Screen to Speed: Luca Munro

Crew Chief Brad: [00:00:00] Welcome to Screen to Speed powered by Ennit 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 motor sports.

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 motor sports. So buckle up screen. The speed starts now.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Welcome everyone to unique talks. Happy to see everybody here. Uh, tonight we got Luca Monroe with us. Uh, welcome in.

Luca Munro: Hello, thank you, Leoboff, and thank you to [00:01:00] everyone within Init who has asked me to come on the show.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, thank you so much for taking your time and be with us tonight. Uh, so let’s start with how you get into Simracing, how you get into this industry, and It’s actually how you start your way into it.

Luca Munro: Yeah, I’ll provide some background. So, uh, I have been a writer for the, uh, SimRacing publication website OvertakeGG since June 2021. Um, I’ve always been very big into, uh, racing and, and gaming. I’ve always been a firm believer in, in its brilliance. Um, and, uh, as far as PC SimRacing goes, I’ve been involved semi competitively within it for, since about 2023.

Uh, which would surprise some people considering what I’ve been doing for a living long before that. Um, but yeah, the, um, the, this industry is absolutely phenomenal. Uh, I’ve, I’m very, genuinely very privileged to be, to be a, a, a small cog in this very big machine. [00:02:00]

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: That’s great. So how are you actually getting to OvertakeGG?

How you found each other?

Luca Munro: So it was actually, I was, uh, doing a three year degree at university. This might surprise some people, uh, about comic books, which I don’t think many people would, would believe, but it’s true. Um, and I had actually entered into it because I decided I wanted to work in some kind of like artistry, uh, industry specifically, I wanted to, uh, potentially create like designs for cars within Grand Theft Auto.

Which, um, because if you don’t play a Grand Theft Auto, basically all the cars are fictional, but they’re based on real cars very loosely. Um, and, uh, I was, I was about one, two years into it when I sort of realized that maybe Rockstar wouldn’t exactly be the best work environment for me. And, uh, but it was around about that time that I discovered Overtake.

I’d been writing for a, for a, uh, a publication, [00:03:00] a voluntary, voluntary publication. Called the pit crew online until then writing about the sim racing. Um, and I discovered overtake when they put on an event called, um, a clash of races. Uh, and in fact, I believe you were involved in one of those, if I’m not wrong.

I might be wrong point is, is that I discovered that I thought it was absolutely brilliant and I forged quite a good connection of overtake. And then I, uh, applied in the latter part of 2020 and, uh, got accepted and, uh. It’s been a very wild ride. We’ve gone through many phases of leadership, but I’ve always stayed and it’s a job I’m very privileged to have.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: That’s really great that you, uh, found each other. And I, I’m pretty sure that you had some kind of passion in racing before that. So, uh, do you remember maybe you play some racing games in your childhood or something like this? So tell me more about this.

Luca Munro: Yeah, I’ve, uh, I was introduced to racing games relatively young, um, my [00:04:00] brother had a copy of the 2004 F1 game, and, uh, he had a very, like, very basic steering wheel, and he would, like, balance, I would balance his steering wheel, like, on my, on my knees, and press the pedals into the carpet, um, and we would, uh, We would spend quite a while just driving.

I was always Michael Schumacher because everyone loves the red car and, uh, uh, I would meet, I would beat him predominantly most of the time, but the only times I couldn’t beat him was whenever we were driving at Monaco and he would just wall ride everywhere and I would try and do it legitimately and he’d do it in less than a minute.

Always irritated me that, um, but, uh, yeah. Going on from then I, uh, got into, I was, I was mainly always a PlayStation guy so, uh, the F1 games, um, Gran Turismo, those sorts of games were, were my mainstays. I was very, not, I was not into like the arcadey stuff, not that there’s anything wrong with that of course, um, And, uh, for a long, for the longest time, I actually kind of stayed, I mentioned earlier [00:05:00] that I only got into PC sim racing for 2023, uh, because I was just so like overwhelmed by it.

Like all the, all the various things. And I thought with how expensive PCs are, you know, like most people pay an offer of 2000 pounds for, you know, just the processor or. Something. And, uh, I was just like, I don’t know if I could ever justify the expense of that. So, um, I, I just sort of told myself to be content with what I have and to not overreach.

Um, but then it, we’ll get to it later. I, my reason is for getting into PC sim racing. Um, and I’m very, I’m, I ended up with a United sim team who, a couple of the people behind the scenes of init, uh, are involved in the running off. And, uh, it’s been quite a wild journey, uh, since 2023, I’ve come a very long way and I’m very fulfilled by all the sim racing I’ve been able to do.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yes. You mentioned that you, uh, was a big fan of Michael Schumacher was, uh, as well, uh, during my childhood. So I raced in karting and also was really Passionate [00:06:00] about Ferrari and Michael Schumacher, uh, these days. And many people I think started from console. Actually, it’s really good way to start some racing because it’s not really expensive.

Uh, it’s a good way to just try some racing if you want to continue. So just like, uh, happened for you, for example. Yeah. So you just started with console, then you, uh, felt like, This is what I really want to do. And then you, uh, started to, uh, get funds for the PC and move to PC sim racing. And it’s a great, I think.

Luca Munro: Yeah. And, uh, the thing you said about that, like it’s always a good start. I think it’s, everyone needs that. Uh, initial foot in the door, metaphorically speaking, um, and, uh, consoles have always been a very relatively easy, uh, entry point for a lot of people, like, even with the, the more sort of arcade y style, right, uh, of driving, and, uh, for me, [00:07:00] getting, when I was mainly just F1 game, uh, and Gran Turismo for a while, Um, and I convinced myself I probably wouldn’t be that good on the hardcore simulations, like, you know, iRacing and ACC and, and R Factor and all that, because I didn’t think I was doing that good on the console.

So how, how could, you don’t want to fall into a trap of thinking, Oh, if I spend more, I’ll do better. Um, but, uh, thankfully I overcame that and, uh, been able to, uh, been do semi good in, uh, in a load of different, uh, events.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Um, so tell me please, how is your transition went from console to PC? So actually, uh, what was your first, uh, simulator on PC?

Uh, so when you jump into it.

Luca Munro: Well, I definitely tried to acclimatize myself, uh, by making the, uh, trying to identify the gaps between PC and PlayStation by going for a common title, and that [00:08:00] was Assetto Corsa Competizione. Um, uh, both of them being on PlayStation and PC. And so, uh, I think that was a good idea, because if I’d gone straight for something like R Factor or iRacing, I would have been too overwhelmed and just sort of like bailed out of panic.

Um, but the, uh, it was surprisingly quite familiar to me, uh, being able to, um, manage the, the, the, like, in game menus, and, and how, where everything is, and how to install everything. And, you know, there’s so many files when you, when you go to, like, for example, when you go, um, uh, I get setups from your setup provider, uh, you have to know where everything is, and then, and there’s so much involved, but, uh, thankfully for me, I had a lot of good people around me, uh, this was before I actually got involved with UnitedSim team, uh, I had a lot of people within the community who were helping me with, uh, with hardware specifications, and the biggest, uh, the biggest one that I [00:09:00] believe Um, a lot of people might take it for granted is, uh, you know, it’s the monitor.

