Which Circuit Would You Like to See Digitalised in a Game or Mod?

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While researching racing circuits around the globe, I have come across many circuits without any digital representation. And that's a shame. Whether hosting races now or in the past, circuits should be digitalised to preserve a bit of history. So, I would like to ask you, which circuit without digital representation would you like to see featured?

I have talked about this topic before. My first article on RaceDepartment, "The Importance of Modding in Sim Racing", already mentioned that digitalisation means preserving a bit of history.

How Developers Could Benefit from Historic Venues​

However, it is not only the modders who can keep historic venues alive. The game developers themselves could take a good look at past circuits to feature in their works. At the moment, Reiza seems to be the only professional development studio somewhat focusing on historical content.

And thinking about it, that is weird.

Racing game developers have one massive pool to drown their money in: licensing costs. Licensing cars, licensing circuits, and those licenses are not cheap! This begs the question of how smaller development teams could save a lot of money by not licensing those expensive modern circuits.

Solution 1: Fictional Tracks
Solution 2: Historical Tracks

There is a boatload of circuits across the globe which no longer exist. Many of those come from somewhat of a golden era of motorsports, the 50s and 60s. From those times, many circuits still exist today, largely unchanged. So tracks from the time can be brought up to date in terms of safety standards and the like.

So why does every racing circuit officially featured in a game need to be the same current version of the Nürburgring, Spa-Francorchamps or Suzuka?

How Modders Could Benefit from Historic Venues​

Though, some tracks should still be up for grabs for the modders. After all, with recent announcements on how the modding systems in Rennsport and GTR Revival are supposed to work, modders could earn a pretty penny modding their hometown historical circuit.

Monetary gain aside, wouldn't it just be nice to find out how it could've felt like driving that one circuit that doesn't exist anymore? That is a question I keep asking myself from time to time. And furthermore, what if that circuit wasn't abandoned but driven nowadays with modern cars?

All that beauty is possible thanks to the powers of digitalisation.

Back on Track: What Circuit Would You Like to See?​

After taking that little detour to once again hope and bring some more people into modding for digitalisation, let's get back to the question at hand.

What Circuit would you like to see featured that hasn't been digitalised yet?

Personally, I would like to see every track digitalised. My dream is to have a complete database for all of the world's racing circuits. But if I had to pick some special ones, I would choose
  • Wachauring (the circuit I live closest to)
  • Autódromo de Benguela (Angolan circuit now converted to housing)
  • Evbuobanosa Motorsport Raceway (short-lived Nigerian circuit with races between 2017 and 2020, also I tried modding this one a while back, should continue on it)
And what about you? What circuits would you like to see digitalised? Maybe you can give some modder the inspiration for their next project, so let us know in the comments down below!
About author
Julian Strasser
Motorsports and Maker-stuff enthusiast. Part time jack-of-all-trades. Owner of tracc.eu, a sim racing-related service provider and its racing community.

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Le Mans Circuit de La Sarthe 1987-1989 with Dunlop chicane but without chicanes on Les Hunaudieres and Le Mans 1990 with new chicanes on Mulsanne Straight but with old pit complex like in Le Mans race 1990
 
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Old tracks are great if you drive old cars. The size and speed of modern race cars are not conducive to the "great old tracks" everyone raves about. As soon as you put a modern FI or GT3 car on those facilities you hear, " there is no where to pass". Well a track that had great racing for a Cooper Mini ain't gonna cut it for a M8 BMW.

A lot of those track sucked.

Why would you put fat B O P'd lump on a classic track ?
 
Freimettigen. Never heard of? Its because its my home town or better my jogging route. No one would ever do it, so i did it myself and learned moddeling. and voilà. i have designed my home circuit myself
 

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Think it's past 20 years since my first wish of a well authentic modelled version of CDR - the Continental Divide Raceways. This after - as an European - going real bonkers in North- and South American classic closed circuits when firstly discovered track mods for F1C99-02 and by then racing Can-Am mods, seaching for authentic relevant tracks of which the monsters were built for.

CDR of which I catched up on and found that top American drivers of the time regarded the track as "a better version of Riverside".
So far I've only had luck finding a very early 0.0.1-ish beta rF1 mod on the rFactorCentral, but this is many years ago, long gone and link is missing.

So in the meantime I deal with comparable Riverside and Stardust in AC, GTR2 and rF1 until my wish suddenly and silently hopefully will come through.

So a well trustworthy authentic version of CDR is heartly welcomed here. Nomatter if it's a mod-release for AC, rF2, rF1, GTR2, GTL, STx or an official sim release. Though I would really like to VR drive such a release :)

Aaaand then for 1001th time or so. And this is not an unfamiliar track, but the essense of how track evolvement makes a completely different track decades later. And I badly want this classic:

1983 Nürburgring Nordschleife.
Preferable gladly precisely modelled reflecting the late May weekend of 1000 Kilometer Stundenrennen for the WSC.
This is for the history books and lessons for newer generations, that Nordschleife is not just Nordscleife, but a totally different world decades ago, though same slopes. And learn why.
And, in addition, if weather could be modelled 1:1 reflecting training sessions, qualification session and entire race session.

