And so, another IndyCar season has begun and one of the world's fastest motorsport series is going to be all out under the hard sun as drivers are giving it all to see who's going to be to the top and while everyone's joining the action, I'm busy doing some research, getting to know about the IndyCar on Project CARS 2.
Although it's mad to call IndyCar a mashup between NASCAR and Formula One because it has some oval action like you expect in America's favorite stock car racing series with machines look straight out of the world's most prestige motorsport series of all time, IndyCar is definitely one of the world's fastest motorsport series where drivers are pushing themselves to the limit. Dallara provided the chassis for the IndyCar machines where aerodynamics play a crucial role in this race. There are two kinds of IndyCar machines; one that is made for road course and the other that is made for oval racing parts of the series. The ones made for oval racing can go up to 240mph and that's even faster than a NASCAR going all out but just like NASCAR, oval racing is going to be very challenging for most drivers and sometimes fatal. I just remembered a certain driver who got killed during a race a few years ago.
The Dallara chassis is a standard issue for IndyCar but for most teams, they can either fitted with engines from either Chevrolet or Honda. Since IndyCar is as American as NASCAR, despite being a world-class race with world-class drivers, especially the one who used to drove in those races, I've decided to have a crack on a Chevrolet-powered IndyCar and because I'm at Long Beach to explain what I'm on about, I've gone for the more powerful but slower Road Course variant.
That said, a Road Course variant of the IndyCar produces a hundred more horsepower than the Oval variant but because it was optimized for road course use, it's heavier and slower than the Oval variant, resulting to over 200mph of top speed. But still, it's fast through the bends and it requires precise concentration to handle these machines with ease.
Anyway, how about a little flying lap to see how an IndyCar works as a racing machine that uses the full majesty of its aerodynamics?
Well, what do you know? That was a fast lap indeed and on a single lap, an IndyCar can take a minute to clear it. It's no wonder that IndyCar is one of the world's fastest motorsport series and its aerodynamics play a crucial part on these machines.
Although I done my quick research on how an IndyCar behaves on the track, I still want to dig deeper to understand more about this open-wheeled motorsport race series and now that this year's season kicked off, I got a lot to learn about IndyCar through different perspectives and for a person who loves to tackle all kinds of races around the world, I'd recommend giving a try with IndyCar and see if this kind of motorsport is your thing apart from the ones you know.
The arrival of Project CARS 2's Porsche Legends Pack welcomes up-and-coming drivers to the ultimate proving ground for Porsche. Welcome to Leipzig!
This is the Porsche Leipzig on-road track, a proving ground where they test Porsches, which is important for their research and development in the making of their vehicles including the iconic 911. Right now, I'm checking out this Leipzig proving ground while driving one of the Porsche race cars offered in the pack, the 991.2-spec 911 RSR.
The 991.2-spec Porsche 911 RSR is their all-out newly developed GT racer motoring enthusiasts witnessed over the course of last year since its debut at last year's Rolex 24-Hour Endurance at Daytona. The biggest surprise of this RSR is that it's mid-engined rather than rear engined much like every other 911 in history in order to remain competitive in WEC's LMGTE-PRO and IMSA's GTLM classes due to Balance of Performance regulation. Although it lost its mild driving feel from its rear-engined equivalent, it sacrifices weight advantage for better aerodynamics and better weight distribution, which keeps it in play with its competitors.
Because the 911 RSR is mid-engined, I can feel that there's no weight on the front but it feels so much more for a racing machine of this caliber and when you let loose with its 4.0L water-cooled six-cylinder boxer engine mated to its six-speed sequential gearbox while feeling its weight-optimised chassis, racing suspension, independent brake circuits, and so much more, you can't really tell but getting used to the 911 RSR's racing dynamics that really ticks it off.
Looking back at Leipzig, this proving ground really puts the 911 RSR on the spotlight and while this on-road circuit plays an important role for the development of new and exciting Porsche models, it can be the ideal place to understand how the 911 RSR works and I shall now demonstrate with a quick lap round the track in this Porsche.
So, how was my experience with this Porsche round Leipzig? Although challenging, it provided up-and-coming drivers a taste of what it feels like behind the wheel of Porsche's spearhead to their newest motorsport portfolio ever since it first appeared at last year's Daytona 24 Hour and then continue throughout the WEC and the IMSA to show the world how Porsche is capable of and it takes a lot of time to getting used to its mid-engined layout no 911 racing machine has done before. This car along with this track and many other greatest hits can be yours on the Project CARS 2 Porsche Legends Pack, available now, so go ahead. Try out your favorite Porsche round Leipzig as well as discovering Porsche's greatest hits to your desire.
