One Year Anniversary

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Posted on July 10th, 2008 in Misc

Precisely one year ago, I started VirtualR with this harmless little posting. Started out of boredom, this site did offer nothing but a few edited screenshots of mine until late November 2007.

Without having any particular goal, I started posting news on rFactor and GTR2 mods. Suddenly the site started to get popular, gaining more and more readers. By the end of December, VirtualR had an average of 800 readers a day. These days, some days attract ten times as much.

Times have changed and so did the workload the site is creating. In the beginning, I posted something every other day. Today, the site is updated several times a day and I spend a big portion of my day digging for news, replying to emails and posting stuff.

VirtualR has become a very important part of my life and I hope it’s a helpful asset to the community. I have no idea what the future will bring sim racing, who know’s which way our community is heading… but one thing is certain: VirtualR is here to stay!

This is also the time to look back and thank those people that helped me along the way. It’s impossible to list everybody who tipped me off on news, wrote comments or helped promoting the site….� Thanks a lot – You know who you are!

My thanks for giving me advice and supporting VirtualR in one way or another goes out (in no particular order) to all the guys at RaceSimCentral, NoGrip Racing, Racebit.de, the folks at Simbin & ISI , erale, 6e66o, Wix, CTDP, F1Racer, stabiz, RMi, Alex Martini and AutoSimSport, Maggi, ermax18, Trebor901, Paul Kelly, Simon, Drivingitalia.net and of course Biek for just reminding me about the anniversary :-)

47 Comments For This Post

Roge Owen
July 10th, 2008 at 02:24

Congrats and many thanks for all your good work! :mrgreen:
Alex White [GC]Alex
July 10th, 2008 at 02:36

Well done, dunno where i`d be without his website ;)

Thanks againg :)
Spacekid
July 10th, 2008 at 02:59

Congrats Rob. Thx for this brilliant website.

Greetings

Kai
jam
July 10th, 2008 at 03:10

welldone

greatsite
RKipker
July 10th, 2008 at 04:00

A daily stop for me, sometimes twice a day even maybe three times, but don’t tell anyone.

Thanks for great insights and honest opinions on mods and upcoming games.

Great Work,
Thanks
Randall
Freezer
July 10th, 2008 at 04:25

very good site :mrgreen:

keep on it
LordRa9826
July 10th, 2008 at 04:25

Congratulations!
I’m happy that you decided to start this site.I visit here twice a day,maybe more.This is a very good site for news and,as RKipker said,insights and honest opinions.Keep it up!
See you next year!
Paul Kelly
July 10th, 2008 at 04:32

Hey, man, thanks for the compliment. But all the kudos should be turned directly toward you for creating a superb blog. I visit this place at least two or three times per day. Hell, I’m typing this while I’m on vacation on the coast of Maine!

You have done outstanding work for the sim racing community at this site, and your passion for sim racing and dedication to the community are obvious. I appreciate it greatly, as I’m sure does everyone who visits this excellent site.

Keep up the fine work, man! Thanks again.
stabiz
July 10th, 2008 at 04:53

Happy birthday!

Since the launch of this site my whats-new-in-the-mod-world-and-all-other-related-stuff-routine has become WAY easier. I find RSC to be a maze, very easy to miss out on stuff, and NoGrip doesnt have as much rFactor-activity (but those that are active are great guys, btw). I think its a good idea to keep it neutral in usual news items, and be honest and objective in the more in depth reviewing, which you do.

Oh, and I am here at least twice a day myself. Keep it up! (By this time next year you will probably have a staff )
Jesse
July 10th, 2008 at 04:58

Congrats on the anniversary! I have a list of about 5 sites which I check everyday to see what’s going on. Admitedly this is #2 right behind NOGRIP, but only because NG shows first on my list! I have learned and learned of a great deal in the broader sim racing world because of this site so-thank you!
morning_wood
July 10th, 2008 at 05:05

congrats on the success of your site
ermax18
July 10th, 2008 at 05:28

I would rather not disclose the condition of my F5 key. :oops:

Congrats!
TT.Racer
July 10th, 2008 at 05:41

Thanks man,,,you do a super job…This is the first site a look on when I start my Pc…

Cheers

TT.
Dave
July 10th, 2008 at 06:00

I am fairly new to this site but enjoy it very much. So many other simracing websites pretend to be so pure that they can not even let talk about certain things go on and lock the threads down. I enjoy the unbiased attitude around here keep it up.
austin
July 10th, 2008 at 07:04

congrats! its a good source, alot better then diggin the forums for the latest content. Keep it up!
WiX
July 10th, 2008 at 08:28

Keep up the good work Montoya. For me VirtualR is one of the main assets of Simracing as we know it now. If it would dissapear it would certainly leave a gap in what i concidder a part of my hobby life. I do realise that sometimes my http://www.bsim-Racing.com and virtualR are in sync, but i do enjoy your crafted style of writing and concider the bsim site as the fastfood place of sim sites, while i regard VR as my sunday classy restaurant. Thanks for the hard work Montoya. keep on going.
Uff
July 10th, 2008 at 08:37

It looks kinda funny: exactly one year ago too I met a person that became one of the best fried I could have. It seems that this day is special, let’s enjoy it! ;)
tbc21
July 10th, 2008 at 09:26

