To the uninitiated, SEGA Touring Car Championship was an unconventional arcade racer, based on the German DTM, crafted by a handpicked team of AM3 developers and released to the world in 1996. It received a port to SEGA Saturn in 1997, and both arcade and port have endured nearly 3 decades of unfairly poor reviews from a gaming public that has, for the most part, simply failed to understand it. While not without its shortcomings, STCC is a thoughtfully crafted racer, ahead of it’s time and absolutely rich with content!
Around 2015 (when I was just getting back into collecting for the SEGA Saturn) I started picking up games here and there on the cheap. I focused on decent titles that were relatively inexpensive (we’re talking $10 to $15 for a complete long box). SEGA Touring Car Championship was one such game that stood out to me, as it was a SEGA arcade racer, and it was also dirt cheap, so I bought it without hesitation…
However, upon firing it up for the first time, it immediately struck me as different from what I was used to with favorites like Daytona USA & SEGA Rally Championship. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it at first. While I had expected a ‘fast and loose’ arcade racer that was easy to pick up and play, STCC felt like the opposite… Sure, it did have that exaggerated sense of speed that you often get from an arcade, but no matter how hard I tried, I was SO much slower than the opponent vehicles, and I struggled to imagine how I’d ever manage to catch up to them…
Looking through reviews online, I quickly learned that most folks had the same initial impression… The game was ‘hard as nails’, and they ultimately chalked it up to being poorly designed/ported with an abysmal frame rate. Now, it made sense to me why this game went for so little on the secondhand market! Everyone out there thought that it was garbage, and many of the loudest voices on review aggregates and YouTube have regurgitated this message over nearly the past 3 decades. The problem is that, believe it or not, all those people are woefully wrong about STCC… It’s actually an amazing game!
The truth is that (and please hear me out…) people just SUCK at this game! That’s it…
It’s never, “Wow, I’m bad at this. I must need practice…” Instead, it’s always, “Wow, I’m bad at this. This is a bad game!” I mean, why take admit that you haven’t spent much time with the game, when it’s easier to simply throw the game and it’s creators under the bus? Who knows? Maybe you just need some quick B-Roll, or maybe you’re just cycling through an ODE looking for something casual to play… Either way, you see Touring Car and they think, “Oh, a SEGA arcade racer! Nice!”. So you boot it up, only to find yourself crashing into walls left and right. Conclusion? ‘This game SUCKS.’
I realize that by now, you probably think I’m just a biased fanboy of this game, but you have to understand that I am guilty of coming to the same conclusion mentioned above, and it’s only in recent years that my eyes have truly been opened to the greatness of STCC. So then, WHY CAN’T folks just pick up & play SEGA Touring Car, the way they have with so many of SEGA’s other arcade racers?
Well, truth is that this is actually what the developers were going for…
A small number of talented AM3 developers were actually hand-selected by Tetsuya Mizuguchi to form a team called AM Annex for the sole purpose of creating an arcade racer that would challenge the status quo, focusing on precision grip driving as opposed to the off-the-rails drifting that was already so prevalent in arcades at the time.
Mizuguchi was inspired by a VHS highlight reel of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (German Touring Car Championship), which he described as such a ‘straight forward and unreserved’ contest of skill and engineering. He envisioned a global competition that would truly test the limits of each driver and their machine…
In fact, when the game was tested at select locations, many players complained that it was too difficult, but the team decided not to rework the game based on this feedback, as doing so would compromise the level of realism they had worked so hard to achieve – something they were quite proud of.
Despite my own initial difficulties with the game, I stuck with it and found certain degrees of success over the years in tuning each car to behave more like the ones I was used to in SEGA’s other games. However, I could never come close to the seemingly impossible track times belonging to the developers & play testers that were embedded in the game. For years I would prop up the game as a ‘guilty pleasure’, while acknowledging it’s shortcomings and even going so far as to validated the arguments of many that it was a flawed Saturn port.
Well, you can FORGET ALL ABOUT THAT…
I’m a changed man, so to speak, and not only is SEGA Touring Car Championship GREAT, but it’s easily one of the BEST racing games on the SEGA Saturn. There. I said it. Now, before you crucify me for blasphemy, I’m NOT saying that it’s better than Daytona USA or SEGA Rally. I AM, however, saying that it stands beside them as a very solid entry. Much more so than I ever imagined it would.
