GT2s hit the road in Assetto Corsa Competizione

Welcomed by some, disliked by others, the new GT2 class was Stéphane Ratel’s alternative to what was somewhat lost in GT3 racing - gentleman driver oriented racing, and this is the latest addition to Assetto Corsa Competizione after months of silence by KUNOS Simulazioni.

 

The idea of the class is to offer pleasurable and competitive driving experience to amateurs apart from the grids that have lineups formed only by pro drivers while also offering something more straightforward to understand in terms of car behavior. Unlike the start of the GT3 class, Stéphane Ratel actually got involved in the competition along with the class idealization, and the LP Racing Audi R8 LMS GT2 he raced during the 2023 season, including the Red Bull Ring that included as the only circuit of the DLC, which is one of the rounds that are detached from the GT World Challenge Europe calendar.

 

The class also bypasses rules that were created with the goal of avoiding that GT3 racing became an arms race inside the SRO ecosystem, such as the “Cadillac rule” which established minimum production numbers over a year to avoid factory only programs like the one that involved the Cadillac ATS-V.R, which ruled out boutique manufacturers of the game.

 

GT2s in general have more power than GT3s but lack the aerodynamics to match their cornering performance, with the base example being the Lamborghini Super Trofeo machines. Some GT2s like the Audi R8 LMS GT2 already appeared in other titles and give this idea pretty well, and the same can be expected from newcomers to the sim racing scene, like the Mercedes AMG GT2 and the Maserati MC20 GT2.

 

Exceptions to the rule exist too, as the KTM X-Bow GT2 has clearly less power than the competition, but compensates this with less weight to make it more agile, similar to what the Ginetta G55 was to the GT4 class.

 

Other exceptions to the rule are special cars that fit the GT2 performance window while not being exactly built for GT2 racing, like the Ferrari 488 Challenge and the Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo, which are accepted under special circumstances, and the Porsche 935, a modern rendition of the Group 5 monster that does special runs out of competitive grids.

 

The GT3 and GT4 sides had updates that came in with the new DLC, as their balance of performance was revised and the 2023 GT World Challenge season gained its own section in the entry selection screen, where you can reach the European and American grids in a single place but can also race with some GT World Challenge Asia entries from Absolute Racing, with it being the first time GT World Challenge Asia is featured while the series only has Suzuka from the Intercontinental GT DLC as available circuit.

 

The GT2 DLC is available on Steam now and console release will be made at a later date.

 

IMAGES: Assetto Corsa Competizione screenshots