00] generation. The last one is, uh, is really cool. Um, my favorite is from 2007, something like this. I really like this, uh, the body of the Porsche. It’s really nice. Uh, and I’m a big fan of Targa. So it looks really, um, I know classy and nice looking at the same time.

I love it. Nice, nice. Are you, uh, driving a Porsche already, perhaps? No, unfortunately no, but hopefully in the future I’m going to take the 911 for a ride. You were, uh, you were in motorsports, right? Yes, uh, I’ve been into racing. Um, I was working, um, As a coach on the racing track also after my racing career, uh, then I moved to sim racing.

So that was like this, uh, yeah, I raced some open wheelers, uh, before that I did some karting, uh, won four times. Championship of Kazakhstan. Uh, and then, yeah, [00:14:00] unfortunately I didn’t continue my racing career just because, um, they completely, so my team who sponsored me, they completely shut down the program here in Kazakhstan.

Um, and yeah, then, you know, the COVID happened and all this stuff. So we, we just have to, uh, start, I started streaming at this days and I started Uh, iRacing and, uh, full time simracing also. Uh, but I’m so happy that things, uh, went this way. Uh, because, uh, streaming gave me a lot of, um, experience, new experience, uh, which is, uh, makes me a, like, better person every day.

And, you know, you just, in streaming and in simracing, you’re growing every day, and you, like, you never stop, like, uh, The same as you building your rig, you can stop this process. Ah, it’s

Lena Bee: a downward spiral, yeah. You always make something new, yeah.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, true. [00:15:00] So, I know that you’re doing some cosplays, and you’re also working as a gaming sound designer, and you’re also a sim racer and streamer.

Can you tell me what was your, like, first activity which you started to do? Yeah. So,

Lena Bee: I always did cosplay, that like is just, I feel like that’s such a, like a separate part from, from everything else I do, because that’s like my, everyone has something they like to do, like, some people like to go and, uh, I don’t know, plant flowers or something, right?

Like, you have like this, this peaceful thing that you do. For me, that was always, uh, preparing cosplays, your outfits, and, uh, I’m big into fashion and that’s also how I got into like cosplay and stuff because the fashion of anime and, um, of, I don’t know, games I always loved. And I was like, I want to do this too, of [00:16:00] course.

And I saw other cosplayers like, uh, like Imiru and everyone. I was like, yeah. I want to do this too, you know, and, um, this is just a very separate thing from everything as like my, my wholly untouched, like I always try and cosplay every week, right. Or do something for that. But, um, uh, sim racing, I’m honest.

I got into it super randomly, like my, so I didn’t even know I was sim racing. Um, my dad, he had like a sim rig. Like not a SimRig, but like he had like this old Thrustmaster, you know, like, uh, and, um, I played on it as a, as a kid. I didn’t even know what it was, but he had this old, uh, Formula One game. And, um, I grew up around those things, I guess.

And then my dad always tried to, to push me into liking cars and motorsports and stuff. And he, he also, um, [00:17:00] uh, So when, when the PlayStation one came out, he was like, ah, yeah, I’m going to buy this so I can play Gran Turismo and you can play Spyro. But we ended up playing Gran Turismo together, right? So I got my first feel like really, really early, but I don’t, I don’t think that was the Simracing we know nowadays, right?

But, um, it was more like arcade, right. Um, and then, um, this like how I actually got into like normal sim racing for me was just through, uh, making liveries in Gran Turismo, you know, like, I just like making cars, like that was all. And then I wanted to show the liveries. So I just drove and I guess I had a talent or something, cause I got better fairly quick.

Yeah. And then I tried out, um, cause, uh, Gran Turismo was not really that [00:18:00] serious at sometimes you just kept punting each other out and stuff. It was really dirty racing. So it’s like, I want something more serious. And the most serious thing that was, it was eye racing. Right. And I, I actually tried it first.

I was like, Wow, this is awful. This is terrible. It was really bad at the start. So I didn’t pick it up. Then I left it for like, um, like, um, a month and I came back and I just drove. And I was starting to feel like, cause I had a direct drive then, I was like, wow, this feels amazing, you know. And somehow it didn’t stop anymore.

It was like an addiction, you know, like you had these small rewards every time you were getting faster and your rank was getting up and you were, it just, I didn’t even like, I don’t know. It just came naturally for some reason. And all of a sudden all the people came like, uh, Dan Suzuki, you and [00:19:00] everyone was like, all of a sudden around me, I was like, wow, that’s like a whole community.

And, um, Yeah, I really, I actually did really love the time when I was, you know, regularly also streaming and, and driving and was having fun, you know, so.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, it’s really cool. You know, um, our racing community is truly amazing. Uh, so when I started to stream, a lot of streamers started to support me with their raids and a lot of people came to help like with, you know, whatever, some settings, some, you know, maybe some tips on track in ovals, uh, especially because I was completely noob in ovals when I started racing, never tried this before.