Thx buddy for creating this excellent site!
Good work !!
F1Racer
July 10th, 2008 at 09:45

Thank you for the mention :)

You have created a great site here and as far as sim-racing news goes these days, this place seems to be the one-stop shop.
Over the year it has developed very well into a great source of info and is laid out in a very tidy and organised way.
Clearly you have a passion for your creation and that is only good news for the rest of us who I’m sure crave news and soundbites on a daily basis.
Not a day goes by without me visiting here, sometimes several times a day.
I am only too happy to contribute with my renders (and my debates :)) as I think its the very least I can do for someone who dedicates what is obviously quite a chunk of their own free time to bringing us all what we want….news, mod progress and these Comments threads.

So congratulations on your first anniversary and may you have many more. I sometimes have troubles realising that my first sim-racing renders were 11 years ago !!

Best wishes mate.

F1Racer
Ramon van Rijn
July 10th, 2008 at 10:22

Happy Birthday and my compliments on this wonderful news source. Keep up the good work.

Ramon
RaceDepartment.com admin
StefanDK
July 10th, 2008 at 10:23

This is a great site that keep me well informed and updated on the latest news on the SimRacing-scene. Thank you so much!
Simon
July 10th, 2008 at 10:31

Congratulations on the first and good luck for another year!
Cristi Rus
July 10th, 2008 at 10:51

Happy birthday to you/Happy birthday to you/Happy birthday dear Virtualr/Happy birthday to you…And many mooooore :D
Amazing source of information, all in one place.
Keep up the good work!
Cristi.
N0body Of The Goat
July 10th, 2008 at 10:56

Very useful site for a number of sims, perfect for custom mod/tracks fanatics! Happy aniversary.
WelfMan
July 10th, 2008 at 11:17

Happy anniversary!
Since I found this site it, I regulary stop by whenever I’m at my PC. The RSS-feed is very helpful to stay uptodate, too.

Keep this fantastic site up! :smile:
Mad Zak
July 10th, 2008 at 11:20

Yeah! Happy anniversary Rob!…you did a great job…one of the first things i do at morning
ctrlz
July 10th, 2008 at 11:41

Happy birthday to you
klo-che
July 10th, 2008 at 12:02

Happy birthday
6e66o
July 10th, 2008 at 12:05

Grats Mate,
and thx for all the work you do to keep us uptodate! :smile:
DeDios
July 10th, 2008 at 12:13

Congrats mate, you’re doing a WONDERFUL work with this blog…it’s one of most beautiful sites about Sim world..

Happy birthday mate!!! and good luck for your future!

-Dedios-
Beats
July 10th, 2008 at 13:03

Congrats Montoya, you’re doing a fantastic job here.

Here’s to another year! lol:
Dan Alderson
July 10th, 2008 at 13:16

Congrats on your 1 year anniversary. Thanks for creating such a useful and up to date site for us all the enjoy!
andres taborda
July 10th, 2008 at 13:21

Thanks for all your support and many congrats!!!!
rasfigjohn
July 10th, 2008 at 13:40

Happy birthday VirtualR!
Schoelle
July 10th, 2008 at 15:28

Happy birthday and thank you very much for this great site!

This is the second webpage i open in my browser every day.
1) my league site
2) virtualr
3) nogrip

Congrats Montoya!
tigeraid
July 10th, 2008 at 15:35

a daily stop for me as well, congrats on a successful year!
vision69
July 10th, 2008 at 17:06

Happy birthday!
LSf1
July 10th, 2008 at 18:51

Rob it’s like your second birthday

my congratulations to you
Mastersetter
July 10th, 2008 at 19:00

Many thanks for your time and effort in keeping this site running.. i come here to check up stuff everyday..sometimes 2-3 times.. just great to have one place where i can see all thats happening in the hobby.

Happy birthday VR! and thanks again
Biek
July 10th, 2008 at 19:10

:mrgreen: You’re welcome!

I come here all the time so I couldn’t let this moment go by unnoticed.

Congrats again maestro and we hope enjoy this site for many more anniversaries to come.
WHAT21A
July 10th, 2008 at 20:26

Congratulations, Fantastic site, don’t know what I would do without it now, check several times a day.
trebor901
July 10th, 2008 at 21:00

well done :) i think THE best sim racing news site around, i visit here every day, some days more than once.
Montoya
July 10th, 2008 at 21:19

Thanks a lot for the kind words guys :smile:
David K (ADC)
July 11th, 2008 at 01:08

1 year!

I wish I had been here from the beginning but I will be here to the end.

Great work mate!
Marengo
July 11th, 2008 at 02:09

Thanks a lot for all your effort, this is my favourite site by far for all the sim-news since I`ve found it!

All the best!

Marengo :mrgreen:
Tomas
July 16th, 2008 at 19:58

Congrats! This is one of the few sites I visit everyday, actually many times per day. :smile:
Fred
July 25th, 2008 at 19:37

Merci
Un grand Merci pour cet excellent site d’infos.
je passe ici chaque jour et j’y trouve toujours les infos qui rendent mes simulations autos toujours intéressantes.

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