Like I have a very traditional 16 by 9, uh, 48 inch, uh, monitor. Uh, I used to have a 58 inch flat screen TV and, uh, I didn’t realize at the time the amount of input lag I had. And I’d, I’d trained myself so much to just like turn the steering wheel in advance. And, uh, and, and it was like a really bad habit.

Uh, and then. Uh, it was actually Johan Half, who is an Apex Racing Team driver, who, uh, insisted that I needed to get a proper, uh, fast input, uh, rate monitor. And I, uh, it wasn’t until I actually had the monitor installed and I went to turn the wheel and I, I, I accidentally hit a wall on, on turning because I was just, I programmed myself to turn in too early.

And so it was quite alarming and eventually I got used to it. And I’m really glad that I, uh, I gave into Johan’s advice because it was kind of necessary.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, monitor. One [00:10:00] of the most important thing, uh, for some racing, I think because, uh, the responsive time and also, uh, for example, I got triple, it gives me more, um, angle view to the situation, which we got in race.

So that’s, uh, cool to have always. Um, so when people coming to my streams, I usually do. Telling them that you have to, like, think about your pedals first and then upgrade, uh, like, screen, which you got, and then think about wheel and the rest off on your rig.

Luca Munro: Yeah, definitely. And it’s absolutely necessary.

Do not dismiss that advice. I learned the hard way.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, that’s definitely a thing. Um, so you said that you, you’ve been in ACC. Uh, did you do any leaks? Like, uh, when? Was the moment when you started to think like I would like to take sim racing more seriously and on higher level for yourself?

Luca Munro: So the very good one there.

It’s actually quite [00:11:00] intrinsically connected to United sim team. So basically United sim team and previous guys were involved in a championship called the eSports Racing League Which was by VCO And I was actually semi involved in the conceptualizing of this championship, where I envisioned, uh, the ultimate sim racing championship that would test drivers in, uh, a variety of different cars, tracks, and sims.

Because someone who is very good in an open wheel or on iRacing may not necessarily be that good in a GT car on ACC or any other potential combination. And, uh, I would like to think that I came up with that idea, but it was actually the idea, um, predominantly, uh, Florian Harsper, who, uh, heads up VCO, who came up with that incredible idea, and so I, uh, I, I watched and I idolized all these incredible, uh, high level esports sim racers, and, uh, and I just thought, well, I’m never gonna be like that, you know, I’m, I’m gonna, I’m just gonna be content with watching from my [00:12:00] PlayStation, and, uh, but then it was in the lead up to Good.

They had three seasons within 2022 and it was the last season when I decided I really want to be involved in this. I really want to just be in this championship just to say that I have been. And then I got in contact with Yvonne Huffler who very kindly allowed me to take up a spot within the team. And I couldn’t, I didn’t end up doing ERL for pure logistical reasons because I didn’t have my own dedicated PC at the time.

And it was like, all right, if I’m going to do this, I need to do it for real. And that’s when I started getting the hardware. Uh, unfortunately there hasn’t been any other esports racing league action since, and I’m just praying that Florian will finally bring it back. Um, but if he doesn’t, there was another event that, well, I know that you’ve also been involved with VCO Infinity.

Which was another event that I, I sort of came up with the idea of, um, basically both of these events. I, I’ve always thought of sim races as [00:13:00] being not necessarily better, but have a different level of quality to real life races because they can jump from, you know, a single seater at Silverstone and then be on, uh, be at Spa in a GT car in less than a few clicks.

And so. I’ve always believed in the, uh, the, the value of versatility. I’ve never, I consider myself a bit of a sim racing journeyman because I never want to just get too comfortable in one car or one sim. And I want to try and like branch out, uh, cause the value for me is getting, uh, being a jack of all trades.

If even if I’m not a master of any, basically.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Um, you said about VCO Infinity, Vanya, what was taking part in this? I remember I was driving the Xfinity cars, uh, road course. It was huge. Why terrible? It was great. I know that was the best experience for me because, uh, it was really hard to actually to control the gas on this car, so I [00:14:00] really, uh, tried to pay.

More attention than ever on like cars like GT3 or Porsche Cup, uh, which I’m driving most of the time in a racing Uh, and that was really interesting because you’re like, okay on the exit we’re going to be careful with throttle Uh, it was great experience. Definitely. And I also took a part in previous vco events, which been pro sim Uh, so we had like in real life drivers and sim racers alongside on the track um Great events, and I’m looking forward for the next VCO, definitely, uh, Florian doing an amazing job with this event, uh, getting involved a lot of, uh, different people, a lot of famous racing drivers, so, I raced on the same track with, uh, Ruben Barco, it was great.

So, yeah, and you can go. Yeah, I

Luca Munro: just wanna, I just wanna say that when I said I was referring to myself in that particular car, that was my second race in the event. I did five [00:15:00] and I got the Xfinity just for the Monza race and, oh man, I was like three seconds slower than the person directly ahead of me on the grid.

I know we started quite close and you passed me at one point and I was just like, no, don’t be the person that takes all of 46, I’m gonna let it go. Because if I wouldn’t have forgiven myself, if I’d have messed you up.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: All good. Yeah, that was really fun, especially at Monza, uh, Monza. That’s the track where everybody crashing in T1.

So with Xfinity it was a fun track to drive with, definitely. Uh, you mentioned, uh, Versatility is a key in sim racing. So, uh, can you explain why that’s so important to you? Because, you know, usually I’m trying, uh, to stick with the one car. Uh, like that was for me when I did the first champ, uh, first, uh, season in GT3s and I tried to stick with the one car for the whole season and try to not jump to like formulas or to other cars [00:16:00] because, um.

From my side, I think it’s really important to, uh, when you’re starting, just stick with the one car because, uh, this is how you’re building the good base. So without jumping around, uh, things,

Luca Munro: yeah, well, uh, a lot of, uh, sim racers that I have idolized have been ones who are never always firmly stuck in one car or one sim.

So, for example, Enzo Benito, uh, he is, to me, one of the best. Frederick Rasmussen, who has. Recently won the F1 sim racing championship, but it’s also a champion on iRacing and rFactor, which you can imagine how big the gaps that are there in terms of the quality and the abilities needed. Uh, and also, uh, Ulash Ojildirim, who, uh, is good on the F1 game, good on Rennsport, good on iRacing, good at ACC.

I’ve always been of the opinion that, um, you, it’s perfectly legitimate to be, uh, only. That good in, you know, [00:17:00] maybe a single seat on iris and, uh, for example, but, uh, for me, I, I like the idea of having, uh, the challenge to jump around on different cars and make sure that I don’t get too comfortable in in one.

