Image credit: Porsche Newsroom
Assetto Corsa Competizione has established itself as the go-to GT3 simulator, enjoying enormous popularity among sim racers. The sim has everything fans of GT-style endurance racing could ask for - except for a the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. Calls for the addition of the Green Hell are almost as old as ACC is - and their dream might actually come true!
As the official simulation of the SRO, who hosts GT World Challenge Europe as its biggest endurance racing series, the marquee event included in ACC is the Spa 24 Hours. Licensing was usually the main argument as to why the Nürburgring 24 Hours could not join the lineup, with the race being hosted by the ADAC instead of the SRO. As a result, racers wo tried to turn left instead of right after the Veedol Schikane at the Nürburgring Grand Prix circuit were met with a tire barrier instead of roughly 20 kilometers of race track goodness in the Eifel mountains.
A joint announcement by the SRO and the ADAC Nordrhein at the 24 Hours of Spa sent ACC fans into a frenzy, however: From 2024 onwards, the endurance classic at the Nürburgring will be part of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, which is organized by the SRO - meaning the often quoted licensing issue is off the table.
Does this mean that ACC fans should already set aside DLC money for whenever the Nordschleife gets added? Well, not necessarily. There are factors that are in favor of adding the circuit to the sim, but also some that could mean that tire barrier before the final turn of the GP circuit is there to stay.
Even though an authentic recreation of the race would not be possible with the myriad of classes present in the real race, including oddball fan favorites like the Opel Manta of Olaf Beckmann, ACC's classes would make for a compelling grid regardless. Aside from the GT3 field, GT4, Porsche Cup and BMW M2 CS Racing vehicles could line up - and that is excluding the Ferrari 488 Challenge EVO and the Lamborghini Super Trofeo grids that do not race at the 'Ring and the GT2 class, which is set to be released as DLC in due time.
Coupled with the diversity within the classes themselves, the addition of this single (albeit enormous) circuit could see ACC become the go-to sim for the virtual edition of the Nürburgring 24 Hours, which would likely be immensely popular with fans and might even draw in numerous new drivers who have not given Assetto Corsa Competizione a try yet. Put simply: The financial initiative would very likely be there for Kunos Simulazioni - who also possess a laser scan of the track for Assetto Corsa.
Tying in with this, it could take considerable effort to get the Nordschleife in line technologically: As it stands, ACC is rather demanding on hardware already, and this is with considerably shorter circuits, Spa-Francorchamps being the longest at roughly 7 kilometers. The Nürburgring configuration used for the 24 Hours clocks in at 25.378 kilometers - over three times the distance of Spa. Unless a solution for optimization can be found to make the circuit run as smoothly as the rest, it might be a hurdle that could be too high to clear alongside the development of AC2.
The Nürburgring is already in Assetto Corsa Competizione - but only the GP circuit that locks out racers from the Nordschleife via tire barriers. Image credit: Kunos Simulazioni
The addition of the Nordschleife would certainly make me revisit the sim as I did find ACC's driving model quite fun and in-depth in the past before other classes and vehicles have taken over most of my time spent in the rig. There are few combinations that I find exciting in GT3s, but the Nürburgring and Bathurst are at the top of this list.
Would it make sense to add the Nordschleife to ACC? That is for Kunos to determine. I think that it would be the perfect parting gift for the end of development of the sim, so to speak. Make one big, final splash to release the one piece of content players have wanted for years and send off Assetto Corsa Competizione in style - and secure a boatload of brownie points within the community for it as well.
Assetto Corsa Competizione has established itself as the go-to GT3 simulator, enjoying enormous popularity among sim racers. The sim has everything fans of GT-style endurance racing could ask for - except for a the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. Calls for the addition of the Green Hell are almost as old as ACC is - and their dream might actually come true!
