The Sportscar world is immensely popular among sim racers and we have many games to choose from. But with great official offerings, what place does endurance sportscar racing hold in Automobilista 2?
Image credit: Reiza Studios
Sportscar racing is well and truly entering a new golden era. After the glory days of Group C, high competition of GT1 and jaw-dropping spaceships of LMP1, the Hypercar and GTP regulations are causing a boom across the sport. In fact, grid sizes in IMSA and the WEC are larger than ever, as are viewership figures.
As the sport gains traction in the flesh, so too is the sim racing side of things. The LMDh and LMH rulesets that form the Hypercar and GTP classes are in high demand from seemingly every studio as they rush to include the new cars in titles. This gives fans a great variety of choice, something never before seen for endurance enthusiasts.
One title among the bunch of Hypercar followers is Automobilista 2. But featuring endurance content without a link to official real world series, up against stiff competition, what can the Brazilian Reiza Studios do to compete? What is the title’s place when it comes to endurance content?
The latest content pack for the game brought a trio of LMDh cars and the Circuit de la Sarthe to the content list. Previous updates such as the three Racin’ USA DLC focused on IMSA content with GTLM cars and a plethora of infamous American racing venues. At the time of writing, the Brazilian game does not fall short on sportscar racing content.
The Racin USA DLC includes GTE cars for AMS2. Image credit: Reiza Studios
The combination of official content featuring in games going strong means that Automobilista 2 may well lose its spot as a top choice for endurance racing. In fact, both iRacing and LMU can claim to feature – almost in the iRacing case – full grids for last year’s seasons of top endurance series.
As one would expect, the Le Mans title gets every car, track and livery from the 2023 WEC season. Meanwhile, iRacing can simulate a full grid with liveries whilst the service’s track list covers the full IMSA calendar.
On the other hand, Automobilista 2 cannot boast wide-ranging fields of cars. The simulator spreads itself across a variety of classes, from its historical content to a number of modern categories. But these classes feature at best half a dozen models. No doubt fans will struggle to get excited when the alternatives offer extensively accurate grids.
In addition, by attempting to cover a plethora of series as a sandbox sim racing game, AMS2 cannot boast the same depth when it comes to circuits. Sure, it features venues from all around the world. But travelling to the likes of Kyalami and Suzuka does not help to simulate the World Endurance Championship’s Middle Eastern rounds as an example. The Brazilian sim is also missing a selection of the big IMSA rounds like Sebring, Detroit and Lime Rock.
Automobilista 2 has great historic sportscar content. Image credit: Reiza Studios
Well, in addition to the strong field of modern sportscars, Automobilista 2 has a collection of older endurance racing machinery. Spanning across the decades, players can enjoy the thrills of endurance racing’s history. From ancient 1970’s GT cars to the eye-catching categories we all know and love, they are all represented in AMS2.
As aforementioned, these grids are rarely full of the diversity present in the numerous F1 packs available for the game. But the addition of lower classes to the Group C or GT1 eras of sportscar racing would surely help bolster the game’s content.
Whilst Le Mans Ultimate developers have mentioned historic content in the past, a focus on the present series and its feeder championships is seeming more certain. Furthermore, iRacing may get the odd classic car, but the game evidently centres around modern motorsport. So it is clear that AMS2 could find its place in recreating sportscar racing’s history, much like it has for Formula One.
This may be just one of many routes for Reiza and its journey to sportscar racing. But with its excellent recreations of circuits in previous motorsport eras, Automobilista 2 is no doubt the best option for simulating classic motorsport. If the game does follow the historic route, sportscar fans of yesteryear are sure to be in for a field day.
Much like LMU developers, Reiza has previously stated its aim to implement historic sportscar content in the future. When announcing the recent Endurance DLC featuring, among others, Le Mans and Hypercar content, a development blog read, “we plan to complement AMS2´s Endurance timeline with several prototypes and GT cars ranging from the early 70s to the mid-00s.” Speaking of Le Mans itself, the blog also states, “we also plan to offer a couple of historical versions from the 70s and 90s.”
So perhaps 2024 is the year we get to race fully fledged GT1 and Group 5 races at period correct Le Mans layouts.
How should Automobilista 2 go about challenging iRacing and Le Mans Ultimate in sportscar sim racing? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
Image credit: Reiza Studios
Sportscar racing is well and truly entering a new golden era. After the glory days of Group C, high competition of GT1 and jaw-dropping spaceships of LMP1, the Hypercar and GTP regulations are causing a boom across the sport. In fact, grid sizes in IMSA and the WEC are larger than ever, as are viewership figures.
As the sport gains traction in the flesh, so too is the sim racing side of things. The LMDh and LMH rulesets that form the Hypercar and GTP classes are in high demand from seemingly every studio as they rush to include the new cars in titles. This gives fans a great variety of choice, something never before seen for endurance enthusiasts.