So that I’m always kind of. I’m not relaxed, you know, which I guess is kind of, uh, a thing with me where I’m, I’m, I’m quite hectically jumping, like most weekends now, I’m always doing like as many solo endurance races as possible. Just, uh, the week, the week before last, I did three solo enduro races. Uh, across the weekend and I actually got some decent results.

I got a fourth, a fifth and 14th in a all GT3 race, the last one. Um, and, uh, having those experiences really feels very fulfilling. You know, I, I could just. Get myself comfortable in the one car and [00:18:00] I guess when it comes to iRacing enduro’s I’m kind of good in sports cars But I find that I’m quite I guess I ever since the road license split on iRacing I haven’t done that many formula car races because I’m petrified of losing safety rating because yeah They’re you know, the second you touch someone your car’s Bent suspension and you’re out.

Um, but yeah, if I could keep my safe through and I’ll probably do a lot more and try to, because, because right now, when it comes to, uh, like, for example, super formula, I’m definitely not that good in it. And I should be doing a lot more of it. Um, just making sure that you’re never too, uh, at ease, uh, in, in one car and relying solely on that to, to do well.

Uh, I think with, with how, You’re varied the experiences are within sim racing even just across the same titles like a Porsche cup on ACC behaves a lot differently to a Porsche cup on iRacing having those abilities, shared abilities across multiple platforms, multiple cars, it [00:19:00] makes things a lot more interesting and I think it really improves your abilities as a driver.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: That’s a really interesting point, because I’m a little bit of a side point of this, because I personally think that you have to focus on one car and like work with the data, with telemetry, with your two And Correct your mistakes during the practice sessions. But it’s really interesting that you thinking that, you know, if you’re jumping from multiple platforms, multiple cars, so probably gaining more experience because of that, um, that kind of happened to me when I started to do ovals.

So that’s completely different discipline. And I learned a lot, which I didn’t learn and wrote a course because you know, um, Having that really close battles, unfortunately, in road course, uh, most of the time as you’re getting in this car. So, um, So it’s kind of working for me. Um, but I [00:20:00] prefer to be in a racing right now.

Real like I said, of course, the Evo, and I’m so excited for it. Uh, because I really like how car feels here, how it just feels on the track when you’re driving it and how the force of back feels and unfortunately, I’m not a big fan of the ACC. I just don’t understand how to drive GT3s here at all, uh, after racing.

So I need. A lot more time to get used to this.

Luca Munro: And you’re used to the oscillation on the back when you go around the corner, you’re just like, yeah, I don’t get why it does that either. Yeah.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: ACC feels a bit weird for me after a racing, especially with breaks, because you have to really smash breaks in ACC and.

It just feels weird, so I need more time to adapt, because when I switched from iRacing to R Factor 2, that was quite easy to adapt. Um, because R Factor 2, in my opinion, really close to what we got in iRacing, um, in terms of feelings and how the car feels on [00:21:00] track. But yeah, ACC is different for me, but, you know, if people enjoy ACC and, you know, that That’s great opportunity that you can start from console with ACC and then, uh, move to PC sim racing.

So probably ACC just opened a lot of doors for many, uh, new sim racers, uh, maybe some of them already in racing and other simulators also.

Luca Munro: Definitely. And also on the note of, uh, ovals. Yeah. You’re braver than me because I tried to do an oval race once. I do not have the guts for it. I admire people who do.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: You have to, because Oval’s just absolutely incredible. And we got this Draft Masters series, which is great, because people really like to drive Daytona, because that’s like a roulette. So, uh, you can guess what result you’re going to get, and every time you just, uh, focus on the race, then you I have to survive here and you’re trying to do everything to survive and you’re trying to, uh, predict [00:22:00] what people ahead of you going to do or maybe they started to move, uh, in a weird way and here’s a crash incoming.

So yeah, it’s, it’s a great, uh, experience definitely and give me a lot of practice with how to avoid crashes and how to be, uh, you know, focus on other points on track when crash happens. So you have to focus on the free space, which you see, uh, not be focused on the car, which crashed. Uh, so yeah, it’s definitely a good thing.

So you have to try if you’re going to have a free time, why not?

Luca Munro: Maybe.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Um, so speaking about cars, so maybe you got your favorite combo, like in a racing, maybe an ACC. Uh, so what’s the, will be the car and the track?

Luca Munro: Well, I can definitely tell you the car. Um, I, when I was starting out on, uh, iRacing, I didn’t try to like go head first into, [00:23:00] uh, very long races.

I wanted to try and ease myself into it. And, and, um, uh, the first two endurance races I ever did was actually with a mutual friend of ours, Elzendriani. We did a, um, a race at Road America, three hour one, and then we did the six hours of Watkins Glen, which I elected to do the Friday evening time slot, which meant that I was up until about 5 a.

m. Which was quite an experience. Um, but, uh, then when it came time to do an, uh, I wanted to drive prototypes and there was that, uh, in 2023, the event, um, the MS charity race and that year it was two GTP cars, the, at the time, the BMW and the Cadillac and then DBR nine and Corvette GT one and the GR 86. And, uh, I know that I wanted to do the, uh, uh, the prototype in that.

And I did it with one of my teammates, uh, called Patrick. Um, and, uh, I let him sort of like ease me into it. Uh, [00:24:00] and it was actually quite, uh, we ended up picking the Cadillac and it was quite an experience because, um, if anyone did that race, And you did it in the prototype. You would know that if you can dodge your way around GR86s, which are basically moving mobile cones, then you can be able to premeditate and go for the right gaps in with any car, because predominantly GT3s are the slowest cars that Cadillac would race against.

And that became, uh, for some reason, I just really gelled with the car. Um the cadillac and driving that no matter what track it is for the most part It was just an absolute dream. It really suited my style and obviously we all like loud noises the big the big v8 um as far as tracks go, I mean i’m a i’m a bit of a Um, you know, I’ll drive pretty much any track, you know, um, I’ve, I’ve enjoyed quite a few successes at Silverstone, um, Spa Francorchamps is another, [00:25:00] uh, we drove, um, my team, uh, we, we entered the, the 24 Global Endurance Tour race in August, and that was something I’d really wanted to do in, in the, in the Cadillac, and, and I’m also looking forward to driving the Hopefully the 12 hours of Sebring in a couple of weeks they’re all flowing the Cadillac and then I won’t pester anyone else to drive it again.

You know, I just need one teammate to do that with Yeah, basically any predominantly most tracks, you know, I’m not really fussed about that But as far as cars go quite easily the Cadillac and I’ve enjoyed quite a lot of successes in it I’ve even won a few championships in it

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: I really like also GTPs.

First time when I tried GTPs, there was at Daytona, we did 2023 Daytona with ETRS support. We had BMW GTP at this time. Uh, it was absolutely great experience because, uh, I used to drive a lot of prototypes, HPD, [00:26:00] LMP2, uh, but then I racing switch it to Dallara. I didn’t like Dallara a lot. And, uh, right now, to be honest, I really enjoy GTPs because, uh, they fast, they quite easy to adapt and, uh, quite easy to manage, uh, all in car stuff.