Um, and I really like this category right now, really like to do it from time to time. Um, can you tell me how was it for you to like develop your driving skills? Because I know you Like over 4k iRacing, which is quite high, [00:20:00] so that’s like top 3 percent of all iRacers. Um, so yeah, I would like to know more about this.

Lena Bee: I’ll be honest, I was just driving. I, I, I really just like, I think I’m a person like if I really have fun with something and I’m like fascinated, I want to get better at something. I just keep going. Like I cannot stop it’s, but almost every game it’s like you get hooked and you, you keep pushing yourself to get better.

I feel like, and, um, uh, I work for a sim racing title and, um, I, what I will be saying is completely unbiased, right? But in my opinion, from all of the sim titles I’ve ever played and racing games, iRacing has always felt. The, like, I am connected to the car, you know, I like, I know what it’s gonna do. That’s why it was so easy for me to just, if you [00:21:00] know what’s gonna happen, if you know what’s gonna happen, if you go into the turn, if you know what to expect from the car, if you know what the tires are doing, if you know the, you know, if the physics all make sense.

Then it’s really easy, I think, to, oh, easy, but it’s easier to, to learn, you know, um, and yeah, that’s why I think, uh, out of all of the sim racing titles, iRacing was just the most natural for me, because I really struggled when I tried ACC, I don’t know if you ever.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, I’m with you in this, I think.

Lena Bee: It’s, it’s, it’s much, it’s much different, right? And all of a sudden it’s like, um. All of the cables are plugged in different, uh, cables, uh, connections, and I was like Hmm, this feels not familiar with me, so I struggled a bit more there, but on iRacing I really felt like it just all came sort of natural.[00:22:00]

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, I agree with you in this, um, I think iRacing, uh, one of the best simulator for me, uh, right now, because of community, because of, uh, how you feel the car with, uh, force feedback, with, uh, like, uh, how you, uh, See the track with your eyes on the monitor and all this stuff. Um, I think that I was struggling with, uh, set a course competition a little bit.

So when I, um, tried some races in it after racing, I felt really weird, especially with, uh, with breaks. Um, and I don’t really like that. You really have to set up the tire pressure. Um, yeah, you know, pretty. Careful, uh, so I don’t really like this thing about ACC and also performance on triple screen So I had a 1080 ti these days and it was not really good for me Uh, so racing, uh was a lot better smoother with fps with everything But I think [00:23:00] the closest simulator, uh So transition to air factor 2 went kind of smooth for me after racing Um, it feels really Really good, um, and quite close to what we got in iRacing.

I think that was the easiest, uh, simulator, um, transition for me. So yeah, but I agree with you about ACC, just, that’s not my type of a simulator, unfortunately. I know that many people like it. Unfortunately

Lena Bee: too, because it’s super pretty, it’s like, it looks amazing. I love, I love everything about the game.

It’s just, it’s just I hate that I suck at it, you know, I wish I was better at it. So I really tried it, but I think once you, you figured it out, I’m pretty sure it’s like every other sim. So, yeah.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, true. Uh, what’s your favorite series in the racing and, uh, what, uh, do you race, uh, more and, uh, can you tell me also what do you prefer spring races or endurance [00:24:00] races?

Lena Bee: Um, my favorite series, actually, I think a lot of the, like, if my, if my viewers from Twitch were still here, they would be able to tell this immediately, which is like, uh, TCR. I love TCR. I don’t know why it’s, uh, I, I, I’m not even a fan of front wheel drive cars, but it was so fun because they were, they were like low powered cars compared to GT3s.

And you could just really. race hard, right? I love that. You could, you could, the cars didn’t immediately explode, you know, it was really fun to just, uh, go door to door. And, um, I actually like short races more. I am going to be honest, I, I’m, I get too anxious, uh, during long races. Uh, they make me really anxious.

Like, especially if it’s with a team, um, then I don’t want to let the teammates hang. You know, it’s, it feels like a big [00:25:00] responsibility. Like if you mess up, you ruined it for everyone. So, yeah. So I, I enjoyed the shorter races a bit more. So.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Okay, I think that from my side I enjoy, um, both, so I really like to do sprint races and endurances because here’s a different, um, strategies, uh, endurance races, so you just, uh, have to save fuel, you have to, uh, bring the car in one piece, so it’s really cool for me. I really like it. Um, favorite series. I think everybody knows that this is a Porsche Cup for me.

Uh, but I do like TCR because, you know, we did some community races with TCR. And I really like this, uh, uh, feeling when you break in. Uh, the back sliding a little bit. Yeah, the back slides into the apex. It’s a really nice ceiling. Yeah. Yeah, it’s, it’s really cool. And you [00:26:00] just, uh, like go in sliding with four wheels into the apex and then just go on throttle and car, uh, like.

