The 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps is one of the highlights on the calendar of GT3 racing, with the 2022 edition receiving additional attention from the SimRacing community due to James Baldwin taking part in the real-life event. Meanwhile, the annual SRO Press Conference, held before the start of the race, revealed a big surprise for fans of Assetto Corsa Competizione – GT2 cars will be added to the sim sometime in the future.
With three new GT3 cars being announced recently, namely the Ferrari 296 GT3 as well as evo versions of the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 and the Porsche 992 GT3 R, it was not unexpected to hear that they will be added to ACC for 2023, as Kunos’ Executive Manager Marco Massaruto announced. With Ferrari making the switch to an entirely new model for their GT3 efforts, replacing the 488 GT3, SimRacers are likely most excited for the brand-new vehicle from Maranello.
The big surprise, however, was revealed seemingly by accident: SRO President Stephane Ratel mentioned that he was happy to hear that Kunos was likely going to add the GT2 class as well – which Massarutto all but confirmed later, stating that “the possible decision to also produce the GT2 pack has actually been made yesterday, so it was not a story to be told today.” SimRacers hungry for new ACC content sure did not mind, though.
What is GT2?
With the GT4 class being slower over the course of a lap compared to GT3 cars, it would be logical to think that GT2 would be the next step up from everyone’s favorite endurance race cars – but it is not that easy. Confusingly, the class is a step between GT3 and GT4 and does not have any ties to the FIA’s GT2 class that was a step below the now-defunct GT1 class of FIA GT Championship fame and later evolved to GTE. Simple, right?
The current SRO GT2 cars are more powerful than GT3 cars, possibly explaining the naming of the class, but does not rely on downforce like the premier GT endurance racing class. Therefore, their performance is below GT3 cars, but above GT4 cars despite sharing similar aerodynamic traits – the GT2 cars do look more advanced than GT4s, which are relatively unaltered compared to their road-going versions. Just like GT4 vehicles, the GT2 cars are aimed at amateur drivers. Just like GT4 vehicles, the GT2 cars are aimed at amateur drivers.
As of August 2022, there are five homologated GT2 cars that will be joined by the recently unveiled Maserati MC20 GT2 and the Mercedes-AMG GT Track Series, which is pending homologation. This extends the list to the following seven vehicles for the potential GT2 pack for ACC:
- Audi R8 LMS GT2
- Brabham BT63 GT2 Concept
- KTM X-Bow GT2
- Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo Evo GT2
- Porsche 911 GT2 RS Clubsport
- Mercedes-AMG GT Track Series
- Maserati MC20 GT2
With Assetto Corsa 2 being in development and set for release in 2024, Massarutto stated that the GT2 Pack may be a farewell project for ACC, meaning it will likely be until sometime in 2023 until the additional class will hit the virtual roads – and that development for ACC will likely stop once the new title is here.