Uh, it was really complicated, for example, with LMP1, which we had, uh, before that. Um, So, yeah, I think the purple types just, uh, bring in like fresh air into our racing and, uh, into multi class racing as well. Um, because they, they’re just great. So I really like the scars and you mentioned, uh, that you won motorsport UK, eSport prototype challenge.

Uh, so can you tell me more about, uh, this leak and what did the championship, uh, mean for you?

Luca Munro: Well, um. A couple of the week before this series, I actually won my first ever league championship in another community, and that was quite a good, uh, [00:27:00] you know, a monkey off my back. I believe the phrases, uh, so I didn’t try to sort of go into this stage with the intention of winning the championship.

And for the first three rounds, I didn’t think I had the chance. I scored about 26 points across three races. Um, and, uh, it was. The, the, the, the pen round. Uh, just for some context, uh, I had actually, uh, suffered quite a, a humiliating defeat in the third race. I was second in class and I, and this was at Road America.

I was trying to navigate my way past the MP three, but that last sector is incredibly, you know, single file. And, uh, by the time I was able to get past. Not only did one of my teammates come past me, but another guy, and I ended up off the podium, and I was at, for a week, I was seething with myself. Um, and, uh, yeah, it wasn’t, it wasn’t the best moment.

Um, but then by some miracle, I, I, uh, managed to get myself into the lead of, in class of, um, the, the [00:28:00] penultimate round, which was at Suzuka. I’d actually, Been involved in a bit of an incident with my who would end up being my championship main championship rival. Um, uh, thankfully, I was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Um, but, uh, it was a huge point swing. And I said afterwards, you know, I’ve had a win. Now, if I don’t end up winning the championship, I don’t expect to. So be it thinking I had no chance, but then I saw the points afterwards and I was like only. Three or four behind and I thought, Oh, if I win the race, I could win the championship and I, for the, for the best part of a week, I was very nervous and anxious, but, uh, went into the final race didn’t qualify.

Well, I never, I never typically do. Um, and, uh, I just thought, okay, pressure off. I’m not going to win this. Let’s go for it. And, uh, first lap. Bit of a pileup, managed to dodge my way around that just, uh, got myself 4th in class, my main rival’s leading. Managed to muscle my way into 3rd, [00:29:00] settled there for a while, then the rain arrived.

2nd place spins off, and I’m easing in very closely on my main rival, but then we pit in. Uh, don’t fuel as much, uh, because I’m, I, I intend to only go like fill up just as much on the second stop, rather than a short one on the last, get out ahead. And then my main rival just starts spinning constantly. And I’m just sort of like looking, keep one eye on the, on the relative and it’s like, Oh, he’s moving in.

Oh, he’s gone. Oh, he’s opening. Oh, he’s gone again. And, uh, uh, from that last stop, I made the mistake of switching to new tires. Uh, when it was still raining, I could have. Kept my current pair and I wouldn’t have lost so much time. I lost quite a lot of time and he was only like a few seconds behind me. Uh, he kept me spun a few more times.

Um, which kept giving me like temporary moments to breathe. But then that last lap, oh my gosh, that was, that was an experience. I, uh, got stuck behind an LMP3, [00:30:00] a friend of mine, and my main rival is like more than a second a lap faster, and he’s within range. And then going through the first corner at Silverstone, did I say Silverstone?

I don’t think I did. First corner at Silverstone, and then navigate my way through there, got on the brakes, I look down again, and his, the gap is increased, and He spun again and it’s the last lap. And then I just was like, keep it steady, keep it steady. And I’m, I’m, I’m in the same channel as one of my teammates who’s in LMP3.

And it’s like, I’m coming up behind you. Don’t make it difficult. I’m about to win. And I get across the line and I am absolutely over the moon. It was Probably the highlight of my life and it’s also how I, uh, won this shirt, by the way, uh, because Abruzzi was a sponsor of the series and, uh, also, um, got these gloves as well, uh, and racing boots.

So, I got, uh, quite a good deal for winning that championship and, uh, I don’t think I’m ever going to, uh, I think I peaked there, you know, in, in this, in, uh, winning the LMDHM [00:31:00] championship in this, uh, series. It was something I’m very keen to look back on constantly whenever I’m feeling a bit down and I just remember.

I’ve won that championship and anything else now is a bonus.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: That’s great experience which you had and congrats with the first position in this prototype challenge. Um, I hope you maybe going to get it once again, get a win in the more serious championships or maybe you’re going to take a part in this one once again.

Uh, you men, you mentioned some kind of overcoming negative self talk. So can you tell me more about this? Yes. So that happen after you win. Yes. And understand.

Luca Munro: Yeah, it kind of, I’m kind of in that first phase again now because I, we, we just had a really like gut wrenching defeat last week in the Bathurst 12 hours.

We just missed out on a podium and I, uh, not, not the fault of anyone, by the way, you know, like, but basically I, um, I, I keep getting into a bit [00:32:00] of a vicious cycle because I really want to succeed. I want to enjoy what I do. Um, but you know, yeah. If, if you can get an amazing result, you’re not gonna be like, oh no, I don’t need that amazing result.

I’m just gonna let the other person win. I don’t need, no, you wanna do it. Um, and, uh, not only in the Motorsport UK eSports series, but in the series that I’d won the, the, in the week leading up to that, um, I, uh, came very close to my first win. Uh, or at least a first really good result, first podium in both those series and then I keep losing them right at the end and I just convince myself, you know, I’ve, I messed up, uh, you know, you’re an idiot, that sort of thing.

And it’s, uh, it’s, it’s very all consuming in a way. Well, letting these things get to me and, uh, I know I shouldn’t let it, it’s just what we do for fun after all, but, uh, you, you want to care, um, and that’s, uh, in particular the, uh, the, after the Suzuka race, oh, I’ll [00:33:00] never lift this down, um, when I won, I was being interviewed afterwards, I was, I was weeping, I was crying.

And, uh, and, uh, the commentators were quite taken aback by my response, but they said it was great to see that you, that I cared so much. Um, I also come in a lot of like, you know, hindsight is obviously so 2020 thinking that, uh, you could have done things so much better, uh, in that moment, but you’re, you’re acting in real time and you can really.

overwhelmed with emotion and, uh, the best thing you can do for yourself is take the positive that you definitely care about what you do. Um, just. And, and, and try and keep going, try and learn from it, you know, like again, the Bathurst 12 hours last week, we were in third place and then this team, you’re like three seconds a lot quicker than us ended up passing us right at the end.

And yeah, [00:34:00] it was gutting. And I want to think that. we’ll look back on that in the future after having like a race win perhaps in another special event and then we’re like oh well that was just the look the temporary low before the great high and but right now we’re still in that phase where we we’re still having to wait potentially for that and if it’s ever going to happen so it’s a It’s the reality of what we do.

Uh, we, we, we really care. We want to get the best results possible. And sometimes it can just, uh, result in negative feelings, sometimes, uh, self doubt and you can overcome it. I know I have multiple times. I know I will again.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, definitely. We all get this moments in some racing and racing. I get a lot of this, uh, this moments.