One title among the bunch of Hypercar followers is Automobilista 2. But featuring endurance content without a link to official real world series, up against stiff competition, what can the Brazilian Reiza Studios do to compete? What is the title’s place when it comes to endurance content?
Sportscar Content in Automobilista 2
There is no denying that 2023 was a big year for Automobilista 2. Not only did the title get a major physics overhaul correcting the frequent complaints many had of the sim. It also became one of the first simulators to receive LMDh content thanks to the Endurance Pack Pt. 1.The latest content pack for the game brought a trio of LMDh cars and the Circuit de la Sarthe to the content list. Previous updates such as the three Racin’ USA DLC focused on IMSA content with GTLM cars and a plethora of infamous American racing venues. At the time of writing, the Brazilian game does not fall short on sportscar racing content.
The Racin USA DLC includes GTE cars for AMS2. Image credit: Reiza Studios
- BMW M Hybrid V8 LMDh
- Cadillac V-Series.R LMDh
- Porsche 963 LMDh
- Cadillac DPI-V.R
- BMW M8 GTE
- Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTE
- Porsche 911 RSR GTE
- BMW M4 GT3
- BMW M6 GT3
- McLaren 720S GT3
- Mercedes AMG GT3
- Porsche 911 GT3 R
Tough Sportscar Competition
The Brazilian simulator may well have a strong content list when it comes to sportscar racing content. But with new titles releasing and updates coming in hot, the competition is seemingly getting strong. In fact, Le Mans Ultimate recently launched in early access as the official game to the FIA World Endurance Championship. Moreover, iRacing, a title already frequently seen as the official IMSA game, now features an intricate wet weather system, Tempest.The combination of official content featuring in games going strong means that Automobilista 2 may well lose its spot as a top choice for endurance racing. In fact, both iRacing and LMU can claim to feature – almost in the iRacing case – full grids for last year’s seasons of top endurance series.
As one would expect, the Le Mans title gets every car, track and livery from the 2023 WEC season. Meanwhile, iRacing can simulate a full grid with liveries whilst the service’s track list covers the full IMSA calendar.
On the other hand, Automobilista 2 cannot boast wide-ranging fields of cars. The simulator spreads itself across a variety of classes, from its historical content to a number of modern categories. But these classes feature at best half a dozen models. No doubt fans will struggle to get excited when the alternatives offer extensively accurate grids.
In addition, by attempting to cover a plethora of series as a sandbox sim racing game, AMS2 cannot boast the same depth when it comes to circuits. Sure, it features venues from all around the world. But travelling to the likes of Kyalami and Suzuka does not help to simulate the World Endurance Championship’s Middle Eastern rounds as an example. The Brazilian sim is also missing a selection of the big IMSA rounds like Sebring, Detroit and Lime Rock.
Does AMS2 Have its Place?
With that in mind, in its current state, hardcore sportscar fans will no doubt flock away from AMS2 in favour of other horizons. But the Brazilian team behind the sim clearly insistent on branching into the niche. So what can the game do to rival the likes of iRacing and LMU?Automobilista 2 has great historic sportscar content. Image credit: Reiza Studios
Well, in addition to the strong field of modern sportscars, Automobilista 2 has a collection of older endurance racing machinery. Spanning across the decades, players can enjoy the thrills of endurance racing’s history. From ancient 1970’s GT cars to the eye-catching categories we all know and love, they are all represented in AMS2.
As aforementioned, these grids are rarely full of the diversity present in the numerous F1 packs available for the game. But the addition of lower classes to the Group C or GT1 eras of sportscar racing would surely help bolster the game’s content.
Whilst Le Mans Ultimate developers have mentioned historic content in the past, a focus on the present series and its feeder championships is seeming more certain. Furthermore, iRacing may get the odd classic car, but the game evidently centres around modern motorsport. So it is clear that AMS2 could find its place in recreating sportscar racing’s history, much like it has for Formula One.
This may be just one of many routes for Reiza and its journey to sportscar racing. But with its excellent recreations of circuits in previous motorsport eras, Automobilista 2 is no doubt the best option for simulating classic motorsport. If the game does follow the historic route, sportscar fans of yesteryear are sure to be in for a field day.
Much like LMU developers, Reiza has previously stated its aim to implement historic sportscar content in the future. When announcing the recent Endurance DLC featuring, among others, Le Mans and Hypercar content, a development blog read, “we plan to complement AMS2´s Endurance timeline with several prototypes and GT cars ranging from the early 70s to the mid-00s.” Speaking of Le Mans itself, the blog also states, “we also plan to offer a couple of historical versions from the 70s and 90s.”
So perhaps 2024 is the year we get to race fully fledged GT1 and Group 5 races at period correct Le Mans layouts.
How should Automobilista 2 go about challenging iRacing and Le Mans Ultimate in sportscar sim racing? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
