Column: Brazilian Stock Cars Are Not As Popular As They Should Be

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Sim racing is objective, each person is going to like different categories and styles of racing. However, one series that I feel is criminally underrated is the Brazillian Stock Car Pro Series.

Automobilista 2 is the go-to place for Brazilian stock car racing with so many different eras represented within the sim. The original 1979 Chevrolet Opala is a stand-out addition alongside the modern Toyota and Chevrolet machinery.

Not only is there variety within the car choice, but also within the track choice. 43 Brazilian track layouts are available within Automobilista 2, so a full championship re-creation is certainly on the cards for those who love to relive the past through sim racing.

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1986 Chevrolet Opala saw the second era of the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series.

What is the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series?​

Originally based upon the road-going Chevrolet Opala, the Brazilian Stock Car Series was born when General Motors separated the dominant Chevrolet Impala from Division 1 racing. The Opala one-make series quickly gained popularity. Many F1 drivers have raced in Stock Car Brasil such as Rubens Barrichello, Felipe Massa, Nelson Piquet Jr., Jacques Villeneuve and Ricardo Zonta.

After the success of the late 1970s and early 1980s, the late 80s and early 90s saw a decline in popularity for the series. This era isn’t represented in Automobilista 2, mainly due to the regulations being swiftly changed back.

After 1994, the main car was the Chevrolet Omega. Race day tickets were also free to the public. The stands were filled once more and the championship would enjoy a great few years before General Motors sold up in 1999.

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2023 Toyota Corolla

The 2000s brought a new engine to the series, the V8 from JL Racing. More manufacturers came and went and the cars became spectacularly fast for the circuits they raced on. This era of the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series would last until 2019 when Toyota Gazoo Racing would enter with their Corolla.

The series was refreshed for the 2020 season and was called Nova Geração – New Generation. The new-generation cars were redesigned to throw back to the championship’s roots. The cars are still based on the JL09 chassis that was used throughout the 2010s.

Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series In Automobilista 2​

Single-player racing in Automobilista 2 can be so immersive and rewarding. Especially when cars and tracks that are period-correct are used. The 1979 Chevrolet Impala mixed with a classic layout of Interlagos is unbelievably fun.

The cars are controllable with just the right amount of horsepower partnered with a 4-speed H-pattern gearbox. The door-to-door touring car-style racing is blood-pumping and full of hard racing. The cars are tough and can withstand punishment. Do not be afraid to get your elbows out!

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1979 Chevrolet Opala saw the inception of the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series.

Automobilista 2 is famous for its immersive VR experience. These basic and analogue cars fit the bill for immersion perfectly.

Use an H-pattern shifter and clutch pedal if you have them. Whilst not essential, using a shifter and clutch adds a level of realistic control that you will lose out on if you drive it like a modern sequential car. Driving quickly and slightly sideways seems to be the best way to drive these old beasts. Clutch control and being in the right gear are important to reach that level of control.

There are online challenges and time trials that include the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, but online races are few and far between. Open lobbies are often chaotic, but they are not all the same. Check out our other Automobilista 2 column to discover how open lobbies can be great fun!

iRacing And A Lack Of Players​

iRacing is often considered the pinnacle of online sim racing. The Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series was added to the service in March 2022. Since its inception, the series hasn’t been a mainstay on many users’ calendars.


When the series was released, community races and events were plentiful. However, the series’ fate already seemed sealed only a month after its release. People moved back to the GT classes and the fantastic Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series was lost to the realms of the unpopulated iRacing series’.

The dissipation of popularity seems to stem from the lack of an international viewing audience for the real series. The track calendar normally consists of some of the more obscure and less popular iRacing locations as well, further alienating the user base from the series.

Outside of iRacing and Automobilista 2, the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series does not make an appearance in any modern titles. There is a significant lack of support for this series, somewhat undeserved, but despite this, there are events now and again that form strong grids within Automobilista 2 – if you can find them.

What do you think about the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series? Let Us Know your Experiences on X @OverTake_gg or down in the comments below!
About author
Connor Minniss
Website Content Editor & Motorsport Photographer aiming to bring you the best of the best within the world of sim racing.

Comments

Isn't there an Argentinian sim coming out this year? I remember seeing something about that on this site.
I think you are talking about Pista? Besides having expressed my thoughts about why I will steer clear of it, I have not seen any news besides the first tech demo. Maybe there has been some development, but it's behind closed doors so far AFAIK.
 
There hasn't been a dev update on Pista Motorsport since October, but they have recently hinted at big news coming soon on their Instagram. According to my sub-par Spanish, anyway :D

The devs have given some interesting insight into the project last year, too.
Just checked the Instagram page, the latests posts are Assetto Corsa mod releases. The latest showing regarding the new game was November 2023, with an onboard lap of a regional series car around a track with puddles. No other news after that.
 