As the official simulation of the SRO, who hosts GT World Challenge Europe as its biggest endurance racing series, the marquee event included in ACC is the Spa 24 Hours. Licensing was usually the main argument as to why the Nürburgring 24 Hours could not join the lineup, with the race being hosted by the ADAC instead of the SRO. As a result, racers wo tried to turn left instead of right after the Veedol Schikane at the Nürburgring Grand Prix circuit were met with a tire barrier instead of roughly 20 kilometers of race track goodness in the Eifel mountains.
A joint announcement by the SRO and the ADAC Nordrhein at the 24 Hours of Spa sent ACC fans into a frenzy, however: From 2024 onwards, the endurance classic at the Nürburgring will be part of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, which is organized by the SRO - meaning the often quoted licensing issue is off the table.
Does this mean that ACC fans should already set aside DLC money for whenever the Nordschleife gets added? Well, not necessarily. There are factors that are in favor of adding the circuit to the sim, but also some that could mean that tire barrier before the final turn of the GP circuit is there to stay.
Why the Nordschleife Might Be Added
The main point that is in favor of the mighty Eifel circuit being added to ACC is that it has to be the single most-requested feature or DLC for the sim, period. Racers are longing for the day they can throw around their favorite GT3 vehicle around the Green Hell in ACC, and the thought is enticing, without a doubt.Even though an authentic recreation of the race would not be possible with the myriad of classes present in the real race, including oddball fan favorites like the Opel Manta of Olaf Beckmann, ACC's classes would make for a compelling grid regardless. Aside from the GT3 field, GT4, Porsche Cup and BMW M2 CS Racing vehicles could line up - and that is excluding the Ferrari 488 Challenge EVO and the Lamborghini Super Trofeo grids that do not race at the 'Ring and the GT2 class, which is set to be released as DLC in due time.
Coupled with the diversity within the classes themselves, the addition of this single (albeit enormous) circuit could see ACC become the go-to sim for the virtual edition of the Nürburgring 24 Hours, which would likely be immensely popular with fans and might even draw in numerous new drivers who have not given Assetto Corsa Competizione a try yet. Put simply: The financial initiative would very likely be there for Kunos Simulazioni - who also possess a laser scan of the track for Assetto Corsa.
Why the Nordschleife Might Not Be Added
As the current version number of 1.9.4 implies, Assetto Corsa Competizione is fairly far along in its development cycle, and with Assetto Corsa 2 being on the horizon for an early 2024 release, Kunos might not have the resources or decide to pour them into AC2 instead of adding the Nordschleife to ACC. Instead, they could try and leverage the new addition to the SRO licensing package as one of the key selling points for the upcoming sim.Tying in with this, it could take considerable effort to get the Nordschleife in line technologically: As it stands, ACC is rather demanding on hardware already, and this is with considerably shorter circuits, Spa-Francorchamps being the longest at roughly 7 kilometers. The Nürburgring configuration used for the 24 Hours clocks in at 25.378 kilometers - over three times the distance of Spa. Unless a solution for optimization can be found to make the circuit run as smoothly as the rest, it might be a hurdle that could be too high to clear alongside the development of AC2.
The Nürburgring is already in Assetto Corsa Competizione - but only the GP circuit that locks out racers from the Nordschleife via tire barriers. Image credit: Kunos Simulazioni
Editor's Take
Assetto Corsa Competizione has not seen much time on my rig recently, as GT3 racing was not particularly interesting to me lately - save for the Nürburgring 24 Hours in iRacing, which I completed with three friends. Being able to recreate the event in a more true-to-life way would be very exciting to me, as iRacing's limit on different vehicle models per race hinders this somewhat.The addition of the Nordschleife would certainly make me revisit the sim as I did find ACC's driving model quite fun and in-depth in the past before other classes and vehicles have taken over most of my time spent in the rig. There are few combinations that I find exciting in GT3s, but the Nürburgring and Bathurst are at the top of this list.
Would it make sense to add the Nordschleife to ACC? That is for Kunos to determine. I think that it would be the perfect parting gift for the end of development of the sim, so to speak. Make one big, final splash to release the one piece of content players have wanted for years and send off Assetto Corsa Competizione in style - and secure a boatload of brownie points within the community for it as well.