This could be an excellent 40 years tribute speaking a certain lap record.

Now, I feel a bit like this article is aimed for me, but I simply don't have the time. People who know my insufferable ramblings here will know that my list would be a near endless christmas wish list.
 
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I've enoyed this modders work immensely, and though both rF1 and GTR2-versions of Gesamtstrecke and Steilstrecke have been available a decade earlier and I've been keen to those, nothing beats Sergio Loros version of which includes all the layouts talking directly to your heart, simulating and trying to immense being Bernd Rosemeyer, Rudolf Caracciola, Tazio Nuvolari, Hans Stuck or the like in their preferred grand prix cars. And now being able to VR race via constantly improved AC through CM, SOL, etc, Sergio Loros work really comes to justice here :inlove:
 
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Think it's past 20 years since my first wish of a well authentic modelled version of CDR - the Continental Divide Raceways.
I have been thinking about doing this track for AC, but my Blender skills need some work. Also, by the time I get it done, we may all be using AC2... or Rennsport.
 
It's worth saying that there are so many incredible historic venues that I've been introduced to through sim racing, that whatever I can dream of there's a whole world of 'unknown unknowns' out there which are being brought to life.
This is really the hidden treasure of simracing of which I as a track hunter since childhood was my fuel into this world. And then when I thought I knew them all, including the deceased ones, I've discovered more Heurekas since first mods were available for Grand Prix 2, when Keimola was available there already shortly after GP2 release (just to be met by bragging and snorting petrol head uncles that I as Scandinavian really should know this track :roflmao:).

Now my "unknown unknowns" are that I really cannot remember which tracks I knew before I downloaded sim version or if a track mod was an eye opener, especially when you've had more decades spending time just vacuum cleaning the Internet for historic track mods meanwhile reading motorsports history books and watching history vids on the tube.
 
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Monza Florio Circuit which was raced from 1934 to 1938. We've had this track available for RACE 07 but have never seen it in any recent more modern sims. By far the coolest layout for the Monza Circuit if you ask me.

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Spirit of Speed 1937 had this and apparent simmers called it the worst sim in history. Personally I loved the chance to drive the totally unique courses in it.

Can never win, we're the most opinionated hobby group in the world. :thumbsdown:
 
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Spirit of Speed 1937 had this and apparent simmers called it the worst sim in history. Personally I loved the chance to drive the courses in it.

Can never win, we're the most opinionated hobby group in the world. :thumbsdown:
Oh glad to discover I'm not a sole member of the "SS1937 Anonymous" club.
 
Circuito de Navarra, my local track, Bilbao Urban Circuit, wich hosted the World Series by Renault in 2005(also is my city) and Alcañiz street circuit.
Navarra is avaliable as a mod for GTR2 and GT Lengends, Alcañiz for Assetto Corsa. There are some other tracks that I would like to see on a racing game like Goodwood, Adelaide, Surfer's Paradise etc.
Navarra
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Alcañiz
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Bilbao Urban Circuit
Circuito-Urbano-de-Bilbao-T0365.jpg
 
The original Watkins Glen with train crossing.

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Oh yes, this has been one of my original wishes so I completely forgot. Back in 2001 visiting my sister having a university stay in Buffalo, I took some days off and drove the country side and visited town center and AFAIR the finish line and more signs from the time, besides original buildings was still there.
That would be phenomenal VR racing in a real trushworthy bringing-to-live old Glen :inlove:
 
Zimbabwe:
Bulawayo
Donnybrook
Marlborough
Oh even a new unknown unknown to enter the surface for me and as a real Eureka and a really silly one. I've always confused this one with the other overseas also known as "Brainerd" and my feeling entering Donnybrook 'again' some years ago in rF1 and AC mods, a decade later after GTR2 track mod racing events on this one in Zimbabwe, was with a bit of 'meh dissapointments' experience in relation to the Zimbabwe version's clear highligts, just thinking I was racing a revised modern layout and thinking "ooh typical modernists, how rude". So in this very now - 1½ decades later - I know It's two different tracks I've simraced :sleep:

Zimbabwe Donnybrook being by far my first preference of the two.

Embarrassing, but thanks @Harbsch ;)
 
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it was narrow back on those days
I know it was narrower than the modern track, but a track at least has to be 3 car wide for overtaking to be possible otherwise one only has to drive in the middle of the road
This is a screenshot of the your glen. this is the front straight before the loop


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This is after I adjusted track boundaries, or AI cars can't overtake at all. Note in AC, AI can't defend by driving in the middle of the road. if this is a human multiplayer game, no one can overtake

Watkins Glen in gpl is wider, even though that game is not known for its track accuracy.
 

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