The Formula One season is ending, but sim racing can provide relief – and a twist. The Grand Prix Karting circuit mods in Assetto Corsa are some of the best fun you can have. Learn all about it here.
Image credit: Kunos Simulazioni
Last week, during the inaugural Las Vegas GP, we showed off a rather impressive third party creation of the new Strip circuit in Assetto Corsa. Well, this month saw the release of another Las Vegas circuit, this time with a twist. The AC GPK Las Vegas 2023 mod completes the 2023 F1 calendar in Karting circuit form for Assetto Corsa.
In fact, RaceDepartment user Nitro McClean has recreated every 2023 F1 circuit in this Grand Prix Karting form. Pairing nicely with the MAD Formula Team cars, here is how to have some of the most fun in Assetto Corsa.
The first Grand Prix Karting mod for Assetto Corsa launched in February of 2021. The Albert Park track has since reached over 6,000 downloads with a five-star rating. After this first AC mod, the circuits came thick and fast, alongside updates to the original rF creations. But over the past 12 months, the newer AC mods have seen updates to match real-world 2023 alterations.
As a result, the GPK tracks collection is one of the few fully accurate representations of the 2023 Formula One calendar anywhere in sim racing. That sentence became true upon the release of the aforementioned Las Vegas circuit. In fact, the latest track to join the calendar was the final piece in the puzzle for the GPK collection.
Across the many circuits part of the series, it is clear that a lot of time and passion has gone into the mods. From the detailed track surface to the kart-inspired details like tyre anti-cuts and even some attractive billboard sponsors. The latter is most visible on the walls around the Las Vegas Sphere.
If Formula One venues are not your style, Grand Prix Karting recreation exist for other famous international circuits. Indianapolis and Le Mans alongside Monaco allow one to run a full Triple Crown of Motorsport with the MFT models.
In the real world, these cars compete in frequent time trial competitions. But in Assetto Corsa, the MFT cars race perfectly on the GPK circuits. Three variants of the car exist ranging from the wingless MFT01 to the absurd 03.
With nifty aerodynamic devices such as wings, fans, Venturi tunnels and more, these cars stick to the road nicely. That does not mean they are easy to drive. Keeping the car balanced is critical to getting good laptimes. That is even more important, and difficult, on the tighter layouts of the GPK project.
The familiar yet foreign atmosphere creates its own nifty challenge. But once you overcome this slight off-putting sensation, lapping these circuits is a lot of fun.
With longer straights shrunk in length and the Formula Student perfectly matching the pace of each layout, corners come at you quickly. This helps give the sense of racing go-karts. That being said, the Formula Student models are high-tech creations with all kinds of downforce-generating features. So one can certainly trust the high-speed grip at some of the faster corners.
Not only do the GPK tracks drive very well, it seems that the AI is also competent. Rarely does one see Assetto Corsa AI running competitive race times. Even more rare is sim racing AI that can handle the tight nature of kart circuits. However, on these circuits, one can have great fun offline. There are also several communities that race these cars and tracks together on a regular basis.
So what are you waiting for? Now that Formula One is no longer filling race fans’ weekends, jump on AC and try out these GPK circuits.
Have you tried the MAD Formula Team cars and Grand Prix Karting circuits in Assetto Corsa? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
Image credit: Kunos Simulazioni
Last week, during the inaugural Las Vegas GP, we showed off a rather impressive third party creation of the new Strip circuit in Assetto Corsa. Well, this month saw the release of another Las Vegas circuit, this time with a twist. The AC GPK Las Vegas 2023 mod completes the 2023 F1 calendar in Karting circuit form for Assetto Corsa.
In fact, RaceDepartment user Nitro McClean has recreated every 2023 F1 circuit in this Grand Prix Karting form. Pairing nicely with the MAD Formula Team cars, here is how to have some of the most fun in Assetto Corsa.
Grand Prix Karting Circuits
First built for the original rFactor, the Grand Prix Karting project by Nitro McClean has been around for a number of years. In fact, the creator’s first RaceDepartment GPK entry is a representation of the Red Bull Ring released in 2020. Since then, every F1 venue of the past three years has received the GPK treatment.The first Grand Prix Karting mod for Assetto Corsa launched in February of 2021. The Albert Park track has since reached over 6,000 downloads with a five-star rating. After this first AC mod, the circuits came thick and fast, alongside updates to the original rF creations. But over the past 12 months, the newer AC mods have seen updates to match real-world 2023 alterations.
As a result, the GPK tracks collection is one of the few fully accurate representations of the 2023 Formula One calendar anywhere in sim racing. That sentence became true upon the release of the aforementioned Las Vegas circuit. In fact, the latest track to join the calendar was the final piece in the puzzle for the GPK collection.
Across the many circuits part of the series, it is clear that a lot of time and passion has gone into the mods. From the detailed track surface to the kart-inspired details like tyre anti-cuts and even some attractive billboard sponsors. The latter is most visible on the walls around the Las Vegas Sphere.
If Formula One venues are not your style, Grand Prix Karting recreation exist for other famous international circuits. Indianapolis and Le Mans alongside Monaco allow one to run a full Triple Crown of Motorsport with the MFT models.
Best Cars For The Job
Whilst not officially linked, the Grand Prix Karting project on Assetto Corsa pairs brilliantly with the work of Ofitus21. This RaceDepartment creator has put together a trio of high-tech Formula Student cars. Based on the works of MAD Formula Team, based at Madrid University, these are accurate representations of the higher education Engineering competition models.In the real world, these cars compete in frequent time trial competitions. But in Assetto Corsa, the MFT cars race perfectly on the GPK circuits. Three variants of the car exist ranging from the wingless MFT01 to the absurd 03.
With nifty aerodynamic devices such as wings, fans, Venturi tunnels and more, these cars stick to the road nicely. That does not mean they are easy to drive. Keeping the car balanced is critical to getting good laptimes. That is even more important, and difficult, on the tighter layouts of the GPK project.
Great Fun
Representing each current Formula One circuit accurately, but at a smaller scale, driving the AC GPK mods is certainly intriguing. The layouts all come very naturally if you know the real world circuits. However, track side objects like cones and gantries look far larger than one would expect. Furthermore, buildings are all adjusted to match the feel of a karting venue.The familiar yet foreign atmosphere creates its own nifty challenge. But once you overcome this slight off-putting sensation, lapping these circuits is a lot of fun.
With longer straights shrunk in length and the Formula Student perfectly matching the pace of each layout, corners come at you quickly. This helps give the sense of racing go-karts. That being said, the Formula Student models are high-tech creations with all kinds of downforce-generating features. So one can certainly trust the high-speed grip at some of the faster corners.
Not only do the GPK tracks drive very well, it seems that the AI is also competent. Rarely does one see Assetto Corsa AI running competitive race times. Even more rare is sim racing AI that can handle the tight nature of kart circuits. However, on these circuits, one can have great fun offline. There are also several communities that race these cars and tracks together on a regular basis.
So what are you waiting for? Now that Formula One is no longer filling race fans’ weekends, jump on AC and try out these GPK circuits.
Have you tried the MAD Formula Team cars and Grand Prix Karting circuits in Assetto Corsa? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