There is only so much time you can spend on simracing (if you have a job or have to study, have family and other things in life), why should e.g. Europeans care about some Brazilian stock cars? Especially if there are gimmicks like P2P, a lot of people don't like crap like that.
There are plenty of choices around GT class or other series. I could easily list 10+ other series/car classes I would want to add to my weekly schedule if I had enough time for that before stock cars (I actually went to check on iRacing, counted at least 12 series).
Before someone asks, I personally prefer GTE class or Porsche cup car not GT3 (but I do race those a lot).
 
...more simple....and now it's correct ;)
He really means better physics, a lot of real Brazilian Stock Car drivers including a 2 times champion Casagrande agree that the AMS 1 are more close to the reality ( with the exception of the slippery banana curbs)
 
"Outside of iRacing and Automobilista 2, the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series does not make an appearance in any modern titles"

wrong. there is one called Automobilista (1) which has far better physics than either AMS2 or iRacing
"Outside of iRacing and Automobilista 2, the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series does not make an appearance in any modern titles"

wrong. there is one called Automobilista (1) which has far better physics than either AMS2 or iRacing
AMS 1 is eleven years old... That can not be considered a modern simulator. Hence the statement...
 
The physics of the 20-23 stock cars are very bad. Cars move sideways and have exaggerated traction. I hope they improve the physics and sound of Stock cars 24
I do know what you mean, at times the cars do feel like they crab walk along the tarmac. But I find that quite a bit with AMS2.
 
It was a story iirc, so that's gone. Must've been two weeks ago or so, so we shall see :cautious:
There's a video review of the recent close beta update :

"Chuviaaaa" (rain) has been implemented (not mocking, just each time I hear the accent my brain needs a few seconds to adapt, always surprised! I should watch Argentinian movies to solve the issue...).

The lack of sense of speed in previous versions has been adressed, one car and one track has been added, and the rain has been implemented. Strangely, driving on puddles has low effect although in the previous version it was well implemented. Maybe it is the track were the video made the test.

The game coming out in 2024 seems really ambitious. It will probably be another early access. The core of.the game, physics, seem to be refined, but let's be careful with this youtuber, as in another video, he states he is working as a voice-over for a mobile game developped by the same team. At least he doesn't hide that and his analyses on Pista Motorsport have always seemed fair, pointing the goods and the bads.

He clearly states that, although the driving sensations are exceptionnal (which is in itself very good), a lot of work has to be done before the game comes out, sounds and graphics, and he hadn't the opportunity to make races. Reading between the lines, it is a tech demo of a good physics engine and every other aspect needs to be updated or to be done, unless some heavy work not included in the beta is being done. It may be the case, it seems the few content, cars and tracks, is high quality ; the devs may eelease new content when they are sure of its quality. It would be another approach than the one we have seen for many years, consisting of releasing maximum content with poor quality and broken features, and updating each piece later.

Working on a smaller project, a mobile game, isn't a bad idea to avoid to rush the release of the main project. Would that big annoucement be the mobile game coming out?

Anyway, all we can see is that the project is going on...
 
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here are the particular national series which don't get coverage in any sim racing title:

- every single national series except BTCC and DTM
 
Dead Serie in iRacing. iRenters fault. They should give Stock Brasilian Cars as free. But those guys are stubborn. They can give 4 paid tracks for free in on move, but can't give one or two cars for free on a dead series, that will be dead till the end of times.
Also @adamb You never started iRacing. Then don't say AMS has far better physics than iRacing. They are a bit easier to drive on AMS but are not better just because of that.
 
AC is 11, rFactor2 is 12, and iRacing 16.
AMS 1 is just 8 years old.
AC base content is dead outside of CM and all of its mods.
RF2 is dead and all support has gone to LMU
iRacing is regularly updated and still heavily supported, AMS1 couldn't be further from that. AMS1 was released in 2013 under the name Stock Car Extreme.
 
AC base content is dead outside of CM and all of its mods.
RF2 is dead and all support has gone to LMU
iRacing is regularly updated and still heavily supported, AMS1 couldn't be further from that. AMS1 was released in 2013 under the name Stock Car Extreme.
iRacing can get updated and supported till the dusk of man, but it will be nowhere near as exhilarating as AMS1.

Beethoven is dead.
Why should I listen to his music, the guy's been dead for 200 years, so outdated.

What's up with these new kids on the block?!
 
I think that active player base shows a lot where these "superior" games are at. If they were that great, they wouldn't be practically dead would they? Racing games have advanced so much in last like 5 years, some people just live in past/nostalgia.
 
Premium
No matter the topic... the discussion ends up the same always it seems... Some people don't seem to understand the concept: If you keep doing what you have always done, you will get the result that you have always got. Now replace the doing by saying....
 
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