Okay, this thing is waaay too fast. At Road America it's faster than anything I've ever driven there except the Porsche 919 electric whiz, and that includes other Indycars and a few F1s. I mean it's almost flat out around the Carousel (145 mph) and definitely Hairy Flatters around the Kink (190 mph). Unlike most steroid-over-dosed mods I've driven, however, this one is a sweetheart from the cockpit perspective, although you do have to be careful not to give it too much Wellie exiting slow corners. And just because it isn't realistic doesn't mean you can't have fun with a bunch of other 2008 Champcars in a league race or even offline. Gentlemen, sharpen your reflexes. Ten-lap race setup. (N.B. I can't remember where I found this gem, but its progenitor is ID'd as "Panoz" from when the good doctor owned G-Force, and the sim-car's author is given as 'HERTHA" in the .json file.)
Why I test at Elkhart Lake. 1. It doesn't have any stupidly slow hairpins or chicanes, which interfere with repeatability...at least the way I drive. Spa would be ideal for testing if it weren't for that ugly, contorted chicane at the end of the lap. 2. The Carousel. Unlike the Nordschleife's Karusel (tight and lumpy), RA's Carousel is the closest thing you'll find to a high-speed, steady-state skid pad (or 'pan' as they call it in Blighty). It will give you an indication of absolute grip, with numbers you can compare, car-to-car and setup-to-setup (anything under 100 mph = pokey; anything over = speedy). 3. The Kink. The scariest turn in North America. Little cars will barely notice it, but big cars will make or break a decent lap-time depending on whether your setup will allow you to take it flat out. Or not.
Why I test at Elkhart Lake. 1. It doesn't have any stupidly slow hairpins or chicanes, which interfere with repeatability...at least the way I drive. Spa would be ideal for testing if it weren't for that ugly, contorted chicane at the end of the lap. 2. The Carousel. Unlike the Nordschleife's Karusel (tight and lumpy), RA's Carousel is the closest thing you'll find to a high-speed, steady-state skid pad (or 'pan' as they call it in Blighty). It will give you an indication of absolute grip, with numbers you can compare, car-to-car and setup-to-setup (anything under 100 mph = pokey; anything over = speedy). 3. The Kink. The scariest turn in North America. Little cars will barely notice it, but big cars will make or break a decent lap-time depending on whether your setup will allow you to take it flat out. Or not.
Last edited:
