The dynamic, tight and twisty mountain roads of the Tour De Corse rally have been a mainstay of tarmac rally stages for years on Assetto Corsa, how does that stage hold up in 2024?
Debuting five years ago in 2019, the Tour De Corse rally stage is a well-known and brilliantly built tarmac rally stage brought to Assetto Corsa by mod creator, jcrr. Whilst the mod is a single stage, the tight and twisty roads are a perfect representation of what the whole rally is about.
Alfa Romeo GTA starting the stage
The first running of the rally was won by a Belgian female driver, Gilberte Thirion, in a Renault Dauphine. Despite this foreign success in the beginning, the only non-French drivers to win the event more than once are Sandro Munari, Markku Alén, Colin McRae and Thierry Neuville.
Gareth Jones driving his Subaru Impreza WRC at the 2008 rally. Image: Máth Dávid on WikiMedia Commons through the Public Domain
Several drivers have been killed during the event and sadly three of them in consecutive events. This series of events is often attributed to the reason why the Group B Rally class was scrapped. The realization that the cars had too much power eventually dawned on the organisers, despite the cars proving to be dangerous and potentially fatal to spectators in past events.
The name "Tour de Corse" is a reference to the inaugural days of the rally when it was run around the Island of Corsica. However, nowadays it runs on the equally twisty Ajaccio in France. The rally is entirely based on asphalt roads and picked up the nickname "Ten Thousand Turns Rally" because of the mountain roads that would make some drivers sick and dizzy.
Thierry Neuville, 2018. Image: Hyundai Motorsport on WikiMedia Commons via CC BY-SA 4.0
Belgian female driver Gilberte Thirion won the rally's first running in a Renault Dauphine. Two drivers, Bernard Darniche and Didier Auriol, have won the event a record six times. However, the only non-French drivers to win the event more than once were Sandro Munari, Markku Alén, Colin McRae, and Thierry Neuville.
The rally is still run to this day with classic rally cars. The crews have five stages to tackle with nearly 1,000 km of distance to cover. This includes 386 timed kilometres divided into 17 special stages across the whole rally!
The driving surface is dynamic and bumpy, it is not a flat and easy run. From potholes to ditches at the side of the road; the driving surface is fantastic and it adds to the immersion of this fantastic rally stage.
Alfa Romeo GTA sideways halfway through the stage
This stage perfectly suits vintage and classic cars, especially famous road rally cars like the Alfa Romeo GTA pictured in the screenshots. The tight snaking roads require a level of finesse and precision that requires you to make sure your attention is glued to the next corner apex.
One problem with the map, which has persisted ever since 2019, is that the map feels very much like a sim racing creation and not a real stage. This has to do with a lack of surroundings and textured vegetation. This is by no means a stage ruiner, but for the sake of immersion, it is not an ideal setup.
An AI Lotus Exige V6 Cup is buried in the untextured undergrowth at the side of the stage.
Despite this, the stage is a fantastic example of what road rally stages can be in Assetto Corsa. Especially as a lot of the modern rally games like EA Sports WRC and DiRT Rally 2.0 have inferior tarmac physics when compared to Assetto Corsa.
Which car are you going to be taking up or down the mountain? Have you ever visited the real rally before? Let us know down below!
Debuting five years ago in 2019, the Tour De Corse rally stage is a well-known and brilliantly built tarmac rally stage brought to Assetto Corsa by mod creator, jcrr. Whilst the mod is a single stage, the tight and twisty roads are a perfect representation of what the whole rally is about.
Alfa Romeo GTA starting the stage
The history of Tour De Corse
The Tour de Corse is a rally that was first held back in 1956 on the island of Corsica, France. It held the French round of the World Rally Championship (WRC) from the inaugural season in 1973 season right up until 2008 when it was dropped from the calendar. The rally would eventually see a return to the pinnacle of the sport in 2015.The first running of the rally was won by a Belgian female driver, Gilberte Thirion, in a Renault Dauphine. Despite this foreign success in the beginning, the only non-French drivers to win the event more than once are Sandro Munari, Markku Alén, Colin McRae and Thierry Neuville.
Gareth Jones driving his Subaru Impreza WRC at the 2008 rally. Image: Máth Dávid on WikiMedia Commons through the Public Domain
Several drivers have been killed during the event and sadly three of them in consecutive events. This series of events is often attributed to the reason why the Group B Rally class was scrapped. The realization that the cars had too much power eventually dawned on the organisers, despite the cars proving to be dangerous and potentially fatal to spectators in past events.
The name "Tour de Corse" is a reference to the inaugural days of the rally when it was run around the Island of Corsica. However, nowadays it runs on the equally twisty Ajaccio in France. The rally is entirely based on asphalt roads and picked up the nickname "Ten Thousand Turns Rally" because of the mountain roads that would make some drivers sick and dizzy.
Thierry Neuville, 2018. Image: Hyundai Motorsport on WikiMedia Commons via CC BY-SA 4.0
Belgian female driver Gilberte Thirion won the rally's first running in a Renault Dauphine. Two drivers, Bernard Darniche and Didier Auriol, have won the event a record six times. However, the only non-French drivers to win the event more than once were Sandro Munari, Markku Alén, Colin McRae, and Thierry Neuville.
The rally is still run to this day with classic rally cars. The crews have five stages to tackle with nearly 1,000 km of distance to cover. This includes 386 timed kilometres divided into 17 special stages across the whole rally!
Bringing Rally to Assetto Corsa
The mod came out in 2019 and was an immediate hit with the Assetto Corsa fan base. Rally in Assetto Corsa is underpopulated compared to other types of motorsport in the sim, so to have a high-quality and famous rally stage like this one in the game has been a major blessing to the rally community.The driving surface is dynamic and bumpy, it is not a flat and easy run. From potholes to ditches at the side of the road; the driving surface is fantastic and it adds to the immersion of this fantastic rally stage.
Alfa Romeo GTA sideways halfway through the stage
This stage perfectly suits vintage and classic cars, especially famous road rally cars like the Alfa Romeo GTA pictured in the screenshots. The tight snaking roads require a level of finesse and precision that requires you to make sure your attention is glued to the next corner apex.
One problem with the map, which has persisted ever since 2019, is that the map feels very much like a sim racing creation and not a real stage. This has to do with a lack of surroundings and textured vegetation. This is by no means a stage ruiner, but for the sake of immersion, it is not an ideal setup.
An AI Lotus Exige V6 Cup is buried in the untextured undergrowth at the side of the stage.
Despite this, the stage is a fantastic example of what road rally stages can be in Assetto Corsa. Especially as a lot of the modern rally games like EA Sports WRC and DiRT Rally 2.0 have inferior tarmac physics when compared to Assetto Corsa.
Which car are you going to be taking up or down the mountain? Have you ever visited the real rally before? Let us know down below!