The Daytona International Speedway is reopening their doors for this weekend's endurance race and to celebrate the very occasion, how about taking a ride with one of the most legendary Daytona champions in history and this one is something Japanese...
The legend in question is the Nissan Z32 Fairlady Z that nicked a class win at the 1994 Daytona 24 Hour race and because this is the one that achieved class win at the Daytona endurance race in 1994, now it will be the ideal time to talk about the car's resume, which is not bad for a race car that was based on the Z32 Nissan Fairlady Z (known in the world market as the 300ZX).
Known to be one of the most notable drivers in the history of the IMSA, Steve Millen drove the Z32 for Clayton Cunningham Racing from 1990 to 1995 and thanks to him, the Z32 ruled the GTO (later called GTS because of chassis and engine regulation changes) class of the IMSA but his the Z32's biggest shot of fame is its 24 Hours of Daytona victory in 1994 and then later in Le Mans where the Z32 nicked a GTS-1 class win. That's how legendary this machine is as well as its astonishing resume that made the Z32 worthy of having such motorsport pedigree, something that its modern successors never had in the first place.
Anyway, no time for getting overexcited about driving a champion car because driving in Daytona is serious business especially when you're taking on the endurance race happening this weekend. Driving the IMSA GTS-spec Z32 may be old-school but think of it like you're going home-schooling to learn about what to expect in Daytona International Speedway. There is no real secret to conquering this track; it's just hard work and discipline and if you're slacking off even when you're ahead, you're going to lose everything so it's important to pay attention not just the surroundings but the car itself because if its time for a change, it's time.
So, with that lesson done, how about a little clip of me taking a spin on a legendary racecar round Daytona? This should be good, it's like crossing out from one of my motoring bucket lists.
My time with the legendary IMSA GTS-spec Z32 Fairlady is almost up but the taste of what you can expect in Daytona this weekend is just the beginning because with different kinds of cars you might come across, the difference between a victory and defeat lies within you, the car, and the surroundings. So, to all the drivers out there spending their weekend at Daytona, I bid you good luck.
With news about Florida experiencing unusual snowy condition going on about a week now, I was just imaging if which part of Florida is heavily affected from a rare blizzard but to my hunch, I think Daytona Beach is just ended up being a winter wonderland and it would be the ideal time to simulate a surreal condition using Project CARS 2.
Thanks to LiveTrack 3.0, Project CARS 2 allows players to create weather conditions on their favorite racetracks to simulate what weather forecast is going to hit on their racetracks. You can make it rain in Dubai, snow in the Nurburgring, players can simulate even the most outlandish weather conditions on their favorite racetrack. Since Florida is on the subject right now due to extreme icy conditions Floridians are facing right now, I think it's time to simulate such an outlandish weather forecast and since a freezing Daytona might upset even stock cars that was born to drive in this place, how about picking something that is fit enough for this icy conditions? How about...a rally car for a change?
This is the rally car I've picked up from Project CARS 2's Fun Pack DLC, this is the legendary Ford RS200, a fire-spitting Group B rally car that causes quite a stir in its category where Quattros rule like gods until fatalities caused the demise of this category. So, what is the RS200 anyway, you might ask?
Known to be Ford's late entry to the WRC Group B category. As the name implies, it was limited to 200 units built for homologation purposes. Just before it reaches its prime time, the Group B giants from Audi, Peugeot, and Lancia are struggling and countless fatalities spelled the bitter end of this category. The result, with 200 units left, they made a road-going supercar capable of going 0-60mph in a sub six-second time and top speed around 150mph, all with full-time AWD.
It's kind of a shame that the Ford RS200 never got the chance to do some rallying ever since the Group B giants flung themselves out of the ring after multiple rally-related casualties but that's the life of being a rally car forged in a category where there's nothing to stop you making the maddest machines to tackle any road condition no matter how dirty it gets. It's fair to say that even with four wheel drive, the engine is mounted in the middle and the end result is a rally car that behaves pretty much like a rear wheel drive car do further concentration is advised when handling a technical vehicle even in icy winter conditions.
Driving a would-be rally car in a frozen Daytona that is ultra rare for Floridians facing right now can be somewhat a challenge and wet tires wouldn't do justice in such conditions. I know this car is all-wheel drive but it's tricky to get into corners when going too fast or when braking too early. In such weather like this, resorting to such tactics won't do any good and it takes some practice to getting used to some outlandish weather forecasts while driving on your favorite track. Having my hand on such freezing conditions, I find it very tricky to handle on such freezing conditions but I'm starting to get a hang of it and I shall show you how I deal with this condition. However, the snowstorm's becoming harsh but still, challenge accepted.