So what changed my mind, then? Well, SHIRO! recently hosted a community challenge featuring STCC, and in very quick order, several members of our online community became near experts on this game practically over night… Surely, this couldn’t be possible, right? I mean, how could so many ‘average joe’ gamers pick up this game and post competitive track times in just a couple days?
Could it be that folks simply needed to spend a bit of time with this game in order to figure it out? Surely, it couldn’t be that simple… [ IT’S THAT SIMPLE ]. In a nutshell, you GET OUT of it what you PUT INTO it, and if you’re just trying to capture 15 minutes of footage for another quick review, YOU ARE GOING TO DO POORLY. Make no mistake, though! It’s not the game… IT’S YOU.
Sure, STCC’s frame rate is variable and all over the place at times. Hell, in certain areas, it’ dips pretty low’s practically a slide show, and that definitely presents a degree of difficulty, in addition to dragging the game’s overall score down a bit. However, it’s really no lower than that of Daytona USA, and it certainly hasn’t kept folks from posting world records.
I’ll admit, this game has got it’s hooks in me BIG TIME, and that’s because I invested time into it, something I think we all should do with games now and then… In the age of having an entire console’s library at our fingertips (either in a stack of burned CD-Rs or on an SD card) everything is very LOW STAKES. Folks rarely stick with a game long enough to appreciate how good it is, unless it hits them over the head with it right from the beginning.
STCC does not do this. It plays hard to get with much of its content (literally, there is so much you can unlock by doing well at the game — assuming you don’t use cheats). I promise you this, though. If you sit down with this game, and you invest some time (maybe a day or two), you will be rewarded with an amazing arcade racer that has so much depth and content, it’s ridiculous (at least compared to its contemporaries).
Anyway, that’s the end of my rant… STCC is GOOD. PLAY IT. Now, if you would like to know HOW to ‘get good’, then keep reading, as I’ve gone ahead and localized the tips and strategies from the developers themselves. Check it out!
SEGA TOURING CAR STRATEGY
VEHICLE PERFORMANCE DIFFERENCE
Driving performance varies between each manufacturer and vehicle. You will need to decide whether to use 4WD (4 Wheel Drive) or FR (Rear Wheel Drive).
4WD CARS: ALPHA ROMEO 155 V6 Ti & OPEL CALIBRA V6
4WD cars use all 4 tires to transmit power to the road, so even if contact with the road is lost in front or back, you still have a set of tires pulling the car forward, effectively maintaining high RPM and mitigating outward drift. As a result, 4WD cars have greater stability when steering, granting them a wider range of effective turn-in points at each corner. This makes them great for beginners. However, their drive trains are heavier and their transmissions are subject to greater friction, resulting in a lower top speed.
As far as the cars themselves go, the Alfa Romeo seems slightly faster, though perhaps a bit harder to control, but it’s a very slight difference. Most folks seem to have success with the Opel at the beginning, but soon they outgrow it in search of another vehicle that will take them to new heights. I’ve found that to be the case with the Alfa Romeo. For me, it’s a great car to use for the Arcade Side Championship, as it’s a good all-rounder for all 3 tracks.
FR CARS: AMG MERCEDES C_CLASS & TOYOTA SUPRA GT
FR cars transmit all of their power to the road from the rear tires. As a result, any abrupt or sharp steering will cause a power slide, meaning a loss of road contact, engine RPMs and ultimately speed. In these situations, counter steering is necessary to remain in control. However, FR cars benefit from a lighter drive train, better weight distribution and a simple transmission with less friction to overcome. Expert drivers who are able to anticipate turns in advance and execute perfect lines may find more speed with the FR cars.
As for the specific cars, the Mercedes seems to be the absolute fastest, yet it also requires the most delicate and precise handling. It can be great for certain time attacks. The Toyota, however, seems nearly as fast, but with slightly better control. Again, like the 4WD cars, it’s a slight difference, but it is a noticeable one.
The developers of STCC made appropriate adjustments to ensure that there is no significant advantage or disadvantage in track times between 4WD & FR. Instead, they want everyone to experiment with each car and come to their own conclusion regarding which car is the fastest.