And I remember I was leading the Pascal stars race with GD for it was King Glenn. Uh, and then, uh, I think there was mad Malone and Casey Kirwan. Uh, they’ve been incoming and we just had like, uh, I know, [00:35:00] maybe to go for this race and unfortunately crash happened and I get involved into this crash. I was really upset, uh, because it was leading literally like the whole race, uh, most of the parts of the race and, uh, that was really upset moment for me.

But what I understand, uh, right now that. Um, you know, I just I did my best and crash happened not because of my fault, and I actually understand that that kind of things can happen because we got people around us and people can make mistakes, something can go wrong, like your connection can be lost or something like this.

So that’s Just a part of some racing and not every time all things go smooth as we want to. And you know, I just, uh, always telling to myself that here’s always another one race, uh, which you can win probably, or you can, uh, get a really good result and, and you just, uh, have to get. [00:36:00] The most experience from, uh, the race, which you did even here is a crash happen.

You still can go watch replay. Um, maybe you could do something differently like to avoid this crash or, um, like you’re going to see on replay that nothing you can do and you’re going to feel relief because of that. Um, so, yeah, my advice to everybody, uh, will be just, uh, calm down, watch replay and just get, um.

All information which you can get from this incident, which happened to, uh, take this experience with you to the future. And, um, so yeah, I wanted to ask you, so what, what, uh, what’s your advice will be for some racers who struggle with, you know, some anger, some bad emotions after races or like during races.

Uh, so what do you think from your side?

Luca Munro: Well, uh, relying back to, uh, our Bathurst results, again, gutting, but, uh, the fact is, is that the team that ended [00:37:00] up beating us had actually started on Paul, and so they lost three positions. We gained What, 22? We started 33rd and I did the first two and a half hours and I was really happy with my performance.

I ended, we were like 10th and throughout the race I was just like, Hey, look, if we could just get a solid top 10 result, I’ll be happy. And then we got so close to the podium and it was just like, Oh, I don’t know. Should, should we be happy with that? We should, we should. Um, but yeah, I, I, I know that it’s probably not great.

Coming from me, because I know that I still suffer sometimes with a lot of the negativity and letting things get to me, but all I can say is, is that the pain is temporary, but the fulfillment, the glory is permanent. You know, we will always have an amazing result that you can look back on no matter how.

close you were to an even better result, you’ll still have performances out there, uh, in races that you will be very fulfilled by and you’ll [00:38:00] know that you tried your best and whether or not you get the result or not, you, that’s all you can do.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yes, so you started butters. Yeah, not from the first like top five position And I think it’s really important to then when you see you getting the podium.

I completely understand you that you like I want to get it and after this you just Kind of reset your expectations of the race and you got the next goal for yourself I mean when you’re not reaching it, so probably you can feel upset but You need to get through this emotions and I think it will be great to look back at the race and see like, Oh, we started like, uh, from P 30.

Yeah, we gain a lot of positions. We get to five and that’s definitely great result. And we can work on our pace for the next race. So I think it, uh, It, it should be like this, at least from my side, it’s, it’s always helping me because I got [00:39:00] the same stuff as you, you know, when you’re getting the podium, you’re like, yes, I’m going to get it.

And then you lose it in the last moment. And you’re like, oh, oh, no, that happened again. Yeah, you know.

Luca Munro: Yeah, and, uh, I do just want to point out, like, uh, my teammates, uh, their names are Patrick and Julianne, and they were absolutely phenomenal, uh, I, uh, I, I’ve got to put my, I was definitely the weakest link in that race, I’d started quite early, I woke up after not much sleep, uh, we did the Saturday morning time slot, and we When it came round to do our second round of stints, I was completely out of it.

And so I just had to try and survive and then let Julien and Patrick do it. If, if I, if I had ran to my scheduled stint time, we probably wouldn’t have even been in the conversation for the podium. So, uh, yeah, I just, again, you, you want to have these positive experiences with your teammates. And in this race, none of us made mistakes, you know, like we, uh, we’re so like, as a team was so, uh.

We’re focused on just making no mistakes, and if we [00:40:00] do, we just have to rebound from there. You know, like, but in that instance, we got so close and we may never get as close again. But the fact is, we’re doing it as a team. This is meant to be a hobby. It’s an enjoyable experience for us. And, uh, I believe in the importance of surrounding yourself with like minded, good people who will accept you for who you are.

And that’s also why I’m so. Proud to be a staunch supporter of the Screen to Speed initiative because it allows people from backgrounds that perhaps wouldn’t be incentivized into such an environment and giving them the opportunity to learn at their pace without any, you know, pushback or discrimination of any kind.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, you know, some racing overall, I, uh, found out through the four or five years of streaming and being in a racing and being a part of the community. Um, it’s really friendly and, uh, people just welcome you. Uh, I’ve got some parts of [00:41:00] the great Olympus sport team and, uh, we actually started this. Team from like three people.

Now we got just a lot of people. So some of the drivers, I don’t know, and never race with them. Uh, and it’s really cool to see that some racing growing and, uh, definitely endurance racing is a part, um, which make some racing great, uh, because this teamwork, which you’re getting and you communicate with people, it’s absolutely priceless.

Uh, no matter what results you’re getting, you just, uh. Having fun with the team, you improving for the week, you practice together, you can, um, compare your data. You can definitely find, uh, some moments on track, which you can correct because, uh, someone in your team doing this, uh, sector faster than you, uh, and that’s definitely a good opportunity for you to grow, especially if you got, uh, people in the team who faster than you.

Um, And I really miss this, uh, when I was doing the in real life races, [00:42:00] so I was doing karting, um, and I was doing formulas, open wheelers, and I’m being alone on my own in track, and definitely the endurances and team racing, that’s, uh, the thing which, uh, bring a lot of people into racing, and I hope we’re going to see even more people in the future here, uh, and as you screen to speed doing the great stuff, and, you know, overall.

I would say that sim racing environment is really friendly, really welcome. Um, and, uh, even compared to in real life racing, because I had some toxic moments, uh, like on the track and outside of the track. Uh, so yes, sim racing is definitely more friendly place to be in.

Luca Munro: Yeah, and on the note where you just say they’re like, uh, I’ve, I’ve not been involved in, uh, in real life racing at all, but, uh, I’ve been studying it a lot because I’ve been wanting to write a series of books about like a, a, a kid who goes on to become a, you know, an F1 world champion, um, and, uh, [00:43:00] one of his, uh, best friends in, uh, in my story is, is a woman, is a girl and, uh, I, you see a lot, I saw a lot when I was, uh, going to karting tracks all over the country, that sort of like the, it’s a bit of a boys club, it’s a father and son living vicariously thing, and girls are often discouraged from, uh, being involved.

And that’s what I feel like is so brilliant about what Screen to Speed do, and all the other major communities out there where there are, you know, inclusive environments, you know, for people who are, uh, You know, of different sex, different gender identities, different, um, like sexualities, races, religions.

