Paul Jeffrey
Premium
The RaceDepartment Grand Prix Championship (RDGPC) is preparing for it's fifth season of competition. Read on to find out what it's all about and how to get involved in our new open wheel rF2 league.
Running on the very impressive rFactor 2 software and making use of the officially licenced Dallara DW12 IndyCar, the RDGPC Season 5 championship will be a test of the very best open wheel drivers here at RaceDepartment.
As is tradition with our racing leagues here at RD, the upcoming RDGPC league will feature professional administrative standards and presentation throughout the series, with a dedicated team of broadcasters bringing you all the action from trackside throughout the three months of on track competition. Streamed live on our website and Twitch channels, plus full race replays added to our popular YouTube channel, RDGPC Season 5 will be widely viewed by our many readers here at RaceDepartment and further afield. If you want to show off your speed and skills to a wide audience of sim racing and motorsports fans, then RDGPC is the place for you!
So what is the series all about, and what can you expect to find once you sign up for the action?
The Schedule
Six races across some of the most intense pieces of tarmac available in rFactor 2, RDGPC will be the ultimate test of speed, consistency, skill and versatility as we take in a mix of high speed oval tracks and more traditional US and European road courses from around the world.
With such power house ovals as America's very own Miami Speedway and the Lausitzring Oval in Germany providing a perfect playground for these high performance IndyCar Dallara open wheel machines, mixed in with some of the finest road course tracks from Barber Motorsports Park, Road America, Silverstone and Suzuka, the drivers of RDGPC will be put to the test in every imaginable way possible once the season get's underway on April 15th.
Weekend schedule: As usual, RDGPC S5 races will run on a Saturday with the following weekend race schedule:
- Practice: 17:45 GMT (1 hour)
- Qualify 18:45 GMT (10 minutes or 4 laps, counting in and out lap)
- Warm-up: 18:55 GMT (5 minutes, dedicated for resting and last minute info)
- Race: 19:00 GMT
The Car
For RDGPC Season 5 we will be using the beautiful Dallara DW12 IndyCar as produced by Image Space Incorporated. The version available in rFactor 2 is the first iteration of the current DW12 chassis and has been designed to offer driver thrills with a relatively steady learning curve, making it the ideal high performance open wheel car for our upcoming league.
The DW12 benefits from substantial amounts of downforce and is perfectly suited for both oval and road course racing. The car has been designed by Italian racing car manufacturer Dallara, and mated to the spec chassis will be a very strong V6 engine that benefits from the ability to adjust in car the overall performance of the engine, raising the available horsepower from between 575 and 675hp plus an additional 60hp "push to pass" feature. All this promises to allow the racing out on track to be incredibly close and hard fought.
To get yourself involved in the action all you have to do is register yourself by following the link HERE. We welcome teams of up to two cars each or individual drivers looking to represent themselves in a independent capacity. Registration for the league is currently open and you can sign up HERE. Not part of a team and looking for a drive? No problems, check out the Team and Driver Matchmaking thread HERE !
We think the RDGPC will be an awesome experience that best makes use of the incredible rFactor 2 simulation. With new and exciting updates to the sim already well advanced and looking to be deployed to rFactor 2 in the next couple of months, it's the perfect time to get involved and really make the most of the game alongside your fellow open wheel sim racing drivers!
Do you like the look of RDGPC Season 5? Will you be looking to get involved in the racing yourself? Let us know in the comments section below!
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