Straight, uh, to, to the exit. And it’s really cool. So I really like, I think that TCR is a really fun, uh, series. And I really like that in iRacing we got different series and different categories. Uh, so you can jump to like front wheel drive cars. You can drive to the cars without traction and ABS. You can drive GT3s.

You can go to ovals, uh, do some rallycross and all this stuff. I

Lena Bee: think, uh, the camera disappeared on stream, but I’m still there in Teams.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, well, I will check. Wait a moment, guys.

Lena Bee: Hello, Cush, by the way.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Slightly technical, uh, issues. [00:27:00] Yeah. Are you a part of the sim sim racing team right now? Or, or not, or you, you just, uh, you know, like racing on your own?

Lena Bee: Usually I just like to race on my own with my friends, and then we just choose a silly name for a team and we sign up for our races on the weekends sometimes, or events.

Uh, it was back briefly. It’s not on my side, right. Or mm-hmm .

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, that’s on my side. No worries. Good. Okay.

Lena Bee: But, um. Yeah, I think, um, the, the most, like I was in a few teams, I guess, uh, the team that was the most serious, uh, was, um, RSR. I guess they were taking things very serious. Um, and, oh God, my ex teammates are probably really disappointed in not being able to name all of the team [00:28:00] names.

But I was in quite a few teams, but I, like I said, like long endurance races were never my thing. I did, I never wanted to have the responsibility of crashing everyone. So, but it’s, if it works, it’s, it feels like very fulfilling. Like I can’t get by people like to do it, especially with the team together.

If you get to the finish line after two to four hours. It’s uh, really fulfilling

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: That’s great. Yeah, uh, so, uh, i’ve been a part of olympus sports a long time and you know It’s really funny because we started team was like two three people only and right now we got A lot of people in the team. I don’t know all of them.

So it’s really cool how teams are growing and the overall community in racing is growing as well. So can you tell me more about gaming sound [00:29:00] design which you’re doing and how long are you in this industry and what do you like the most about it?

Lena Bee: Okay, so of course I cannot say Uh, things, uh, in detail, cause, well, NDA, right?

So, I can’t really get into details of things, but, um, I am working, um, Well, I’m part of a team that works on, um, a sim racing title and, um, we’re making, uh, we get to record sounds, which is, um, a really nice experience. If you get to see certain cars you’ve never seen before, this close and you get to touch them, you get to work with them, which is really cool.

You get to know the teams and stuff. Um, it’s always really like, um, like I’m, I’m really fortunate to. be able to work in a field where I have actual, [00:30:00] like, personal interests in, right? Um, honestly, I never thought I was gonna end up in the game development space. Because I was more so in the overall audio space, but when the opportunity opened up for me, since I love motor sports, since I love sim racing, um, sure I took the, it was basically right after university, right.

And, uh, the slot was open. So I was like, why not? You know, and, uh, I got the chance to work along, uh, really professional people. Learn some stuff. It’s a huge stress sometimes because working in game development in 2025 in general is It’s very stressful because, uh, yeah, it’s, it’s different times now, right?

Games, they do ship way too early in a way too early state. People get to test them. [00:31:00] Um, you don’t always have to expect constructive criticism. It’s gamers, like you get a very, very unfiltered criticism, but you’ll definitely learn to learn. To deal with it, and I think this entire job also made me stronger as a person because, um, If you are, like, you are just part of this entire project that constantly stands in the light of a lot of things, right?

Like, um, if you, like, any game that’s in an early state and releases, And, uh, things are not really that finished. There’s always this, this, uh, feedback that comes in. And if this is your first title that you work on in game development, it’s overwhelming at first. You have to imagine this, like you, it’s not you, you’re just part of it, but all of these people talk about [00:32:00] this and you’re just on this ship and it’s, it’s very overwhelming at first, but.

You start to really get tough skin, you know, and I feel like with everything I do, it’s cosplay because you can also imagine that being a cosplayer is, is the same thing, right? You put yourself out there and people are just gonna say things. You know this as a streamer as well, right? Like, when you start first, you have like, you’re like, uh, you don’t have tough skin yet, right?

And I feel like over the last year, I really got some tough skin from, from all of the things that I did, if it was cosplaying. If it was game development and getting used to how, how things go there, you know, so it’s, um, huge. Like, I’m experiencing a huge character development arc, you know, so, yeah.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, I know that, uh, you know, you’re gaining experience, you’re also [00:33:00] feeling more confident and comfortable, uh, in the, like, in, in job where you’re working and, uh, with more experience you’re just, like, feeling better.