If it’s a safe space for these people to be able to come in and feel like they’re not being, uh, you know, not want to be hostile towards them. It’s, uh, it’s genuinely brilliant because then they feel like they’re in a, an environment where they, they can, they can flourish. And, uh, and seeing so many people growing [00:44:00] up, um, who are.

Actively discouraged from doing whatever it is that brings them fulfillment. Uh, that’s something that I’ve always really appreciated about all these various community teams, like United Sim Team, for example, we are, uh, open to anyone who wants to join and who wants to learn, who wants to, uh, have. Um, fun with this, with this incredible hobby that we have, uh, it’s, uh, it just sucks that we live in a world where so many of these people both in like occupations and also in hobbies are unfairly treated and, uh, and, and Screen to Speed is doing a lot to, to, uh, uh, correct the course for a lot of, uh, girls who never got that encouragement growing up.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, I think I agree with you with this, uh, that, you know, just no one should, uh, discourage you to, to do what you want to do and what you love to do. So no matter if you, uh, women or men, you, if you want to do some racing, like feel free to do this. If you want to, [00:45:00] I know running, if you want to go racing, uh, just do this and no matter what people go on to say to you and, uh, I find out that here is always people who’s going to support you.

So I had little incident in a racing. Uh, some people just, uh, bully me in races. They’ve been following me in every race, uh, and just, uh, Thanks to iRacing, iRacing just, uh, submit my, um, reports to these guys, and, uh, this thing’s completely stopped, and I also met a lot of support at this time, uh, from community, from Twitch, from iRacing as well, uh, many drivers, uh, who also race in this time, there was, uh, IndyPro, uh, with me, they also started to, like, protect me, so that was great, and, uh, definitely Screen2Speed give, uh, The place where, uh, we can feel safe and, uh, we can also find other female [00:46:00] drivers.

Who’s, you know, who’s doing some racing and you’re like, Oh, they doing some racing. I can do this too. So it’s really cool, uh, to see more, uh, girls into this. And we got, for example, the Porsche sports all stars this year, and we got three girls in it. This is me. This is a store Malina Emery, and I hope we’re going to get even more, uh, girls into, uh, e sport events and, uh, So we’ll, we’ll have a, you know, like more equal sim racing with a lot of girls and then a lot of, uh, guys also in it.

Luca Munro: Yeah, on the note that you mentioned there about, uh, those people that were being horrible towards you, um, as a team, United Sinti, we run, uh, pride flags on our car and I’m very proud to, uh, to, to don those flags, even though I’m not LGBT myself, but I have had instances of people seeing that, like, for example, this point last year, I think the week before the first 12 hours, uh, uh, there was a community, uh, call, uh, I won’t say their name because it’s not a fair reflection on them, but [00:47:00] one of their members had actually, uh, seen a car that me and one of my other teammates, Bill, had been driving with a pride flag on the spoiler and went to try and take us out.

Um, and, uh, I, they didn’t know that I was in their discord because I was going to do a net four series with them. And I saw that and, uh, reported them and they, well, They got disciplined, but, uh, unfortunately that is just a rare case of people, uh, being punished for what they do. And recently I had someone try and take me out in a, in a sport car challenge race after being in voice chat saying, why have you got a pride flag on your car?

It’s disgusting that the, the people, uh, who feel comfortable. treating others in such a, such a way. And, um, we have a long way to go, but starting off by having inclusive community teams like ours and, and organizers for events like Screen2Speed go a long way into helping correct a lot of these, uh, issues.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Oh, yeah, I think, you know, just, uh, when you [00:48:00] meet one negative person, uh, you got like, uh, I know, 10 good races and you meet this one person and just completely ruin your mood, uh, just because we, we people and we can be really, uh, you know, sensitive in some moments, uh, and, uh, it’s absolutely fine. Um, right now, just, uh, trying to do.

Not really paying attention to this, uh, people because I always, you know, got like iRacing support next to me. I got the community support next to me and, uh, whatever they going to do, the bad things, uh, they going to be like reported and iRacing going to deal with them, uh, anyway, because, uh, so usually I just see that, uh, um, I’m going to speak about erasing because I’m most of the time in this simulator, and, uh, I see that, uh, you know, I’m like, not meeting this people anymore.

So maybe they got some kind of break from erasing or something. Uh, so yeah, that’s a good thing that we got a community of [00:49:00] holes, uh, trying to, uh, Keep our hobby safe from this negative toxic people who just, uh, you know, coming and trying to destroy someone’s fun, uh, instead of having fun with, uh, everybody.

Um, so yeah, just don’t understand these people really, because like, You got hobby. You can have fun with it. You can have fun with people around you. Why care about like if that’s a girl Run next to you or car with a pride flag. So yeah, I just don’t understand these people but they are part of this world unfortunately or fortunately and We got everything in our hands to you know, make more safe environment for ourselves

Luca Munro: Um,

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: you mentioned that you’ve been critical about, uh, I racing, um, pricing structure.

So can you tell me more about this? Because I’m really curious. Uh, you said that, um, you know, uh, like some [00:50:00] content not using in a racing, um, going to tell that. I really don’t care about this, because, uh, you know, people just, uh, race what they want to race, like, GT3s, I know Formula 4, Formula 3, uh, and, uh, yeah, we got some cars, uh, we got some content, which, not using a lot, like, I know Formula 1, maybe, or, um, Mission R, Porsche, uh,

Luca Munro: no one uses that.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: So I just, I’m just really curious about this. So why you care a lot about this?

Luca Munro: Right. How long have we got? No. Okay. Um, so specifically for me, it’s more about the tracks. So for example, I picked up Frookstern and, and, uh, Cadwell Park and Knock Hill, for example. Um, let’s just use one particular series, um, Formula Ford, uh, 1600 Set up which Motorsport UK eSports have recently just entered into a partnership with and subsequently I’ve mandated a majority British tracks.

And I honestly as as much as I get people’s [00:51:00] grievances with Removing the community inputs from that. I I think that it can still work But unfortunately for me the issue becomes that I racing are as much as I like them They are completely disconnected from the community. They think they can price a very, like, take Cardwell Park, for example.

Not, it would not be compatible with GT3 cars. You know, I wouldn’t, and subsequently not prototypes either. It wouldn’t be compatible with even, maybe GT4s is like the fastest car that can really race there. Um, and it’s going for 14. 95 as is the traditional iRacing track cost. Um, but then you’ve got tracks.

Like Alton Park and Snetterton which are higher in profile because I think most sim racers know them because they’re in ACC uh in the British GT Championship and uh They they are base content in iRacing. I’m not as much as I would love to say Everything in iRacing should be base content. We’re not in an ideal world However, they need to [00:52:00] realize that not every track is worth 14.

95. Like, there’s a reason why I saw a meme recently from Apex Racing Team. I races when they’re told to race something other than Spa, Monza, Daytona, Road Atlanta, Road America. Why should I? Why should I? Because no one’s, no, as a result, no one is really Parting with the cash to race a lot of these more obscure lower level, um, tracks that aren’t compatible with a lot of higher powered cars.

