The long-awaited DLC for Assetto Corsa Competizione is here: With the American Track Pack, Kunos Simulazioni adds three new locations to its GT simulation as Watkins Glen, Indianapolis and the Circuit of the Americas join the lineup. A hotfix delivers a few small adjustments to go along with the release of the new circuits.
Three brand-new tracks for ACC fans to race at – and all three of them have been the home of the United States Grand Prix at some point: From 1961 to 1980, Watkins Glen hosted Formula 1 on a fall date that quickly became tradition. The road course of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway – famous for the legendary Indy 500 hosted on its 2,5-mile super speedway oval configuration – saw F1 compete from 2000 to 2007, and COTA has been playing host to the World Championship since 2012, with the exception of 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.
Today, all three circuits are part of the GT World Challenge America and raise the number of US tracks in ACC to four, as Laguna Seca had been introduced in the Intercontinental GT Pack in early 2020. Just like previous DLCs, the circuits have been brought to virtual life in an impressive way and with the usual Kunos quality. SimRacing Unlimited introduces you to the new locations.
Watkins Glen
Set in upstate New York, “the Glen” is a classic track that flows very well within the landscape, including exciting elevation changes. There are barely any slow corners at the track, even for GT cars – most of them are mid-speed turns that require drivers to keep up their momentum and perfect their lines through them in order to achieve good lap times and speeds on the following straights.
Key turns include the Inner Loop, a fast double chicane at the end of the long straight as drivers finish the first sector, where they need to take just enough of the curbs to keep up their speed but not get taken out by their bumps, and the final turn – it is quick, but be careful not to run slightly wide and tap the wall one exit. Not extending the first turn to avoid a track limit penalty is very important as well.
Indianapolis
Using the start/finish straight of the famous oval in reverse direction as well as parts of the first oval turn, most of the track is set in the spacious infield of the facility. As a result, elevation changes are minimal, and space for wheel-to-wheel battles is plentiful.
Compared to its F1 days, the road course has been changed, with a series of corners bypassing most of the banked oval turn, as well as the two former hairpin turns before re-entering the oval part of the track having been reworked to be less tight. GT cars do not use the same layout as the IndyCar series that also races on the road course, omitting the fast chicane after turn 4 in favor of using the loop that F1 used at the time as well.
Finding your braking points can be tough at Indy as most of the time, the distance boards are the only brake markers available – be careful though, as they are not using meters, but rather feet as a unit of measurement to let you know how far the turn is away. This may take some time to adjust if you are used to the boards using the metric system.
Circuit of the Americas (COTA)
Often shortened to COTA, this state-of-the-art circuit has been opened in 2012 and was designed to be the new home of the F1 United States Grand Prix. This means its facilities are very modern, and unlike Watkins Glen, most of the run-off is tarmac, so be aware of staying within track limits.
The track has enormous elevation changes, especially noticeable at turn one with its braking zone situated on a steep hill – in a bit of a play on words, the turn has been named after 1961 F1 World Champion Phil Hill. From there, drivers hurtle back down the hill to enter the trick and very technical esses section, which is followed by long straights, tight turns with tricky apexes and a semi-replica of Istanbul Park’s famous turn 8.
Should you race here at night, be prepared for a great lighting atmosphere, including laser shows filling the night sky and a fully-lit trademark tower.
The American Track Pack DLC is out now and can be purchased on Steam for €17.99.