Uh, so when I started streaming I also was really shy, was, you know, getting nervous on the stream, uh, usually, but right now it’s like, natural, uh, for me and I really like, uh, to communicate with community and also racing in the same time. Um, and so speaking of this, um, how, how’s, uh, for you to balance, uh, with racing and, uh, talking at the same time on the stream and how is it to balance with also, uh, being a cosplayer and, uh, game sound designer?

Lena Bee: I’m really bad with talking and racing. Um, this is, this is why I actually didn’t like streaming and racing at first, cause I kept performing worse. I don’t know if you’d experienced the same. [00:34:00] If by now you’re probably natural at it, but at the start was really difficult for me. I would end up way worse than if I was just racing by myself.

Right.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: But,

Lena Bee: um, I guess I’ve gotten better at it, but I keep crashing. Sometimes if I rechat and do stupid stuff, like the typical streamer stuff that we get them called out for on YouTube, you know, when we end up in those compilations and do something stupid, uh, But yeah, those things happen sometimes, you know, so I was not, uh, I was not really that good at it, but I, I got better at it and, uh, balancing all things together, I guess, um, it’s also a reason why I don’t simrace that much, um, I’m pretty sure you can imagine that if you work, like if this is your work, you work on a title that after eight, nine, 10 hours of work today, you [00:35:00] don’t want to sit in the rig and play the other sim racing titles.

So I like to have a dynamic currently. So after I’m done with work, I like to cosplay or I like to work on my car or go for a ride, you know? So. I like to have some sort of dynamic because Otherwise, you feel, I feel like, and that’s with anything, you burn yourself out, you know?

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, when a lot of stuff running around you, yeah, it’s really hard to balance all these things around.

And I understand you, that’s the reason why we didn’t see you streaming and racing and racing. Long time, uh, but hopefully you’re going to have more free time. So we’ll see you once again on Twitch. Oh, for sure. Yeah,

Lena Bee: for sure. I, I just got, um, access back to my Twitch as well. So, uh, I lost access to my Twitch account because, um, the, the old phone [00:36:00] number.

So I had, I had a phone and it was set up a two step verification and I, I got a new contract and, um, The phone, the person from the phone, um, contract thingy, he was like, yeah, yeah, we can take your new phone number. It’s not a problem. And right before I went to Thailand. It didn’t work and I lost my phone number.

So I lost everything that was connected to the two step verification. I was so, I was so mad. Yeah. Including my bank and you’re like in a different country, right? I hate this guy. I swear to God, this guy. Yeah. But I will be back. Definitely streaming. Um, I take it easy with sim racing. I don’t think I will ever try and be super competitive and put in.

Okay. six hours of, uh, practice again, I just try and enjoy, you know, like,

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: so you would like to have more relaxing sim racing, I guess.

Lena Bee: Yeah, relaxing, [00:37:00] like, as relaxing as it can be, you know, but, um, yeah, just not take it. I try and not take it too serious because I’m pretty sure like, you know it yourself, like, we are just competitive people when we race.

And it can sometimes be consuming the fun, I feel like, especially when you’re getting too competitive. So, I just like to keep it fun, I hope, and then See where that goes. I missed so much stuff on iRacing. You guys have so many new cars. You have so many new things

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, I don’t know if you try rain in iRacing.

We got this right now.

Lena Bee: Not yet But I saw it and I was like, oh god, that looks painful It’s gonna be fun for around a week and then everyone’s gonna be Uh, worried about their rank, right?

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: I know it’s, uh, you know, it’s really fun. Uh, I really like rain races with Formal 1600. It feels really good on [00:38:00] track in the rain conditions.

Porsche Cup also really fun, uh, especially, you know, when people just, uh, starting to rush, they, uh, just fail their break ins and you gain a lot of positions. Uh, but most of the time I. I was surprised that races, uh, kind of clean and nice in rain, so just people trying to be really cautious and careful on track, it’s, uh, it’s nice to see.

Yeah.

Lena Bee: I thought it was gonna be that rain would be there, and for a week everyone loves rain. And after a week, everyone’s like, Oh, no, my rating. I’m not going to drive. So the FO, uh, what’s it called? SLF goes lower. I was expecting it to be more like that. But it’s good to hear that people actually enjoy it.

So

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, I think people enjoy it. And also, you know, having, you know, rain, like every week in some series, it just from time to time. I think it just connected [00:39:00] to the real life weather as well. Oh, really? Yeah, it’s like

Lena Bee: Ah, that’s so cool. So after location you have the.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yes,

Lena Bee: the extra. Oh, that’s so cool. Yeah, it’s really

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: cool.

And we got the series which got rain all weeks in our racing. I think it’s with Ferrari GT3. Um, but yeah, on the series like Porsche Cup, I think previous season we had like two, three weeks with rain, there was Red Bull Ring, Suzuka, and I think another one track, rest of the race has been with a sunny and good weather.