And as a result, Motorsport UK Esports Formula 1600 Open Trophy, bit of a mouthful I know, uh, is very rarely going official now. And they even went off their way to pick tracks that are not in the UK, but are also Very low in terms of participation, like Zolder and Saxon Ring, and it’s just like, it’s like you want the series to fail, it’s like you want people to see all of this content that is rarely ever used elsewhere, and to then not bother, because you’ve got a fixed set up, uh, formula [00:53:00] 1600 series.

Uh, with a lot of old base content, so why should you then bother trying to buy this track for a series that won’t have more than four signups, you know, because then the races won’t go official. So then what’s the point in doing them? Um, in my opinion, iRacing need to take, uh, their heads out of their, I won’t say where, and, uh, then realize that not every piece of content It should be priced the same, you know, if you, I mean, look, if you had the idea to go either spa or Cadwell Park for 14.

95 and you had neither, what would you go for? You don’t have to answer that. It’s spa. You would go for spa, wouldn’t you? Because it’s more compatible with more cars and it’s one that. So many people will love to drive and so that leaves Cadwell Park out to dry Like there’s a reason why the, you know, that French track, Leatherman It was added and then the season after it became base content So anyone who bought it then to feeling [00:54:00] a bit rightfully annoyed that the track is they’re not getting their money back for it And so Yeah, it’s just, it’s just frustrating because I love iRacing, I love driving it, but when certain pieces of content never end up getting used after you’ve already paid for it, and in officials anyway, you might go out of your way to coordinate with other communities and leagues that use the content, but the majority of people in iRacing are racing officials.

And if they can’t get into a race with a certain piece of content, then they’re not going to buy it because it was never used. And then subsequently the tracks are never used because no one buys them. And, uh, so yeah, it’s, it’s a source of frustration for me. And I just hope one day iRacing will start tiering the cost of their content, um, depending on what they think is going to be successful or not.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Well, um, I think in my opinion, uh, we, we got the same prices for tracks, uh, just because, uh, racing doing the same job for, for any track, like, doesn’t matter if it’s [00:55:00] Spa or Cadwell Park, uh, they’re going to, like, get the laser scan, get all objects and everything, so, uh, in terms of, uh, simulator, uh, they’re doing the same job, uh, for each track, and I think it’s kind of, I know not fair, but it’s okay.

Like if it’s cost like 15 for each track, it’s okay. Uh, like, uh, for example, if we’re talking about ovals and ovals, uh, we got some tracks, uh, which costs like 11, I think, and, uh, some other tracks, uh, cost a bit more, uh, so they, uh, got different prices for short tracks. They usually cost, uh, less than, uh, big speedways.

Um, and. Yeah, for Road Chorus, speaking about, uh, tracks, uh, which people don’t use, uh, often, yeah, so, we, we see a lot of people, like, in GT3s, running the Monza, Spa, I don’t know, Road America, Road Atlanta, but not a lot of people, people running, uh, like, Saxon [00:56:00] Ring, as you said, um, the reason in it, I think, because people just limited with, uh, practice time, probably, and they probably don’t have, uh, a lot of time to, Home Learn new tracks, which we got in a racing and they just, uh, you know, jumping tracks with the know pretty well, because many people started a racing many, many years ago, um, like in 2012 or even in 20 something like this.

So they just, uh, kind of don’t want to. Um, you know, spend time to learn new tracks. Uh, we’re learning new tracks as a content creators, uh, because we want to show new tracks to communities. So maybe they’re going to run them in some events in leagues, uh, whatever. Um, but yeah, the reason why people not using content in officials, um, especially new content and some complicated tracks, uh.

Like Saxon ring, uh, for example, I think that’s, uh, just because people, uh, [00:57:00] get used to race road, Atlanta road, America, because they familiar with this tracks and, uh, that that’s definitely not about the price. And I don’t think the price going to change anything because, uh, you mentioned also letting on circuit.

Um, so it was. for the price and then they made this free and for the free track also no one raised this. Oh yeah, you’re right. You know, that’s not changing really anything. Just because people get used to these tracks, they really like this. favorites, uh, favorites and, uh, tracks which we, we all like, and people like to see you racing, like, Road Atlanta, Road America.

If it’s, if it’s going to be, you know, all 13 weeks with Road America, people going to race it, and then people going to watch streams, you know?

Luca Munro: Yeah, yeah. I don’t know, I just wish that a lot of people would get, maybe if they did, like, package deals you know like a few other sims do where they [00:58:00] create packs of the maybe like a a british track pack for example for iris and you could have like brands donington uh and then maybe like these obscure ones like uh fruxton and cadwell you know just just to like have it on on there so that people would give it more of a chance you know because otherwise you just see a load of dead series and maybe the the community is just spread way too thin across different tracks and different disciplines and I don’t know I just I just want to be able to know that I don’t won’t have to go off my way to to find.

Uh people to then do race these tracks with because there are some amazing, um, tracks out there that just aren’t getting the love like, uh, Barber is another one. I’m going to be picking that up ahead of next season for the IndyCar race, but I just feel like for the regularly scheduled series. that Barbara won’t get a lot of signups, maybe.

I don’t know, I’ve checked what signups they get in other series. And Saxon Ring as well, I’ve specifically asked the [00:59:00] guy who’s heading up the sports car challenge series, like the, you know, the forum leader, I don’t know, community manager, there we go, to make sure that Saxon Ring gets included on the season three schedule, or at least have the option.

There, uh, because I do want to get it. I do like the track, but yeah, it’s just about if I’m going to get my money’s worth and at the moment I’m definitely won’t be, I have to be careful with, and meticulous with what content you pick up for iRacing because, you know, with how expensive it is and I limit myself to six pieces of content every season.

So that roughly comes up to about 300 before a subscription. So yeah, it’s, it’s, it can get exhausting, but I want to make sure that whatever I buy, I’m going to be able to use.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, I understand you that, uh, for some people, everything definitely can be expensive because you have to pay for a subscription.

You have to pay also, uh, for tracks and, and cars, uh, which you want to drive. Uh, what I suggest to people that if they want to try it, Here’s always a good discount. [01:00:00] Uh, if you starting the new account in a racing, uh, you can stick, uh, with a free contents, we got them to, uh, with all three tracks and we got to mix five, four more, one 600.

So when I started our racing, we had only mixed. License. Uh, right now we got a lot of more options for that. And that’s a really good thing, which I racing doing, in my opinion. Um, because it just opening different categories for people. So you didn’t have to raise MX five if you want to jump into formulas and you just.

Can raise formal, uh, V or formal one 600 and then jump forward into the formal license, which is great. And if you’re getting like five items, you get 20 percent discounts usually. And if you got If you own 40, uh, items on your account, uh, you’re getting forever 20 percent discount. So I got this on my account, uh, because I bought a lot of stuff and everything.

