With Motorsport Games at the helm, rFactor 2 is benefitting from many licenses including IndyCar. It may feature the car but it’s lacking the tracks. Here are the best IndyCar tracks rF2 must get soon.
Image Credit: Studio 397
The tail end of last year saw major controversy brew. Since iRacing lost its IndyCar license, everyone in simracing is aware that as of right now, rFactor 2 is the only place to find officially licenced IndyCar content. This is until the promise of a standalone title by MSG of the IndyCar Series.
The now 10-year-old title features the Dallara IR-18 open wheeler, the Indianapolis circuit and thanks to a recent drop, the Long Beach street circuit. However, other than these few pieces of content, Motorsport Games is far from making the most of its deal with the North American single seater series.
Lacking several circuits from the championship’s calendar, it’s time the game’s developers got cracking. With plenty of tracks to choose from, Studio 397 and MSG must prioritise which IndyCar tracks to add to rF2 first.
After a look through the 2023 calendar, here are the venues that would most interest Indycar fans in simracing. These are the circuits that must come to rFactor 2 soon.
St Petersburg
This year, the IndyCar season got underway at St Petersburg. Every March, the Floridian city welcomes flocks of motorsport fans to its temporary street circuit which uses part of an old airport runway.
In the past, this technical layout hosted rounds of the ALMS endurance series. Whilst multiclass racing action on a narrow circuit does sound fun, the IndyCar races have always been the main spectacle.
The 2023 race saw the lead battle go to the end. Early on, Romain Grosjean led the field for much of the race before tangling with Australian star, Scott Mclaughlin. From then, the safety car-full race pipped Pato O’Ward and Marcus Ericsson against each other in a titanic fight.
If this race alone wasn’t proof that rFactor 2 needs this track, the simulator would also be the first game to official feature this infamous layout.
Road America
Road America is perhaps the most famous circuit in America. However, it is yet to arrive in rF2. This oversight means the game is not only missing out on a great Indycar track, it also means countless other series aren’t fully represented in the game.
Third party content obviously exists for this IndyCar track, but there’s nothing like official content. Especially when it lives up to the quality of Studio 397’s work. Long straights and heavy braking zones make for excellent passing opportunities whilst more technical sections give drivers a brilliant qualifying experience.
The track is immensely popular in iRacing and was sorely missed in the ACC American Track Pack. Once this legendary location in US motorsport, expect rFactor 2 to gain in popularity.
More IndyCar ovals
It’s all well and good bringing more road courses to rFactor 2. But the great thing about IndyCar is the variety in the tracks it uses. Drivers can be battling it out on the streets of Detroit one week having just left the high speed oval of Indianapolis. rFactor 2 therefore needs more ovals.
With two already present in-game, just Texas Motor Speedway and Iowa Speedway are missing. In previous years, the 375-mile event on the banks of the Texan circuit has enthralled fans. Think back to iconic side-by-side battles, momentous saves and great celebrations in Indycar and most will have happened at Texas.
Including this third oval would really pad out the official IndyCar track list in rF2. Players would be able to complete a representative season of IndyCar racing with just the one oval missing.
Toronto
Overlooking the need for St Pete, Long Beach is currently the only street circuit from the IndyCar calendar in rFactor 2. A unique part of the American open wheel championship is the Force for Good Challenge. In this commitment, the series’ organisers donate money to the chosen charity of a special racer.
To win this challenge, drivers must win on all three types of track: oval, street circuit and road course. The first driver to do so in a season recieves $500,000 for themselves and chooses a charity to which $500,000 is donated.
With more street circuits in rF2, players will be able to simulate such a challenge. One of the best city tracks on the IndyCar calendar has to be Toronto. Fast, flowing and lined with concrete walls, this is a venue we must see in rFactor 2.
Barber Motorsports Park
The final track rFactor 2 needs to add to its IndyCar repertoire is the Barber Motorsports Park. This winding piece of tarmac that follows the elevation changes of mid-Alabama is sometimes described as an American mini-Nordschliefe.
Combining high-speed curves with tricky braking zones and technical sections, this track tests a driver to the maximum. It does this all whilst providing little to no run-off bar a few metres of grass on either side.
Somehow, this track is a forgotten gem in simracing, only truly available to drive in iRacing. Motorsport Games must hurry to laser scan this amazing raceway before other developers beat them to it.
Which circuit on the Indycar calendar would you add to the rFactor 2 track list? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
