Come this friday I will take my rig to our office and host a little hotlap competition during a team building event we're having, and I've been pondering a lot on what car(s) and what track to run. Most of my colleagues (read: probably all of them) are completely novice, as in have never set their foot in a proper simulator before, so I need a car which is fun to drive but rather forgiving (their gonna have to run Get Real though!). As far as track goes, I'd like one which is rather short so given the little time each person gets in the seat they can get as many laps done as possible, one which is a bit challenging but nothing too hard like Laguna Seca or Bathurst. I've been doing some laps, testing cars and tracks, and so far I'm leaning hard towards; BMW M1 Procar or Touring Classics (635 CSI, M3 E30 Gr.A and 240 Turbo) Mid Ohio or Zandvoort Problem is, I've been simracing for two years now so I can't recall how bad any of these tracks where the first couple of laps around them xD I have been pondering on the GT3/ADAC series and the 92 DTMs, but as I said I want something really fun to drive, something that communicates really well through FFB, something that can get loose but not spin too easily, the 92 DTMs might fit the bill but same problem as above, I'm not really sure if they are tricky to drive as a beginner? So let me know, what kind of car and track combo do you recommend me running on them?
Maybe the Bmw 320 wtcc car on Nürburgring sprint. Is Laguna Seca really too difficult? Easy to learn layout and not too long. And the corkscrew is bound to bring some exitement and laughs.
I don't consider myself very good, nor am I a beginner, but to me the DTM 1992 cars are the most fun, especially the Mercedes and the BMW. I find them highly manoeuverable and you can "drift" easily without losing control. So if the Group A M3 feels like the DTM one, you have a winner ADAC/GT3 cars feel boring in comparison.
I think this is very neat with what you would like to do here. Finding the right combo might be difficult as you mentioned though. I've always found Zandvoort to be a pretty difficult track to "get right." To go fast there, you need a good line, and that is tricky with all of the undulating hills and tough corners to navigate. Although, it is one of the few tracks that you can see every corner clearly before you approach it. Unlike many other tracks with blind corners and such. So for that reason, it may be fun to use. I'd also toss in a nomination for nurburgring sprint. Fairly simple, a good amount of corners, some high speed sections... Laps that are fairly short... Overall this is one of my favorite tracks for some hotlapping or close action with AI. Red Bull Ring Spielberg is also a rather simple track that would be good for more novice like players. Fast, some good braking zones, and some fun corners when you get them right. Lastly, what about the free Raceroom Raceway track? The "bridge" layout is one of my top 3 tracks in the game. It's an absolute blast with the 2 chicanes, the long straight before the final hairpin, and then the tough elevation changes in the middle portion. As for cars that would provide a good experience while still being manageable to drive... The easiest might be some of the high-downforce offerings, as those dont tend to lose control as easily, at least to me. Something like the DTM 2013/14 would probably work well. Fast, controllable, good at braking, and pretty good feedback from the road. Perhaps something slower though would be just as fun, like those touring classics. Lastly, if you want to give them a great experience FFB wise, I have found few cars that are better than the free 134 Judd V8 hillclimb car. It's lightning fast, and it's brakes arent quite as good as the DTM cars, making it a blast to whip around corners. It's grip is quite strong though, and the feeling in my wheel as Im holding on is unmatched. Every little bump just feels so good in this car for some reason. I cant explain it any further, because I have no idea what it is about this car, but its pretty darn good. If you need to, turning on some traction control in the car setup would make this car simple to drive as well.
Yeah I find the blind entrance to the corkscrew to be a bit too difficult for a novice on get real. I hadn't considered WTCC at all actually, mainly because I personally HATE FWD cars, but I'll give the 320 a spin (literally) and see if that might be an option. Thanks!