BASIC WAYS TO RUN
In real-life touring car races, if your tires slide, they lose contact with the road. This causes the engine to rev down due to the sudden decrease in resistance. This slows you down and leads to a time loss. Therefore, drivers must do their best not to slide by turning in gradually at the most appropriate time, applying the appropriate braking and/or down shifting and using the throttle to control the vehicle through each turn.
The developers of STCC worked very hard to reproduce the sense and feel of grip driving, and they wanted players to enjoy pushing each machine to its absolute limit! They wanted to change the minds of gamers from the numerous existing racers that focused heavily on arcade drifting and rather emphasize the real-world priority of maintaining contact with the track in order to achieve greater speed. Here are some fundamental driving tips that everyone should consider, regardless of whether they choose 4WD or FR.
SLOW IN… FAST OUT!
If you attempt to reduce your speed only after reaching the point of cornering, the entire weight of your vehicle will be thrown forward onto the front tires, causing great instability and also reducing your ability to accelerate out of the turn. So, when you come to a sharp corner, be sure to approach from the outside edge, and slow down in advance before entering, steer to the inside and then step on the gas as your car steers to the outside, exiting the turn.
WEIGHT BALANCE
The handling of each car in this game is based on real principals of physics, and there are a number of factors to consider. Therefore, each cars’ ability to turn changes every second according to the balance and distribution of weight to the front & back and the left & right. If you step off the gas or step on the brake, you shift the weight of the car forward on to the front tires, increasing their grip and resulting in sharper steering. On the other hand, if you step on the gas abruptly, the weight of the car shifts to the rear tires, reducing the grip of front tires and causing understeer, which can cause one to drift to the outer wall. This illustrates the importance of slow in… fast out! It is often best to prepare for a turn by shifting the weight of your vehicle in advance in order to make it through the turn as cleanly as possible.
OUT-IN-OUT
If you drive aggressively and take a heavy-handed approach, not only will your engine’s RPMs decrease, but your tail will slide out. In this game, it is SO important to maintain GRIP and avoid reduced RPMs at all times. This is achieved by taking a lighter and more balanced approach. ALWAYS REMEMBER: The quickest way to drive is in a straight line! That means that you have to find all of the straight lines in each course that you tackle. For this, you MUST apply the principal of OUT-IN-OUT driving in order to get the most speed out of each course. Always drive the straightaways near the outside shoulder, and begin cornering at the appropriate time so that your car comes gently to the inside shoulder in the turn and then goes back to the outside shoulder when exiting. In doing this, you have found the ‘straightest’ (and fastest) line through the turn. The developers of STCC were proud of their accomplishment in capturing this delicate and intricate nuance that is true of real-world racing and was very rare in games prior to the release of STCC!
ALWAYS AVOID ABRUPT STEERING
Since your field of vision in game is relatively small, you may have more speed going into a corner than you might think… Therefore, abrupt steering will inevitably cause tail slides. When you go into a corner, you need to decide how much you will steer beforehand, and after that, any necessary fine adjustments should be made with the accelerator, not the steering wheel. Remember… Turning before the turn (and not while already in the turn) is best for maintaining perfect control of the vehicle.
DRIVING STRATEGIES FOR FR CARS
If you follow the principals mentioned above, you have everything you need to master 4WD cars.
However, you’ll need a little more to harness the power of the FR cars. As we understand by now, it is faster NOT TO DRIFT, but FR has enough power to compensate for the occasional decrease in engine RPMs, so there are certain times where it may be faster to drift a little. However, you have to be very careful not to get caught in a drift that is hard to break free from, as this will result in a significant time loss. You must learn to drift smoothly and efficiently only when necessary and never so long that the tail slides and loses all contact with the road. When driving FR cars, there may be less of a penalty for abrupt steering as long as you respond quickly with the appropriate amount of counter steer.
SEGA Touring Car Course Guide
PLEASE NOTE: This guide assumes you are using the 3D Analog Control Pad. While some folks have found various degrees of success with the digital pad, it is definitely NOT recommended. This game was MADE for the 3D Analog pad. I don’t even recommend the Arcade Racer (steering wheel) as it’s far too touchy and will likely only complicate things. On the bright side, STCC offers extensive options for setting the dead zone and max of the analog stick in addition to offering a handy HALF BRAKE option that can be very useful if you decide to go with automatic transmission, as it acts almost like downshifting since it doesn’t lock the wheels completely.