Yeah. Um, so yeah, just, uh, people who don’t like rain and, uh, they got no clue how to race in it. Uh, they just can skip few weeks and, uh, still gain some points to championship. Um, so it’s, it’s really cool, uh, because, you know, some people were joking about that, uh, when iRacing added, uh, the, uh, the [00:40:00] day switching, uh, here being all sunset races.

Every time, um, for the, like, a few months or so, so people been joking that it’s going to be, like, in all series will have rain, whole month or two, but that didn’t happen like this, so yeah, everybody been, you know, scary, scared about this.

Lena Bee: Yeah, I remember people were so hyped for Reign, that’s when I was still playing.

Every time they did a stream or something, the chat was going like, Oh, now they’re going to reveal, like, surprise Reign in Daytona 24 hours or something. And I was like, there was actual conspiracy that this was going to happen. Think I was hoping like, hopefully they do this. That would actually be super cool.

But sadly that never happens. Uh, iRacing has have wasted their chance there to make the coolest, uh, the coolest, uh, I guess, release of their range just randomly make it happen [00:41:00] during. like a big event, right? That would have been so cool. But yeah, I’ve, uh, I’ve seen some videos about how you guys have like the dry line and the wet lines and the puddles and stuff.

And they are like form really realistically. So I think because I want to go to the Nordschleife this, uh, this year, I, I might just give it a try, I guess. Is it the updated version of the Nordschleife? Do you know? Like the

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Um, I think so, that not, I’m not sure if they’re planning to update it, the last track which they updated was Spa Frankenchamp, so it’s updated right now, actually the newest version we got in a racing, it’s really cool.

Um, also speaking about Nordschleife and all this practice, we got also BMW M2, you can try it, so I think it should be quite close to your car. Oh, yeah, I mean, yeah,

Lena Bee: I mean, there’s still quite some difference, but yeah, I [00:42:00] guess from the, which one is it? Um, it’s the first generation M2, right? So it might even have a dissimilar engine inside the M55.

so. I think

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: so.

Lena Bee: Yeah, so, that’s cool. No, I, I think, I don’t know which engine it has, but, yeah, I will definitely try it out. Did you try the M2s? Are they fun? Yes, I

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: tried, uh, you know, we did a lot of races, uh, during week, uh, 14th, because we had, uh, This time, uh, it was really fun, uh, because we’ve been racing at spa and, uh, here’s a cool draft.

Uh, all cars are really close to each other and it’s, uh, it’s bring a lot of fun and a lot of cool fights. And, uh, compared to GR86 and, uh, MX5, uh, this car is more predictable for me. So it’s, uh, like, uh, less on the theory. Uh, it’s really predictable when it’s starting to lose [00:43:00] the rear, uh, you can catch it really easily.

So yeah, I really like this car. And, um, yeah, guys, if you’re starting a racing, I highly recommend to try this car. This is free car in a racing. Uh, this is also cool.

Lena Bee: Nice. Uh, did you like the GR 86? Oh, no, really. Doesn’t sound like you. Yeah. You know,

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: I’m, I’m struggling with the MX 5 and GR86, uh, because this car feels really weird for me.

So I don’t know how to balance it for the corner, how to make it, you know, uh, work on like 100%. Uh, let’s say like this. So it’s for me either, uh, you know, it’s like, it’s like, I’m loading tires on like 60 percent or I’m just overloading them and, you know, car, uh, doing a really weird thing. So I just really can’t find the balance on this car.

I know why. Um, speaking about the MX 5, MX 5 is, uh, trying to kill you, especially with, uh, with the advanced set for my [00:44:00] racing. It’s just really tricky with cold tires, uh, Yeah. We’ve been doing some community racing, uh, races recently, and I’ve been struggling with MX 5. Uh, so yeah, when I jumped to a racing, I tried to get out of MX 5 as soon as possible, and then I just started to do some formulas.

Uh, so yeah, it’s still, still the same. I don’t know why, but, uh, I don’t, not a big fan of these

Lena Bee: cars. Do you think, do you think it’s because you’ve raced, uh, open wheelers in real life that much? That maybe you just. You, you went from MX 5, you were like, Hmm, this is not for me. And then immediately went to OpenWheelers and It feels just more natural to you.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Well, I don’t know. Um, maybe open wheeler is more natural for me because I got like more experience with them. Uh, so I never drove any road cars on a racing track before, uh, that, uh, so, you know, tried some, uh, Porsche 911 on track and, [00:45:00] uh, also in W Series selection event, we had a Porsche Cayman, uh, GTS, uh, been driving the small track in Austria.

Uh, but You know, just maybe a lack of experience or something But right now I’m quite Experienced in Porsche Cup series. I’m doing really good flip times in Porsche Cup And I understand car and how it handles for the corners, and I still don’t know what to do with MX 5, really.

Lena Bee: I don’t, I don’t understand Porsche Cup.