Under extreme freezing conditions, I managed to did it in 2:18.220. Barely made it but I need to refine if I need to master such driving conditions.
As Florida's weather starting to go back in such conditions, looks like it won't be too long before Daytona's back to normal racing conditions so the next season of America's favorite stock car racing series begins but it's kind of fun to drive around Daytona on ice. With over a million ways to race, Project CARS 2 is about racing your own way under any weather forecast you want to tackle.
In honor of Ferrari's 70th anniversary, Project CARS 2 introduced fans of Slightly Mad Studio's critically-acclaimed racing simulation game the world of Ferrari and it's an honor to have the Prancing Horse joining the ranks of PC2's car roster everyone can master on different race tracks offered in-game and I get to know what's what about the Prancing Horse's debut on PC2.
Here, I'm driving what it seems to be a GT3-spec version of Ferrari's latest midship supercar, the 488 GTB, around one of the most dangerous tracks in the world, namely the Autodromo Dino e Enzo Ferrari, better known to you and I as Imola. You know, the track with the corner that killed Ayrton Senna since the early 1990's? Maybe we should get going now...
The 488 GT3 is based on the 488 GTB that was tuned to compete in IMSA's GTD class and many other GT3-class races. It uses the same 3.9L V8 Twin Turbo engine as the normal 488 GTB but unlike the normal 488, it features wider wheel arches that accomodate racing slicks, a massive carbon fliber splitter on the front, large rear diffusers, large rear wing, and many other racing modifications made to accommodate GT3 specifications.
Imola is a very unforgiving racetrack to master for beginners but the Ferrari manages to hang in there like bread and butter on a full English breakfast and while I'm busy getting to understand the car as well as the infamous racetrack that claimed many of drivers, including the legend himself, let's get to know about the best racing machines from the Prancing Horse because this is Ferrari's 70th anniversary after all.
Prancing Horse fanatics should be familiar with this legendary racing machine because this here is Ferrari's legendary Le Mans racer, the 330 P4. Its P3 predecessor was meant to be the trump card against Ford's GT40 Mk.II but failed when Ford claimed its first win at the 1966 Le Mans. This is known to be the uprooted version of the said car. The design looks similar to the P3 but it was given an improved engine and a tail section, turning into the changed car you're toying with now. It won the 1967 24 Hours of Daytona race for a photo finish in response to Ford's Le Mans win a year ago.
Based on the 365 GTB/4 grand tourer, which earned the unofficial Daytona moniker by some, this Competizione version features a lightweight bodywork courtesy of its aluminium and fiberglass panels, with plexiglas windows. In later models, the V12 engine that powers it was tweaked with the highest producing 456PS of power output in 1973. Although Ferrari never raced with these machines, it was bountiful for private racing teams that flourished it to Le Mans success where in 1972, it took the first five places in the GT class.
Made to compete in the likes of IMSA's new World Sports Cars class, which replaced the GTP class, the 333 SP marked Ferrari's return to sports car racing after a two-decade hiatus. It was built by Dallara and later Michelotto for such regulations and in its lifespan, it participated 144 races with 56 wins and 69 pole positions. Powering the 333 SP is a 4.0L V12 engine mounted in the middle, which is the same engine that powers the 1990 Formula 1 car, producing over 600HP of power and mated to a 5-speed sequential manual gearbox.
The 488 GTE racing machine may look similar to its GT3 counterpart but it was tweaked to compete the GTE-Class of endurance racing, meaning the downforce is increased tenfold due to the less restrictive limits on downforce, as hinted by its large front lip spoler, fixed rear wing, and three-part diffuser. It made its debut at the first round of the 2016 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at the 24 Hours of Daytona and it finished 4th in the GTLM class. Months later, a Risi Competizione 488 GTE placed 2nd at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
So, now that I'm getting familiar with Imola and some of Ferrari's racing legends, do I have some substantial favorite, the one I considered the best Ferrari racing legend for 70 years? If I do, maybe it wants to stand a chance against the GT3-spec 488, which is amazingly one of the hero cars of Project CARS 2, for a time attack round Imola. Of course, there are so many Ferrari racing legends around here but for my consideration, because this is Ferrari's 70th birthday after all, my pick goes to...
...Ferrari's endurance legend, the 330 P4, and now this legend wants to take on one of the young jumpstarts on a time attack round Imola. This should be exciting as the past and the present ready to dish out what they're made off all for 70 years of Ferrari. Let's see how much they've evolved through the years...
