Our resident blogger Eliza Indriani looks back on an incredible year and how hard work and determination pays off. We are super proud of you Eliza!
Eliza Indriani, our resident blogger here at SimRace247 had an amazing year in 2022 and a journey that was destined to work out with hard work, commitment and never giving up. Eliza, we are super proud of you.
Alright, here’s my 2022 recap!
Hey guys! I dedicated this blog to looking back to what I’ve done in 2022. 2022 is a year of learning and achieving for me. It’s been great, although it’s not an easy path. I felt burn-out sometimes, lack of sleep, tons of coffee, hours of practice yet still failed and made a lot of mistakes, and more. But, let’s put aside all the negative parts of it and see the bright side. I see myself growing and becoming the better version of me. I improved a lot on my driving, I have more experience, and I see my channels and pages growing.
Honestly, building the community and having fun and learning together while I stream is the most fun part. I remembered vividly when I first started streaming I got nothing to say, I only have 1/2 viewers daily; looking into what’s happening right now on my streams I couldn’t believe my Twitch channel is growing so fast and I have a lot of viewers I call friends right now. This blog is also dedicated to you all. Thank you for being here and supporting me. I love doing what I’m doing and I wanna keep on going.
So, yeah. It’s been a great year and thank you to my partners Thrustmaster, simrace247, Next Level Racing, Racelab, and Mr Hedge iRacing Photography for always supporting me in sim racing.
Alright, let’s take a look into my sim racing journey this year!
ELZ became resident blogger of SimRace247
First thing first, back in December 2021 or early January 2022 Darren asked me to be the resident blogger on SimRace247.com. Honestly, I was afraid to accept this opportunity; I don’t think I have a talent/skill in writing, I don’t know how to write a blog. Writing my first weekly blog was a real struggle for me. I took this opportunity anyway so I can learn how to write a blog and this is the best decision I’ve made so far. I started to understand more about sim racing through writing, and my writing skills also improved over time.
Gen G X Toyota GR86 Racer’s Edge
Back in January 2022 I got an email from Gen G Esports. They were looking for talent for their upcoming project with Toyota USA. At first I didn’t believe that because I received tons of spam emails. That’s why I did some research first before replying to the email.
Everything went great, I also had a zoom meeting with Jordy (she’s the project manager) and I knew for sure that this is a legit deal and we both agreed to work together on this project.
I flew to LA for filming. Honestly this felt unreal until today; I took a flight to LA for work with Toyota USA and one of the biggest esports teams in the world Gen G Esports, it was such a great experience. I also met a lot of wonderful people in sim racing and motorsports such as Samuel Du, Samantha Tan, Sara Choi, Cyrus Cross, and more.
Thrustmaster Rockets
In March I became a part of Thrustmaster Rockets Esports. This was such a big achievement for me, never thought I could be in their esports team. I’ve been using Thrustmaster’s products since I started doing sim racing, I also have the flight stick to play games on PlayStation. I can say Thrustmaster is the first brand that introduced me to sim racing and I am so happy to represent one of the most well-known brands in sim racing. Check out my profile here: https://www.thrustmaster.com/en-us/people_esports/eliza-indriani/
24 Hours of Spa
Back in May 2022 I got invited by Yvonne Houffelaar to race in the 24H of Spa with her team. I didn’t have any experience in a 24 hour race before. This was my first 24 hour race.
I felt nervous going into this race, There were a lot of fast drivers on the grid; I was racing in a top split and I could feel the pressure.
There are still a lot for me to learn to survive a 24H race in dynamic weather. I survived my first 24H race, I got my consistency and I remember I could cover the night stints nicely when all my teammates were tired and get some rest. I will definitely do another 24H race in 2023, stay tuned!
MX vs. ATV game launching
In July 2022 Graeme from THQNordic reached out to me and asked if I could do a stream and make a quick review about their new released game MX vs. ATV: Legends. I have never played an MX game before, I was so excited to try this game on the first day of the release. It was a fun experience for me and my viewers. Thank you THQNordic for this opportunity!
F1 22 game launching
July was a busy month for me, I got 2 games to review; MX vs. ATV and F1 22. I got this opportunity from Thrustmaster and Codemasters. F1 22 is the first F1 game that I have, I struggled at first but now I am slowly getting better in F1 games. I’m planning to do more races in 2023. Hope I can get better results in F1 games.
6 Hours of Suzuka solo
In August I accepted the challenge from my viewers to do a 6H race solo on ACC. I was driving the Honda (never drove this car before) the struggle was real, it was one of the toughest races for me. Result wasn’t great, but I gained a lot of experience.
Will I do more endurance race solo in the future? Absolutely!
Next Level Racing Ambassador
In September 2022 I became the ambassador of Next Level Racing. Another great achievement for me. I can say I learned a lot in iRacing through their community races. Check out my ambassador profile here: https://nextlevelracing.com/ambassadors/eliza-indriani/
Thank you very much to Next Level Racing for this opportunity, let’s achieve more in 2023!
MrHedge iRacing Photography become my sim photographer
In early December 2022 Adam Hedgecock became my sim photographer partner. I always adored his works, I can say Adam has a good taste in photography.
VCO 10H of Suzuka
December is a big month for me, lots of races, collaboration with other streamers, and more. One of the most memorable moments for me is when I was invited by Yvonne to do the VCO 10H of Suzuka representing team simrace247. Honestly, this race was one of the most dramatic races for me, Yvonne and I did a really great job; we were on the podium and there was a big chance that we could win this race. Too bad I was lagging so bad during my stint, I got into a big incident and the car was toasted and Yvonne was struggling to drive this broken car. We didn’t have enough time to repair our car, that’s why Yvonne decided to keep on driving and finish the race. We finished at P4, that was the best result we could get that day after all the circumstances along the way.
JumpStartX Charity Race
To celebrate Christmas, me, AshVandelay, Lovefortysix, Annie Rabbets, and more were doing a charity race hosted by Annie Rabbets. It was a fun charity race where all the streamers are racing together to raise donations. It was a fun race indeed! I had a really good race at Sonoma and Bathurst, the scariest tracks for me. From that moment I know that I’m getting better in sim racing, and I’m willing to learn more.
There’s still a lot more happening in 2022, but those are the most memorable moments for me in my sim racing journey. It was a roller coaster ride for me; I learned a lot, I gained more experience, I could become the person I never thought I could be! I’m so excited to see what 2023 has for me, I hope there will be more achievements next year!
Happy new year everyone, I hope 2022 treats you well. If 2022 is a bad year for you, hang in there! I hope 2023 will be a better year for all of us. Stay safe everyone, I will see you next year! I love you and I appreciate you all.
With love,
ELZ Indriani