I’ve never understood it. The car is very You need to drive it in such a special way, like, especially now, before, I remember it was very, uh, it wanted to kill you on throttle all the time, if you were, um, giving it too much throttle, and if you had a tiny bit of slip, you’d just die. Like, it was just over.

Um, but now I feel like when I tried them again, they are [00:46:00] just very understeery. Like, I don’t know if it’s still the same. You

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: know, on cold tires, it’s a little bit understeery right now, uh, but, uh, when you warm up tires and, uh, temperatures, uh, and, uh, tire pressure getting normal, um, Absolutely no issues with it.

So it, it has a really good grip, even, you know, on the throttle. Yeah. Sometimes you can, um, you know, slide a little bit and overheat the back and you’re going to have some issues, uh, with tires, uh, for a couple of corners. Um, but you can, you know, switch the brake bias, uh, play with it, uh, just to get back, uh, the tire pressure into normal and everything will be fine.

But yeah, uh, cold tires, uh, Like, unpredictable, so you need time to get used to this, uh, you, like, you need two laps, uh, to warm up tires on Porsche Cup, and then you’re going to feel okay with it, and right now it’s more friendly with [00:47:00] brakes, so it’s harder to look up, uh, wheels on it. So overall it’s really fun series and compared to GT3s people Because we don’t have traction.

We don’t have ABS system in my opinion Porsche Cup series more cleaner and You know just better racing compared to GT3s Uh recently I had a GT3 race at Monza, uh, like that was maybe three four weeks ago or something like this uh, and You know, guys crashed after Lesmo before Ascari on a straight line.

I was like, how you did this?

Lena Bee: But, uh, so I haven’t raced for so long. Where are you now, in terms of fine rating?

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Um, so I just, uh, I get 5k and, uh, now dropped to 4. 6, 4. 7, something like this.

Lena Bee: Yeah,

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: yeah,

Lena Bee: I tried, I tried my best. I was almost at [00:48:00] 5k. I said, uh, 4, 800 something, it’s getting almost to 5k and then Road Atlanta happened.

I remember this very vividly, like very clearly. And I’m, I’m good at hot lapping Road Atlanta, but I’m terrible at Keeping my tires, uh, in a good condition. So every, like, at the last few laps in the GT4, I was leading the race every time. And I was just grinding. I was just farming every goddamn time in that like section, when you go like the.

This spiral down section, this S, uh, with the downhill section, right? Uh, this, you go right, you stay on the right side and then you, the apex is on the inside and then you really fly out and then there’s the wall, right? There’s this wall where if you go too far, you go into the wall. But I already died every time clipping this curb on the [00:49:00] inside.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: And

Lena Bee: my setup was just not set up correctly for the car every time I died in the last lap. So I went from 4, 800 iRating to 4, 600 iRating to 4, 400 iRating and at some point I was like, I guess uh, it’s just not supposed to be to get to 5k this time Yeah, that’s the last attempt that I had and then another track.

I’m really good at I guess and a combination I’m also pretty good at is um when the ferrari, uh The, what is it called? The Ferrari challenge?

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah. Was it? Ferrari challenge. Correct.

Lena Bee: Yeah. That, that one was really fun at money, money core, money core. I don’t know how to pronounce it. My French friends will be angry, but, uh, that one was always super fun.

But also it’s just a hot lapping track. So all of these like hot lapping track, I was always really good at. And, um, [00:50:00] The, the ones where you have to actually really race. I was not that good at, I was just good at hot lapping, I guess. Uh, yeah, that was also really fun, a really fun car, the 488. I really enjoyed it.

People didn’t like it, especially the Ferrari challenge. I remember everyone said, uh, the chat, the Ferrari challenge set up was not good. I liked it. I don’t know.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah. You know, it was, uh, in my opinion, bit understeery, but, uh, I think you can get used to this and you can make the car, uh, driving in the way how you want it to drive it.

So usually I’m just saying like, uh, I don’t have enough skills for this, for this setup. Yeah. It’s a weird setup. Yeah, it’s weird. It’s just different compared to what we get used to in GT3s, in open sets, for example.

Lena Bee: But what I felt like, [00:51:00] and I think that was the intent behind it, maybe, I’m not sure. But, um, when I drove it, it was so difficult.

But when you got good at it, and you then went into the normal GT3, it was super easy to drive. Just, uh, a good setup with, like, uh, Like a proper setup, but, um, yeah, so for me, it was easier to go to, like, I like starting with the Ferrari fix challenge. And then when I got into IMSA, no, what was it? Um, there’s like two, two series, right?

One is IMSA and one is the VRS. Yeah. Yeah. And I got into VRS. It was actually much easier for me to just drive it to normal set up. And I was still competitive. Yeah. But only in a Ferrari, no other car, because I knew it, you know, so.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, usually it’s really good when you’re starting GT3s, just stick with one car, because you get used to it and you just need [00:52:00] to adapt to the tracks and don’t spend time to switch around cars, so I think that’s a good thing.