COUNTRY CIRCUIT
Country is where it all starts, and it’s definitely the most straightforward track in the game… You can pretty much run it FLAT OUT, FULL THROTTLE without touching the brake at all if you time your turns correctly and go easy on the steering. On this course you should shoot for a goal of 22″ to 23″ second laps.
COUNTRY CIRCUIT STRATEGY
Lighter Line = Reduced Acceleration Area
Bracket [ ] Numbers = Gear Shift for Secure Driving
(1) First Corner (Right Turn)
Approach at maximum speed along the outside shoulder, and turn in toward the inner shoulder once the tower on your right passes from your field of view. Hold your acceleration through the turn and over a slight bump, maintaining control and moving to the outer shoulder.
(2) Second Corner (Right Turn)
This one’s easy. Just use out-middle-out cornering to maintain engine RPMs, and you’ll end up running along the left hand shoulder. Now cross over to the right hand shoulder in preparation for the upcoming left turn.
(3) Third Corner (Left Turn)
This is one of the few places where it may be best to reduce speed just a bit in order to avoid slipping.
However, with proper out-middle-out steering, you should be able to make it through quickly. Either way, you should avoid steering abruptly and, and be sure to keep your car from drifting into the grass/wall on the right hand shoulder.
(4) Fourth Corner (Right Turn)
Move to the outside (left) shoulder before entering this wide right turn. From the outside edge, take a slight right, turning delicately and reducing speed if necessary. When you reach the inside of the curve with a space of about one car between the inside shoulder and your vehicle, step on the gas and expand toward the outside, following right along the outside shoulder.
(5) Fifth Final Corner (Right Turn)
Just as you did on the first turn (with the tower) you’ll need to time this one, turning in ahead of time so that the nose of your car just barely misses the inner wall while keeping full acceleration through the turn. If your car begins to slide, ease off the steering/gas a bit to regain grip/control, however, if your timing is good, you can run through this curve at full throttle. Now cross over the finish line moving to the outside shoulder as you prepare for another lap.
GRUNWALD CIRCUIT
Grunwald is an excellent track that is let down a bit by it’s pretty poor (and variable) frame rate along the middle (mountainous) section. However, that doesn’t mean it can’t be conquered! You’ll need to time your turns well and focus on shifting the weight of your vehicle in advance of each corner in order to master this track. On this course you should shoot for a goal of 29″ to 30″ second laps.
GRUNWALD CIRCUIT STRATEGY
Lighter Line = Reduced Acceleration Area
Numbers = Gear Shift for Secure Driving
First Corner (Right Turn)
Enter from the outside shoulder turning in gradually toward the inside shoulder. If you time this right, the nose of your car should come very close to the inner wall but never tough it. If your timing is too slow, you may drift to the outside wall, in which case you will need to downshift or reduce speed to regain control.
Second Corner (Right Turn)
This corner can be taken at full speed, and it’s one of the few where you can turn in sharply without much penalty. In fact, it’s one of the more difficult turns to perform smoothly without your car ‘digging in’ a bit, so just approach at full speed, crank the wheel and then correct to neutral as you exit along the outer shoulder.
Third Corner (Right Turn)
To prepare for this next corner, you may want to turn your nose in slightly, throwing the weight of your car to the front-left (so this doesn’t happen when you’re actually IN the turn), then enter from the outside shoulder and only decrease speed if necessary to avoid drifting to much as you’ll need to position yourself for the next turn. If in manual transmission, you might drop to fifth here.
Fourth Corner (Left Turn)
Drop down into fifth gear (or reduce speed slightly) and clear the curve by cutting from the inside widely to the outside. You could drift, but timing is crucial and it could result in slow down. As you exit this turn, you will need to drive along the left shoulder and prepare to shift your weight in advance of this next turn.
Fifth Corner (Right Turn)
You can easily take this turn in fifth gear, however, if you’re in automatic transmission, you’ll need to reduce speed just a bit to make it through cleanly without bumping the outer wall. As mentioned in the previous step, shifting your weight slightly in advance helps you clear this turn without losing much speed.
Sixth Final Corner (Right Turn)
This sharp hairpin requires an out-middle-out approach. Either downshift to 4th gear or use the half-brake while accelerating in automatic in order to slow your car right before the turn. If you cut toward the inside shoulder too early, your engine RPMs will drop radically, so keep the engine in the red zone and maintain acceleration. Quickly return to sixth gear as you exit this corner through a long easy left and over the finish line.
BRICK WALL TOWN
Brick Wall is where the ‘men are separated from the boys’ so to speak… This is the one course where I actually DO recommend some drifting, though how much you use may make or break your run. This is where everything you’ve learned gets tested. Advance turning, weight shifting, throttle control and conservative braking all come into play. I suggest running this course in Time Attack FREE RUN and taking it slowly at first and then building up speed as your memorization of the track is solidified. When you get it right, this can be one of the most rewarding tracks in the game. On this course you should shoot for a goal of 29″ to 30″ second laps.
BRICK WALL TOWN STRATEGY
Lighter Line = Reduced Acceleration Area
Numbers = Gear Shift for Secure Driving
First Corner (Right Turn)
Before you reach this first sharp turn, you’ll navigate a long corridor curving to the left. You’ll need full throttle for maximum speed, and these consecutive curves are lenient, so you’ll drive a straight line curving slightly to the left. There is no need for excessive steering here. When you come to the end of the long curve, you’ll drive along the left shoulder. When you see the first corner, drop to forth gear and turn sharply inward. If you’re in automatic transmission, you’ll let off the gas, turn in sharply and pump the gas pedal to induce automatic downshifting. You should end up driving through the gravel along the outside shoulder.
Second Corner (Right Turn)
As you continue though the gravel, when you see the next corner, you’ll drop into 4th gear and turn in at a 45 degree angle. If you’re too late, you’ll hit the outer wall. If you’re too early, you’ll hit the inner corner wall. This is a crucial area where it’s best to drive conservatively until you can memorize the correct timing. If in automatic transmission, you’ll need to pump the gas through the gravel and then turn in sharply. After exiting the curve, accelerate to maximum speed and run along the left shoulder.
Third Corner (Right Turn)
At about 2/3 that way down this straightaway, you’ll drop into fourth and turn right sharply. If in automatic transmission, you should half-brake before the turn, then turn sharply while holding half throttle and applying appropriate counter steer. This area can slow you down significantly, so you’ll need to practice it to get it perfect. Exit at full speed ahead, but prepare for a fast approaching left.
Fourth Corner (Left Turn)
You’ll want to enter this turn a bit early, using a middle-in-middle approach. You may even cross over the grass on the inside of the corner without loss of speed. If you start this turn when you are already at the corner, you will crash into the outer wall. Turn early, and control your acceleration. To prepare for the next corner you will likely need to reduce speed just a bit and move to the outer shoulder.
Fifth Corner (Right Turn)
Drop down into forth gear before entering this curve, and run along the inside shoulder throughout the turn. It’s a very long turn that may have you drifting outwards, so reduce speed if necessary or try pumping the gas if you prefer. If you end up on the grass, just accelerate through it and get back on tarmac. Speed up and go into this next turn at full throttle.
Sixth Corner (Left Turn)
Much like the last long turn (but now a left) it’s best to attack from the outside and moving inward. If you cut across the inside grass, you may drift too far to the outside. Remember to find the straightest line possible and take that. Either take this corner in fifth gear or reduce speed momentarily while turning in. Then go full speed down the final stretch.
Seventh Final Corner (Right Turn)
When you reach 2/3 of the way down the straight along the left shoulder, drop way down to second gear (or come off the gas and floor the half-brake). Then take a wide right turn with half acceleration. There are different ways to take this corner, and many folks prefer to drive headlong into the far wall and simply rebound. However, if want to do it right, you’ll need to slow down and turn the vehicle’s nose in sharply before accelerating. As a result of the sharp speed reduction, your weight will be on the front tires, which means if you accelerate out of the turn too early, your car may become squirrely and want to crash into the outer wall. It’s important to make it around the entire turn and ensure that your car’s nose is pointed down the straight before accelerating. Now punch it and get up over that line as quickly as possible!
A massive Saturn fan since Christmas ’96, Dave is enthusiastic about growing the community and spreading Saturn love and knowledge to fans old and new. Co-founding the SEGA SATURN, SHIRO! podcast back in 2017 and creating the SHIRO! SHOW in 2020, he seeks to create interesting and engaging Saturn-related content for the community. Dave’s interests circle around game preservation, and he is a huge fan of game magazines and developer interviews.
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