Paul Jeffrey
Premium
iRacing.com have been very busy recently following the announcement of a new dirt element coming to the game and now news of two very different circuits in production in the shape of the former Grand Prix venue the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari (Imola) and clay track favourite Williams Grove Speedway.
With iRacing hosting a wide variety of online events each day on a variety of top tier laserscanned circuits its perhaps inevitable that the legendary Imola in San Marino should make an appearance at some stage. Now the team over at iRacing have confirmed that June's update to the sim will see the northern Italian based track make its iRacing debut.
Popular and well know for its time on the Formula One calendar Imola is perhaps best known as the circuit where 4 time Formula One World Champion and Brazilian racing hero Ayrton Senna lost his life during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at the wheel of his Williams Renault FW16 while leading what would be his last race of his life. The tragedy of that Imola weekend was compounded by the death of fellow Grand Prix driver Roland Ratzenberger during Friday's free practice session as well as the horrific accident befalling young Jordan driver (and sometime Automobilista player) Brazilian Rubens Barrichello.
Despite the tragedy's that befell Formula One that fateful weekend in May 1994 Imola continues to be a hugely popular venue and challenging circuit for drivers the world over.
iRacing are rumoured to have secured the licence for Imola all the way back in 2013 and judging by the images in this article it appears that development is well advanced prior to June's proposed release.
On a very different side of the racing world iRacing have also announced rights to begin building Williams Grove Speedway, a central Pennsylvania based clay oval destined to be enjoyed using some of the simulators newly announced dirt content heading to the sim in the coming months.
Hosting events such as the USAC National Championship in the 1950s all the way up to the modern National Open racers "the Grove" is a popular and historic event in American dirt track racing circles.
Steve Myers, Executive Vice President and Executive Producer for iRacing.com had the following to say on the Williams Grove Speedway Announcement:
"iRacing is delighted to add Williams Grove to our catalogue of legendary race tracks,”
"Since 1939, ‘The Grove’ has been synonymous with the best dirt track racing in the world and I’m certain it is destined to hold a similar place in the hearts of online motorsports enthusiasts.”
Justin Loh, Williams Grove General Manager:
“This is great news for Williams Grove Speedway and racing fans everywhere,”
“For nearly 80 years, our track has been an integral part of the American racing scene, so it’s only fitting The Grove takes its place in the digital motorsports arena.”
Williams Grove is another new dirt track location confirmed for the sim and no doubt many more such announcements will be coming from the team over at iRacing in the coming weeks and months.
Don't forget to have a look through our iRacing forum for news and discussions relating to this online racing title alongside a number of community created setups to download and race!
Are you looking forward to dirt in iRacing? How do you think the sim will cope with loose surface racing? Imola is coming, are you ready? Let us know in the comments section below!