Yeah. Um, can you tell me, uh, what is your plans for, um, for social medias? I know that you got 65, 000 followers on Instagram and, uh, I saw that you, uh, doing some videos for YouTube. So what are your, what are your plans for the future in social medias?

Lena Bee: Well, um, a big focus right now is on the, on YouTube. I really like making long form content and, uh, Instagram is the same stuff like always.

I, I just make cosplay and fashion and stuff like that. Uh, I also like to mix those things up sometimes. Um, like I, I do really enjoy, uh, streaming, cosplaying, simracing, and cosplaying, even if it was a bit goofy, but it was still really fun with the community. Uh, yeah, things like this. Like, I like to combine, [00:53:00] So I think my community is a mix of people who enjoy anime, who enjoy Japanese cars, drifting, and cars in general.

And yeah, so that’s basically who I tried to cater to, to, right. So I tried to make these, uh, long form videos with, um, yeah, this, with my, with my influence of, of my hobbies and things like even in the last Thailand video, we still Into the shopping mall. So I guess you’re the normal car guy to be sitting like in front of a video he’s like thinking he’s gonna see like cars and exhaust flames and stuff and then I take them to like the ketchup place and Shopping mall at first and it’s it’s different.

You know, I like to just make my own content sort of and I I really don’t care if what’s trending right now [00:54:00] is, uh, this or that, you know, I just like to do, I just like to do what I do and I’m a believer that if you do something with a passion, it, it will find its way, right? Yeah, that’s true. Yeah,

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: I think if you, if you like to do what you, what you like to do, uh, then you can find people who like the same stuff which you enjoy.

So, yeah.

Lena Bee: Exactly, yeah. And then, um, people will also see that you’re having fun. And I feel like with sim racing, like, as much as I, I love sim racing, but I, when you only stream it, and you don’t do anything other than sim racing all the time, then For me, that was just like, it was not everything I wanted to do, you know, there was like, I still want to come back to simracing for sure.

I also want to practice Nordschleife on the sim. I want to see how much the sim actually can prepare me, you [00:55:00] know, for it, or how much, you know, It can compare, I mean, of course, on iRacing, I get to drive a race car and it’s going to be much different than my car, right? But still is, I’m pretty sure that I have a big advantage already.

The moment I get on track, I know much more than someone who never drove on a sim or something before, you know? So, and I’m also super happy to be documenting the entire process on YouTube basically. So, it’s also something I want to do. And then, yeah, I try and either go or both places, I want to go back to Thailand this year and I might stop in Japan on the way and then also film something about Japanese car culture.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: I just wanted to ask you, like, if you’re planning to go to Japan, [00:56:00] because you, uh, really like anime, cosplay, and also, I think, car culture in Japan is just huge, with a lot of different tuning, a lot of different, uh, you know, styles, and, uh, all the stuff, it’s going to be really interesting to watch on your YouTube, uh, so, when you get the chance to get into Japan.

Lena Bee: Yeah, I wanted to go always. Um, but, um, since, um, so like, it’s so Asian culture, I grew up with it, right? So like, cosplay or stuff like that, like Japanese influences, or like Japanese pop culture influences, like the entirety of Asia, right? You have like, everything is inspired by Japanese pop culture or Japanese car culture as well, right?

Because Like, uh, but, um, I, I grew up with it, but every time I get the chance to go to Asia, I love Thailand so much because it’s my home, right? It’s also my home that I, [00:57:00] I, I don’t leave. Like, I always plan to go to Japan. I just, I, I can’t, I can’t leave. It’s, I, I can only recommend if someone has never gone to Thailand, it’s paradise, like, and, uh, it’s just really nice to have these.

You have, you have Bangkok with these like skylines and modern buildings and you’re surrounded by this gigantic city, but then there’s palm trees and beaches, you know, and I just, I just love it. So, but this year I try for sure to make a stop at Japan and, uh, I’m going to be excited to also see, um, Japanese culture and how it really is.

Cause I only experienced it on the internet, right? So. I have no idea what to expect actually, so I wonder, uh, I heard a lot of things from my friends that are from Japan and stories, but it’s always different if you go, I guess, you know, it’s always, uh, [00:58:00] it’s always going to be a bit different from what you’ve seen on the Internet from what you’ve got told from your friends.

I’m really excited to see it for the first time. Yeah.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, I think when you will go in real life, uh, to whatever places, you gain, uh, gaining your own experience, uh, so this is not a problem. Which is something you can take from internet or something like this. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And speaking about Asia and like Thailand, Malaysia, I think if someone got opportunity to go to this countries ever, they just have to go here because it’s a different culture and it’s nice to see for experience and truly Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, so beautiful cities with a big skyscrapers.

