Interview With GPLaps: The Thrill Of Historic Sim Racing


Sim racing is much more than modern cars and tracks – ‘GPLaps’ Jake William probably knows this better than anyone. Fellow racing history enthusiast Yannik sat down with him for a long chat – watch the interview here!

Many tend to think about modern cars and tracks (or even esports) when it comes to sim racing, but the world of virtual motorsport has so much more to offer. Historic content can be a great time machine – and a thrilling base for competition as well. Jake William is probably one of the biggest proponents of this. Better known as ‘GPLaps’, the YouTuber regularly crosses the line between gameplay videos and documentary.

In fact, most of his content also includes interesting context about what is in the spotlight, hence the documentary comparison. It is not just about setting the mood, but also about understanding what the races were like and how they influenced the landscape of current motorsports.

GPLaps Interview: Competitive Historic Sim Racing?​

Could historic racing also make for great competitive events? It is a difficult question that Jake and Yannik try to answer in our video interview. The version at the top of this article is a condensed one, however – the full hour-long interview is available on our YouTube channel as well, however. We have embedded it for you below!


Be sure to check out Jake’s GPLaps YouTube channel for some of the best historic sim racing content out there. No matter if it is 1960s Formula One and Sportscars, 1990s CART rockets, NASCAR or historic rally action, Jake has you covered. You can also follow him on Twitter and Instagram if you like what he is doing. We are already looking forward to a possible follow-up to our video interview!

How did you like our interview with GPLaps? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
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About author
Yannik Haustein
Yannik Haustein
Lifelong motorsport enthusiast and sim racing aficionado, walking racing history encyclopedia.

Sim racing editor, streamer and one half of the SimRacing Buddies podcast (warning, German!).

Heel & Toe Gang 4 life :D

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Comments

S
Just watched Jake's latest video this morning and just noticed the number of subs ...+60k??

This is wonderful info to me. Remember when the channel hit the 5k mark. on the other hand, his channel deserves a factor of 1000 in recognition.

As a fan of classic racing and sports cars since the 1970s, Jake hits me right in the heart every time.

And his videos are of the kind where you just can't scroll through quickly, regardless of whether it's 3AM and you're insomnia, you enjoy the passionate guiding voice of Jake every time. Also the small tips and tricks to get ancient sims working on newer soft/hardware

The (very few) historical misses can't take away the enjoyment. it is the very epitome of soul - the core - of the history of motorsport that the channel grasps at.

And another proof that simracers can easily find the soul, get into the trance state and feel the whir of history, whether it's 25 years old GPL, IndyCar2, GTR2, AC or something else. A pure pleasure since I myself jumped on the bandwagon back then.

It's all about the soul and passion here, more than anything else.
 
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LoginToDL88888
Vintagedriver01 said:
No adblocker works for commercials within the YT videos.
But I’m always trying to learn so tell me which will work mr @Spinelli @Johnny Speed and @Luciano Santos Filho. As the last two gentleman seems to confirm this.

edit btw THE adblockers that not give you a ban by YT. Because some are detected by YT and after a warning you get a ban.
Click to expand...
To deal with ads within youtube videos such as when "this video is brought to you by (data leaking) VPN", you need to check out the 'sponsorblock' browser extension.

As far as ad-blocking in general, stick to 'ublock origin' on firefox or AdGuard products. This is the only perfect solution.
Brave browser has had many controversies including crypto scams and affiliate links and shouldn't be recommended anymore.

But it doesn't matter, just make sure to whitelist RaceDepartment as ads help this great website run.
 
S
Vintagedriver01 said:
No adblocker works for commercials within the YT videos.
But I’m always trying to learn so tell me which will work mr @Spinelli @Johnny Speed and @Luciano Santos Filho. As the last two gentleman seems to confirm this.

edit btw THE adblockers that not give you a ban by YT. Because some are detected by YT and after a warning you get a ban.
Click to expand...
I must've been born under a lucky star.
In Jake's +2 hour presentations I've only discovered 2-3 YT commercial interrupts. And it hits me I've run without add blocker since new years day. Maybe it's a regional/local thing.