Uh, so it’s really [01:01:00] cool, uh, because it, it just, uh, really nice to see discounts. And, uh, you can buy one car with a 20 percent discount as you used to, um, you know, put the kind of bundle with the five items to get this. Um, it’s really good. So I hope they’re going to improve this and, uh, more people will come to iRacing and race in this, uh, great simulator and, uh, have fun in officials.

So I’m with you in this, uh, definitely it should be, you know, more open for everybody. And I think iRacing, uh, recently, like, Last two or three years, they did good job with, uh, um, rookie series and, uh, involve some, all free content into this, uh, because it’s great. You can just jump, try it. If you don’t like it, you just don’t have to buy tracks.

Don’t have to buy, uh, cars because you got an opportunity to try it.

Luca Munro: And another, another car that I’d like on the notes of cars, uh, Renault Clio. Uh, don’t ever see that [01:02:00] going official for the most part and I’ve, and I got it for, you remember the, uh, in 2024 season one or 2023 season four, they, uh, did the weekly challenge, which going back to what I was saying earlier about versatility, different car and different track for every, every week.

And I got it for that. And then I rarely ever use it now. And I just, yeah, I, I understand iRacing’s model of trying to like maximize profits, but maybe if they lowered the price of certain content that. isn’t getting as much love, they might be able to guarantee a bit more people get it and hopefully then it will be more worth it.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, we’ll see what will be in the future and definitely we, we can’t do anything with their, uh, you know, pricing, uh, because we were not working in our racing. So hopefully we just, uh, being as a sim racers and part of community, uh, going to hope that our racing going to grow and, uh, going to hear community also, uh, and maybe get involved more free content also, um, [01:03:00] maybe, you know, I think it will be a great idea to make our racing free for weekends, like, uh, some, uh, games in steam usually, uh, doing this, uh, free weekends.

It’s really cool to try for some people, uh, without paying even for three months a subscription. Um, so yeah, we’ll see how future will be for sim racing. Um, let’s talk about your future. So what’s your plans for, uh, sim racing for this year and, uh, for upcoming years?

Luca Munro: Uh, well, I’m definitely at a point now that I’m very satisfied with all that I do.

I, uh, have, um, a lot of, I’ve, I’ve seen the, uh, the announcement for a lot of the, uh, the annual series. That’s going to be like, for example. Tomorrow I’m going to be doing the IndyCar iRacing series around Sebring, um, which, uh, I didn’t do last year. Um, I did do like the Road America, Laguna Seca, Long Beach races, [01:04:00] but I didn’t do Sebring because I didn’t have a good idea as to what all that was.

Um, And then there’s also like the, the creventic series. Uh, we did the spa race at the end of last year, which, in which we’ve got, uh, I think we finished eighth, um, which I’m really happy about. I want to try and do a lot more of those. Um, and, uh, I do a lot of the, well, GT endurance, IMSA endurance, IMSA sports car endurance challenge races on the weekends, obviously all the special events.

Um, and, uh, I also plan on doing, uh, last year I did. Four solo, uh, five solo races in the Nürburgring Endurance Championship. One in each car class. Um, And with varied results, and I’m looking forward, especially this year. Now that the BMW M2 has been added because that that car is absolutely brilliant. And I know you were in a race with me recently in the M2 at Laguna Seca held by Ells again, and it was, uh, very enjoyable, even if it was quite tricky to [01:05:00] drive.

So, when we can put an open set up on that, it’s going to be, I’m really looking forward to seeing how that goes. Um, And as far as everything, I, I, I do, I wouldn’t mind trying to branch out a bit more to other sims. Um, I, uh, I, I’m getting very comfortable in iRacing and I know I shouldn’t be through my own philosophy doing that.

Um, and I’ve got, uh, well, my teammate Patrick. And wants me to do more LMU stuff. Um, he’s only just recently succeeded in bullying me into his, uh, community where he’s doing a, a 100 minute race around the secure outer layout. ’cause they’ve just added all the alternate layouts into LMU. Um, and, uh, and I would love to do Sophie’s in chat now, and I’m, I’m really worried that this is gonna seem like I’m calling her out.

Would I really want to try and get the, the whole a CC. Based Notch life for 24 hour race off our back because I’ve been I’m hoping that Luffield Motorsport will be [01:06:00] Starting, we’ll be doing that again. Um, and, uh, I’m just praying that we will have the team for it because, you know, we don’t know. We did the Nurburgring 24 on iRacing last year.

We’re going to do it again this year. And we’re, um, I’m looking forward to it, but ACC. You know, people have been wanting Nordschleife on there for years, and then they finally get it right when ACC is kind of dying off. I just want to do one, and uh, you know, any, any endurance event, and also plan, uh, plan on doing a lot of long haul sport, uh, formula car races, like I said there with IndyCar.

Also, the um, vintage Grand Prix Tour that’s starting up with the Lotus 79, that’s, I’m picking up the car, look, I’ve already test driven it in demo drive. It’s very, very fun. I would, I would recommend it to anyone. Just want to do as many long haul races as possible, be as successful as possible. It’s something I need to do.

It’s just, I’ve, I’ve rested on my laurels for so long with regards to [01:07:00] these high level sim racing events. I’m just really, really keen on, on doing as much as I can in this little time.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: You got really good plans, uh, for this 2025. Wish you good luck with all your races, uh, hope you’re going to get podium, uh, and good result.

Um, main thing just, uh, I think be focused on your own pace and, uh, trying to, uh, like. Getting experience step by step, uh, and the last one, uh, I would like, uh, you to give advice to new sim racers, uh, like new girls, uh, boys who’s coming into sim racing. So what will be your advice for them?

Luca Munro: Uh, definitely get surrounded by a lot of, uh, people that you can trust and that have your best interests at, uh, at heart, make sure you don’t.

Just surround yourself with people who will not be afraid to, uh, criticize because that’s how you improve. [01:08:00] Um, so, yeah, very much, uh, it’s important to have the right people around you, uh, ones who can be quite tactful, but also that will be able to make you as great as you can, basically. Um, uh, just before we end off, I assume that was the last thing going to ask.

I just want to get this in before we finish. Leibov, um, you may recall an event we did together called race Chella also by El Zindriani. Um, that event, I actually went into voice chat after, after we finished to say that it was very starstruck to have been racing with you, um, because I’d become such a fan of yours after Porsche e sports all stars and, uh, to now know that I’ve just been interviewed by you.

It’s kind of like a weird subversion in a way, like you would think, you would think that I’d be the one interviewing you for Overtale, but you’re interviewing me. Um, yeah, I’ve, I’ve been a big fan of yours for a long time and it’s a privilege to have been interviewed by you.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Thank you so much. It was [01:09:00] nice to meet you.

Definitely. I had a lot of fun to talk with you and, uh, it was fun. Thank you so much for being here. Yeah. So wish you good luck. Yeah. Wish you good luck. Thank you so much for being with us and, uh, see you guys. Thank you so much for watching another one. Innate Talks.

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