Just amazing. Absolutely. Uh, so real like, uh, Kuala Lumpur. I’ve been to Malaysia eight times because I race in the Asia Cup series and, uh, for more BMW. So I really like this [00:59:00] country.

Lena Bee: It’s super hot in the car. Indonesia has also Oh, yeah, it

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: was really hot. We had like 58 Celsius in the cockpit. Or foremost, we had 34 outside.

Uh, it was, it was really hot. But, you know, I still enjoy racing here, Sepang. It’s a great track. I’m still waiting until it’s going to be in a racing. I heard some rumors about this, uh, and yeah, just, uh, you know, food is amazing. People really friendly. And just I’m big fan of Asian countries. They really nice.

Lena Bee: Where have you are like, where, where have you already been continent wise? Um, where have you traveled already? Like, have you been on all continents in the world already or?

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Uh, no, you know, I, I just, uh, I’ve been on my, uh, continent, unfortunately I didn’t, [01:00:00] uh, visit United States or Canada, uh, but in the future I’m planning to do this because I got, uh, like, a lot of friends living in United States and also one of my dream is, uh, to try maybe some street stalk on Oval, uh, track, uh, that would be great.

Uh, because, you know, iRacing really pushed me into the ovals. Into oval, yeah. So now that that’s my little dream to try oval car in real life, uh, that’ll be great. But I’ve been to Austria, I’ve been to China, Thailand, Malaysia, Turkey, so yeah, quite a lot of countries, uh, but I’m planning to visit the United States, uh, because, uh, this is place, uh, which I have to visit because iRacing is from, from United States.

And, um, most of my community from United States also really, uh, would love to see their culture and their people also.

Lena Bee: Yeah. Um, fun fact. It’s like [01:01:00] the, the Arkham and Arts car. I don’t know which one it was, but the VA is one of the best sounding race cars I’ve ever heard. In general, NASCARs just sound like absolute forces of nature.

I love it. I love it. Especially if they are all in one pack and they fly by, it’s insane, yeah.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: That’s true. Um, so before we wrap up, uh, can you give an advice to girls who want to go into the like car culture, uh, maybe tuning their car and they want to jump into some racing as well? So what can you tell for them?

Lena Bee: Just do what you like. If you want to, if you want to modify a Peugeot 106 or something, just do it. Uh, I feel like. The car culture is about expressing yourself. It’s, um, it’s turning into a [01:02:00] very toxic place. I think in the West here, it’s turning into like, Oh, this isn’t an M car or, Oh, don’t care, just do it for what you really want to do.

And if it’s something that you really want to get into, don’t shy away from doing it. I really encourage you to go and try and, and just express yourself through You know your car or whatever you want to do I think it’s really important that people just don’t like just do what you want to do and don’t don’t listen to the internet Don’t listen to the cool people that say like no you have to do this or that If you want to try out something and yeah, don’t, just do it yourself.

That’s my tip.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, that’s the best advice I think. Many people in sim racing also go on to tell that, Oh, you have to drive like direct drive wheelbase. You have to have really, um, I know expensive equipment to be competitive. [01:03:00] So yeah, I would, I would like to say that, uh, with any equipment you can be competitive and you just, uh, need to have fun in it.

And, uh, doesn’t matter what you’re doing. Uh, the main thing is to have fun. Uh, so guys, here’s the links to social medias of Lena B. So be sure that you follow her on Instagram, on Twitch also, and on YouTube channel for upcoming videos. Uh, Lena, thank you so much for being here with us. It was awesome. Thank you so much.

Yeah, guys, we’ll see you next time. Bye. Thank you for having me.

Crew Chief Brad: Innate Esports focuses on sim racing events and digital tournaments. They bring esports content to fans and sponsorship opportunities to brands while maximizing audience reach across multiple sports, industries, and platforms. [01:04:00] eSports is a woman-led company where diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility is in their DNA and their platform aims to combat bullying and cheating to help make the eSports world as safe and fair as possible To learn more, be sure to log on to www.initesports.gg or follow them on social media at init eSports.

Join their discord, check out their YouTube channel, or follow their live content via switch.

Crew Chief Eric: This episode has been brought to you by Grand Touring Motorsports as part of our Motoring Podcast Network. For more episodes like this, tune in each week for more exciting and educational content from organizations like The Exotic Car Marketplace, The Motoring Historian, Brake Fix, and many others.

If you’d like to support Grand Touring Motorsports and the Motoring Podcast Network, sign up for one of our many sponsorship tiers at www. patreon. com forward slash GT Motorsports. Please note that the content, opinions, and materials presented and expressed in this episode are those of its creator, and this episode has been published with their consent.

If you [01:05:00] have any inquiries about this program, please contact the creators of this episode via email or social media as mentioned in the episode.