After a brave lap round Imola, here are the results;
1967 Ferrari 330P4 - 2:06.8
2016 Ferrari 488 GT3 - 1:58.686
70 years of Ferrari and such result never fails to impress me, in the 488 GT3's case that is, but I had high respects on the P4 because apart from being an improved version of the P3, the one that was obliterated by the Ford GT40 at Le Mans, its legendary status should not be taken for granted because cars like this is what Ferrari's capable of.
It's an honor for Project CARS 2 to add Ferrari in the game and with seven decades of the Prancing Horse's greatness, there's so much to love about Ferrari in this game.
Did you know that last weekend, Nissan held an annual NISMO Fest at Fuji Speedway in celebration of the best sports cars and racing machines in Nissan history? It's too bad we couldn't make it to this annual speed fest but that's okay because with Project CARS 2 featuring the best racing machines from Nissan as well as Fuji Speedway, you can make your own Nismo Fest without waiting for another year.
For a hardcore Nissan enthusiasts, the Nismo Festival is more about the Z-Cars and the GT-Rs but the festival is more than just Z-Cars and GT-Rs because apart from popular road cars, they've showcased some of the best racing machines in Nissan history. Some of the cars as seen in the festival are playable on Project CARS 2 just so you know.
There are racing-spec Z-Cars in Project CARS 2, notably the Datsun Fairladay 240Z GTS-II, a S130 Fairlady Z ( racing machine that made famous by the late Paul Newman, an actor and driver for the Connecticut-based Bob Sharp Racing, and a Z32 Fairlady Z (300ZX) that made famous for endurance racing, mostly at Le Mans where it won the GTS-1 category in 1994. Driving these iconic Z-Cars just gave me the fizz and while the way it behaves made me feel nervous about driving the most iconic Z-cars in racing history, I'm pretty sure those who've been at the NISMO Festival had a blast from witnessing these racing Zs in action.
Also appeared in the Nismo Festival is this unique Skyline Super Silhouette KDR30 racing machine that took part on the Super Silhouette races, with Masahiro Hasemi behind the wheel in the 1982 and 1983 seasons. Having achieved two wins in 1982 and five in 1983, the KDR30 Super Silhouette Skyline was far out one of the most iconic racing machines in Nissan history due to its signature performance courtesy of its LZ20B engine producing 570PS of power as well as the striking aerodynamics due to the heavy modification regulations the Super Silhouette races possess.
When Nissan brought back the GT-R name on the Skyline for the R32 model, it made its racing debut at the 1990 All Japan Championship (later renamed Super GT) and up until 1993, the R32 win 29 rounds in its lifespan, hence forever giving the nickname Godzilla. As years pass by, Godzilla continues to impress everyone in the world of motorsports and even in the R35 Nissan GT-R, its racing pedigree will never go unnoticed by many, regardless of what motorsport the GT-R takes on.
Apart from GT-Rs and Z-Cars, the NISMO Festival showcased us some of the most unique racing machines in history, especially those that are used in endurance racing including the R390 GT1. Because of such additions in this annual event, these machines are showing what Nissan is capable of in the world of motorsports and no matter how intimidating these machines can be, these legends surely never die.
Project CARS 2, a lineup of Nissan vehicles, Fuji Speedway, an ideal recipe to live the annual event without leaving the comfort of your own home for some reasons known only to yourselves and because this game was well known to deliver true-to-life driving behavior that sets them apart, perhaps living your DIY NISMO Festival might not such a bad idea at all and in light of last weekend's event, how about I take the king of GT-Rs for a spin round Fuji? Speaking of which, it's already nighttime but oh well, time to give Godzilla one last go before I leave...
What a way to celebrate the best of Nissan with one last ride with the Nissan GT-R NISMO round FISCO on Project CARS 2. The GT-R maybe on its last legs but out on the road, it's near-legendary capabilities are second to none and it won't go down without a hearty fight. Still, I'm impressed about how Nissan pulled the biggest party for its enthusiasts everywhere and I really wish I want to go there next year.
For today's Project CARS 2 session, I will be behind the wheel of Godzilla in Britain's most demanding racetrack in history, so demanding, it was used as a venue for the British GP leg of Formula 1 races. I'm talking about Silverstone and I will be using the Nissan GT-R NISMO to drive round Silverstone without crashing myself.
