Thundering your way to the finish line.
Simracing is fun. One of the reasons why, is that it allows you to try some amazing cars, experiencing something that would simply be impossible otherwise. Maybe because you would not be able to afford it, maybe because these cars just do not exist anymore. A fine example is the 'Can-Am ’71' mod for Grand Prix Legends.
This is one of my favourite mods, probably second only to the massive Power&Glory expansion for the good old GTR2. It features almost the entire car roster from the season, however with some sore exception like the missing BRM P167, and a complete track pack is also available giving you the possibility of racing these monsters in the locations they actually raced at back then. All models are shaped beautifully, considering the evident limitations of a 20-year-old engine that was not meant for closed wheel cars. Skins, thanks to the historical add-on patch released, do perfectly recreate the liveries of all the vehicles, one by one, with incredible detail. Finally yet importantly, sounds are astonishing, with the deep growl of these gigantic engines represented truthfully.
Specific talent files are also supplied to provide both a generic list of drivers entries, with the most notorious obviously included, and a specific one for each event, where AI drivers recreate the race as it really happened during the season. The former option for those who want to race an entire championship and enjoy it as it unfolds with consistent opponents, the latter meant for those who want to relive the scenario as if they were there, maybe changing the outcome of the race.
Physics is also an important aspect, as for any simracing title or mod, with every car posing a different challenge. Racing in a McLaren is somewhat easier than with the rest of the cars, but you are going to face some tough competition from both the privateers and the works team. The Lola and the Shadow are the obvious pursuers, with the “white elephant” being the quicker of the two and maybe the more enjoyable too. The Ferrari is the underdog, but with some good practice, it can compete for the podium without much trouble, while the Porsche is just out of pace. The work and profound improvement, fruit of Penske and Donohue’s work on the Stuttgart racer, is after all yet to come in 1971.
Racing this mod is just so much fun. These lightweight cars, stocked with 6 to 8 litres engines, on twisty narrow tracks, are a thrill. You cannot stop smiling, while you are holding on for dear life with every bit of rubber left in your tires for every inch of track still available. Taming and mastering these beasts is stressful, to say the least, yet incredibly satisfying when done right. Racing the AI is remarkably immersive, with drivers like Stewart, Hulme, Revson, Adamowicz, Andretti, and Posey going all in with no regrets. Being along such legends, even if they are just their virtual counterpart, leaves you speechless. The track atmosphere does all the rest.
Can-Am might be no more, at least as it used to be. These cars might be no more. Drivers, champions, legends like these might not be seen on a racetrack all together anymore; but thank heavens for simracing, for it allows you to travel back in time and be too part of it.
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