It's on a completely different level when I watch 4mio subs YT'er JayzTwoCents/Jayz2Z or the like - where I'm into a constant Blitzkrieg of commercials for a 15 min presentation.
 
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Dethrone1427
I seriously hope Jake never stops presenting his videos in the way he does. A lot of YouTube creators are moving in the direction of 5 minute videos and not going into much depth about anything - you get nothing from them. GPLaps bucks that trend and you get to relax and settle into his videos, I mean, one of my favourite videos he did was a MFS video. I don't even have that game but it was a fantastic video and great to watch.
 
gearwhine
Premium
tpfitz said:
Let's be honest here.

GPLaps needs content, so he plays racing Sims and purposefully ignores blatantly broken aspects of the game while portraying a fake experience for content. He did it when AMS2 released Daytona Oval and brushed over how broken the release was as cars literally slammed on their brakes down straights. He did it when showcasing VLN on rf1 where he told everyone how awesome it was, while HEAVILY editing the video, I surmise, to take out all the parts where cars rammed him repeatedly. I challenge him to live stream a 2 hour VLN session on rf1 and release it on YT unedited. He won't. He can't, because the cars ram you all over the place.

He showcases older mods and the tells us in order to get it to work better, he had to edit some ini files as is customary. Does he tell us what he exactly did? No. He hoards that information to protect his niche content and stifle competition.

He plays GTR2 and ignores that the reason he is catching up to all the cars is because the AI cars become extremely slow after a while because of the accumulation of incidental contact damage. He then tells us how awesome it is and perhaps the pinnacle of Endurance racing, a game that becomes more broken the longer you play it.

His whole channel is an illusion .... to put it bluntly ... a lie. He purposefully hides and misrepresents the reality of these Sims so he can create content.

He is no different than all the slimey YTers who lied about the severity of how bad Forza was pre release, which was mostly everyone. He is literally part of the problem ... as is all the people buying LMU on day one, and the lying YTers, and the excuse makers shilling for companies who are laughing at their stupidity.

Everything I said isn't personal towards him. But Its the truth. I don't know him, he is probably a nice guy, but let's be honest about what's going on here.

I don't live in clownworld. The truth is the truth.
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So much misery going on in that head of yours. You really sound like a fun guy to be around.
I dont need to explain what you are missing as everyone finds his YT posts excellent viewing bar you
 
W
Premium
Great YouTuber, seems like a really good guy and in it for the joy of racing.

Even when it’s not a type of racing I have a huge amount of interest in I’ll quite happily have it on in the background to see how he gets on.
 
L
tpfitz said:
I don't live in clownworld. The truth is the truth.
Click to expand...
Maybe you think you don't live in clownworld, but that's because you are the clown. Put the crackpipe down.

Vintagedriver01 said:
No adblocker works for commercials within the YT videos.
Click to expand...
I'd be interested to know what you mean by this? Jake goes out of his way specifically to not advertise anything. If you're talking about mid-roll ads then you're not using the right adblocker. If you're talking about Jake advertising himself within his videos, you're simply wrong. Pay attention to the liveries he makes for livestreams, he purposefully runs sponsorless. One of the rules when he ran HRRC was that the cars ran without sponsors, mainly to reflect the period, but also as he didn't want advertising as part of the series.

If you're talking about trackside advertising on the games he plays, then I have to ask, do you have your eyes closed when you're traveling so as to ignore advertisements?

Jake has received some gear from NLR, but that was off the back of him purchasing it himself and the company reaching out after the fact, he's been extremely transparent about this and told them upfront he would not be formally 'reviewing' said item.
 
BrianJonesACDC
I got into historic sim racing thanks to GPLaps (Jake), he was doing a 1955 F1 season in Grand Prix Legends, I felt truly amazed by all that aura of legend that historic racing has, and GPlaps managed to transmit fully that vibe through his videos. One of my favourite content creators without a doubt!
 
Dethrone1427
tpfitz said:
Let's be honest here.

