In the same way that the Nürburgring Nordschleife in Assetto Corsa Competizione was becoming like a meme due to the time spent until it became reality, the addition of IMSA content in Automobilista 2 and the update to the version 1.6 was causing some giggles due to the huge amount of time until the last Friday (29), in which giggles gave place to grins of enjoyment, given how much REIZA Studios improved their simulator to justify the wait, with massive updates and three DLC packs that bring more cars and tracks to it.
The single player additions make for a hefty list, but essentially the grid slots were bumped up from 32 to 48 slots, although it would depend on the PC’s amount of RAM to make it work, with 12GB needed to have the increased grids. Also in the AI part, a slider for wet weather skill and a dial for mistakes helps in spicing the sketchier scenarios you may want to race. An improved traffic logic will make the AI more believable in situations of position changes, as well in blue flag scenarios.
The physics also received revisions and additions in multiple areas, with the tire thermodynamics bringing a new challenge to the players, as competitions without tire blankets will send your car to the track with cold tires where grip needs to be built up with the temperature, just like it happens in Le Mans Ultimate, with at least two or three laps needed to bring it to ideal temperatures depending of the compound and of the load applied to the tires, and the degradation also has a more detrimental effect in the car behavior, with flatspots being more apparent, and the degradation animation made more visible.
The engine also received revisions related to torque, thermodynamics and especially the failure points, so if you’re the type that usually turns your engines into smoke bombs, REIZA Studios made especific animations to properly show what is the main issue that led to the engine failure.
In terms of content, freebies were brought in along with three DLC packs, mostly related to the 2024 IMSA competitions, which isn’t limited only to the WeatherTech Sportscar Championship. The free cars come mostly from Audi, being the Quattro Group A to boost the early 90s DTM grid, while the Audi R8 LMS GT3 MY16 to the GT3 Gen1 class and the R8 LMS GT4 being also introduced.
The other freebie is the Ligier JS P320 Trackday Spec, which appears in the P1 class. This cars is an specific one that is tailored to compete in Império Endurance Brasil’s top class, as more power was added along with traction control and ABS to keep everything in place.
The IMSA content comes in two separate DLCs, with the Endurance Pack Part 2 being for the cars and the IMSA Track Pack being for the venues. The cars in the Endurance Pack Part 2 comprise all classes in the WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, with the Alpine A424 LMDh being brought as an kind of an outsider as it isn’t present in IMSA. Along with it, the Oreca 07 LMP2 and the Ligier JS P217 LMP2 come in two different specs, with the more unleashed 2017 spec being its own class and the latest detuned spec being labeled as IMSA LMP2.
Two GT3s complete the pack, as the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R appears in only its second sim racing title, as it debuted on iRacing shortly after its real world debut. The Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II completes the DLC lineup, right when the real world model officially ended its sales, with 310 examples being sold to customers.
The IMSA Track Pack brings three tracks to a lineup that has Daytona, Indianapolis, VIR, Road America, Long Beach and Watkins Glen to name a few. The Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, more commonly called MoSport is the Canadian representative with its incredibly fast layout, being the usual destination for IMSA competitions when crossing the borders.
Along with MoSport, the well know Sebring Raceway, lair of the 12 hour race that makes for the 36 hours of Florida with the ROLEX 24, and the Road Atlanta circuit that hosts the season ending Petit Le Mans since the American Le Mans Series days, meaning that Automobilista 2 now has all IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup tracks, while the full IMSA WSC roster only missing the new Detroit street circuit.
The Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2 adds the second IMSA competition to AMS2, while being one of the latest one make series models included, as the simulator also has the Porsche Cup Brasil. The production based content also has the Lamborghini Veneno Roadster added to the Hypercar class, which is limited for road going models.
The final model of the pack is the Lamborghini SC63 LMDh, which debuted this year in the FIA World Endurance Championship and in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, The hypercar will leave the FIA WEC as the relationship with Iron Lynx came to an end, but Lamborghini wants to keep the SC63 in IMSA with a new partner team, which can allow a two car program for 2025.
The extensive changelog for the version 1.6 can be found in Automobilista 2’s Steam page along with all DLC released.
IMAGES: Automobilista 2 screenshots
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