The GT-R NISMO is the result of Nissan's trial and error struggle to create a supercar that can compete against the world's best supercars. Nissan has sent their experts to research on supercars as well as motorsports and that research led to the creation of the GT-R that set a Nurburgring lap time of 7:08.679. In this 2017MY minor change, the GT-R NISMO gains an aggressive exterior design and a new interior as seen in the standard model while retaining the NISMO-tuned VR38DETT engine that produces 600PS of power and 650Nm of torque, mated to a 6-speed dual clutch gearbox as well as its motorsport-inspired dynamics that its professionals spent countless hours performing R&D in the creation of this ultimate GT-R.
The GT-R has been the strongman of Japanese car culture because of its popularity among street tuners and racers everywhere and with the NISMO variant, it pushes the envelope even further in its relentless pursuit of speed and precision that was known the world over. I am familiar with the GT-R NISMO's tale and the fact that it became the fastest Nissan to lap round the Nurburgring, which sets a new gold standard among sport grand tourers everywhere.
Driving Godzilla in Silverstone on a foggy day can be somewhat challenging because with all that mist coming around, it's hard to spot what corners will you be facing next. Also, with all that moisture going on because of that mist, traction is going to be a real issue in this condition so you'd need to tread carefully while you're out there. It's not just the speed and concentration that you should be worrying about when driving in the fog, but also alertness and your sense of sight because you may never know what you'll see next in such conditions. Drivers need to be sharp enough to survive a foggy race and you should too.
To see what I'm on about, I'm about to drive Godzilla around a foggy Silverstone and because this is an all-wheel drive car, I had confident that it can take on the moisture of this track because of the foggy condition but I need to stay alert because one slip will cost me dearly so here goes...
So, what do you think? Driving in the fog is as scary as it seems but I am as fast as a Japanese industrialist. I am.
Weather can pose as either a threat or opportunity for the drivers and because speed and skill is not enough to win races at such conditions, it takes adaptability to take on different weather conditions and in the case of the all-wheel drive Nissan GT-R, it's all about taking on different conditions whatever lays ahead on the track. If you are up to a different kind of driving challenge with different conditions, play Project CARS 2 now.
For today's Project CARS 2 session, time to take the spin with the ultimate AMG track monster in one of America's most demanding racetracks in history, so demanding, it even hosted the USGP of the Formula One championship. I'm talking about driving the AMG GT R round the Circuit of the Americas.
Of course, you might ask that I have been awoken from the moment when you saw the AMG GT R driving round COTA before the USGP race started last weekend, with the world's fastest man riding shotgun, and that moment of seeing the beast of the Green Hell going around the Texas-based racetrack gave me the idea to do my thing here on Project CARS 2.
The AMG GT R is a high-performance variant of the AMG GT sportscar that uses an specifically tuned version of the AMG 4.0L V8 BiTurbo engine that produces 585HP of power and 700Nm of torque while mated to a 7-speed AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT. It does 0-100kph in 3.6 seconds and a top speed of 318kph.
Apart from the speed it delivers, the GT R features a new active aerodynamics profile hidden underneath the body and when in RACE mode, the aerodynamics produces a Venturi effect, sucking the car onto the road and reduces the front-axle lift by around 40 kilograms at 250 km/h. It even has an active air management system which lets the louvers control the airflow, the AMG coil-over suspension that was suitable for track duty, active rear-wheel steering, AMG TRACTION CONTROL that isolates the grip on the driven wheels and does not affect the stabilisation provided by the ESP, rear-axle limited-slip differential, and speed-sensitive sports steering.
Listening to that crisp V8 exhaust note, despite the turbochargers, the GT R really is all bark and all bite and with all that motorsports knowhow deployed to this car, the GT R is an extreme track toy in its own right, although in the case of aggressive driving scenarios, best to watch out for any anomalies the GT R possess, like for instance, in the event of sliding, it feels like the steering's offline, making it difficult to regain grip through the corners during oversteering. Trust me, it happened to me but if you are experienced enough to ride this ride, you can do things no one else can in an AMG GT R. It may feel dynamic but the more you're driving it, the more you're having fun with it.
Well, with easier said than done, I made a little clip of driving the AMG GT R round COTA GP in a typical Mercedes-AMG test driver kind of way, just to have the sense of what is like driving it in an American Formula 1 circuit located in the Lone Star state.
Well, (chuckle) not the best I can do with it but it goes to show that even though the AMG GT R has some of the motorsport pedigree derived from the AMG GT3 racing machine, in an event of aggressive driving situations, you need to tread carefully or you'll be stuck sliding with the steering wheel offline while trying to regain grip. Still, I had fun driving AMG's latest offering round Circuit of the Americas.