GPLaps needs content, so he plays racing Sims and purposefully ignores blatantly broken aspects of the game while portraying a fake experience for content. He did it when AMS2 released Daytona Oval and brushed over how broken the release was as cars literally slammed on their brakes down straights. He did it when showcasing VLN on rf1 where he told everyone how awesome it was, while HEAVILY editing the video, I surmise, to take out all the parts where cars rammed him repeatedly. I challenge him to live stream a 2 hour VLN session on rf1 and release it on YT unedited. He won't. He can't, because the cars ram you all over the place.

He showcases older mods and the tells us in order to get it to work better, he had to edit some ini files as is customary. Does he tell us what he exactly did? No. He hoards that information to protect his niche content and stifle competition.

He plays GTR2 and ignores that the reason he is catching up to all the cars is because the AI cars become extremely slow after a while because of the accumulation of incidental contact damage. He then tells us how awesome it is and perhaps the pinnacle of Endurance racing, a game that becomes more broken the longer you play it.

His whole channel is an illusion .... to put it bluntly ... a lie. He purposefully hides and misrepresents the reality of these Sims so he can create content.

He is no different than all the slimey YTers who lied about the severity of how bad Forza was pre release, which was mostly everyone. He is literally part of the problem ... as is all the people buying LMU on day one, and the lying YTers, and the excuse makers shilling for companies who are laughing at their stupidity.

Everything I said isn't personal towards him. But Its the truth. I don't know him, he is probably a nice guy, but let's be honest about what's going on here.

I don't live in clownworld. The truth is the truth.
Click to expand...
I want to live in clownworld. Sounds fun.
 
DB_1973
Premium
tpfitz said:
He hoards that information to protect his niche content and stifle competition.
Click to expand...
Lets be honest here!

Failed YouTuber? Jealous a little!! :whistling:
tpfitz said:
GPLaps needs content, so he plays racing Sims and purposefully ignores blatantly broken aspects of the game while portraying a fake experience for content.
Click to expand...
Anyone who goes to GPLap's channel to find out how to best fix their sim... You are living in clown world. Jake does videos with historical info, he is not reviewing sims in any way.

The truth is the truth!!
 
JoostUbelsDesign
Dethrone1427 said:
I seriously hope Jake never stops presenting his videos in the way he does. A lot of YouTube creators are moving in the direction of 5 minute videos and not going into much depth about anything - you get nothing from them. GPLaps bucks that trend and you get to relax and settle into his videos, I mean, one of my favourite videos he did was a MFS video. I don't even have that game but it was a fantastic video and great to watch.
Click to expand...
Wait do you mean the Beech Babe video? Because that's also one of my favourites, without owning MSFS lol.
 
Vince Wheel
This interview with Jake makes me very happy, not only that I enjoyed much every video he has crafted, but also for the love for motorsports, cars, tracks History he shares so well.

This "time machine" thing fills more feelings and excitement about driving one car or another, makes me wanting to read more stuff about a defunct track ect... and that's the great side of this sim racing hobby for me.
 
S
GPlaps has been one of my favorite channels for years. I remember finding him around 2014 and absolutely loving the historical background and presentation that he gave to his GPL videos. I always loved the feeling of authenticity he tried to bring to his videos. What's more, he was able to string together quite a lot of good commentary while he was throwing those classic and monstrous F1 cars around the track!
Anyone who is claiming that he does what he does for the sake of getting famous/rich or stifling competition (a ridiculous thought) from other youtubers is not aware of the time and effort he has always put into his videos. His enthusiasm and love for simracing comes from a genuine place. He was putting out videos for years without much fanfare from the broader community. I've seen him grow from a niche simracing youtuber into someone who is finally coming into the success he deserves. We need more people who can so sweetly express the joy of simracing to the world.
 
O
tpfitz said:
He showcases older mods and the tells us in order to get it to work better, he had to edit some ini files as is customary. Does he tell us what he exactly did? No. He hoards that information to protect his niche content and stifle competition.
Click to expand...
lmao, I literally search his videos for info on how to set up old games and mods, all the time. Maybe you're the npc clown living in clownworld all along? What a twist!
 

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