The Judd has been on my mind, but it's way too fast I think. Thanks for the tip on the Nurnburgring short, I'll test that out for sure. I don't understand why people have such issues with Zandvoort, I find it a very easy track 0o Do note that the goal is not having them be FAST, but to manage get around the track safely a few laps and go as fast as they can manage. I don't want to use the Raceway track because I want them to feel like we're simulating reality, a fantasy track is not the way to go for that imo. I don't like the new DTM cars though, find the FFB and handling controlled and easy yes, but a bit dull, I want them to get sideways and have to correct it!
I'm new to RR myself, and learned yesterday zolder. It's not a hard track to learn, i got the hang on it pretty fast. Mostly good sight on the corners and fun to drive with the fast entry in the first wide corner and a controlled second and some fast and slow chicanes. Everybody can find his or hers own pace. Furthermore a car which is easy on the throttle and rolling balance (weight left/right motion).
In my Opinion the WTCC BMW 320 in combi with Suzuka East-Course would be a good car/track combo for a beginner in that hot lap-competiion. The car forgives little mistakes, one lap will be done under a minute and it is not that dificult to stay on track. Its more difficult to get a quick time there.
For 0 experienced drivers i would go with DTM92 as 1st step for sure. Trackwise you can try Brands Hatch, Norisring, Nürburgring short, Suzuka East course, Redbullring, Monza probably Lausitzring (the layout is pretty simple, but there are 2 tricky turns....)imo.
The M1 is nice but "old school", it brakes like a truck in comparison About the track, I think the Redbull Ring would be nice as it doesn't feature really treacherous corners. Also forget about the Norisring, way too hard to learn !
Had a similar situation just a few days ago and we chose the Benz 190 as it is quite forgiving and I thought Norisring should be the best track to learn quickly. The car was fine but with the track I was totally wrong. The hairpin and Dutzendteichkehre made more problems than i thought. We ended up with the Hungaroring as it is quite smooth to drive. Just our personal feeling.
I would add the Sachsenring, it can be quite a challenge if you don't have the proper setup (e.g. oversteer) oops...I wouldn't suggest this track with a drift happy car for newcomers to R3E!
So I've spent the evening testing some of the above mentioned combinations, what a sacrifice right? I must be some kind of hero now doing all this "work" for my colleagues sake? xD /irony Anyways, here's my thoughts and decision; First out the WTCC 320, while it drives nice I was immediately reminded that I want to have them clutch and use H-shifter, no cheating with sequential and/or paddles here! Now I could run that car with H-shifter ofc, but first off I'm kind of a purist, I run with what the car has IRL, second I tested the DTM 92 cars after.... The Merc 190E.... The only bad thing about this car was that it did not matter what track I threw at it, it was fun no matter what Tested some of the other 92 DTMs (I've run them all before) and it's just such a great experience on all of them. Lastly tested the M1 Procar again, it's such a BEAST, but it is for sure harder to handle than the 92 DTMs so end of the day, I'll be running the DTMs for sure! As far as tracks go, well as I said anything was fun with the 190E so this was going to be a harder pick, I tried Nurnburgring Sprint, Mid Ohio short, Brands Indy and Suzuka East, and while all where a blast I think Brands and Suzuka was just a bit more fitting, and the choice finally fell on Brands over Suzuka cos I found Suzuka to be a almost solely 3rd gear track, which is easy ofc but I want them to work for it xD Also Brands has the lowest lap times of them all, which means each driver gets more laps in. Thanks all for chipping in!
By far and away the easiest track combination is one you probably wouldn`t like: Aquila at Raceroom Raceway. In amateur mode the Aquila is very easy to drive, and this particular track has probably been designed with new players in mind: Lots of wide run-off areas where you can miss your braking point and not crash, a couple of chicanes, a hairpin last turn and a long straight. And...you could let your colleagues know that this particular combo plus a few others are free to download if they get the bug.
Wait until you drive the 2013 DTM's on those tracks! Like Spengler tells Chris Harris "oh you don't have to brake at 100m, you can easily brake at 90!"