The track immediately falls away into high-speed esses, where speeds in GT3 machinery can hit 120mph.ĭropping a gear or two towards the end of the sector you get your first introduction to COTA’s biggest disappointment – the yellow anti-cuts. Measuring 3.43 miles in length, the Grand Prix Circuit has an opening sector featuring a huge elevation change as you climb up to Turn 1. Located in Austin, Texas, the track enjoys an elevation change of around 41 metres – best exemplified by the steep braking zone into Turn 1. The Circuit of the Americas – or COTA, for short – has hosted Formula 1’s United States Grand Prix from 2012 to the present, only missing 2020 due to Covid. I can see Watkins Glen becoming an instant ACC classic. Holding off one of the GT4s at the chequered flag felt like an achievement, the dynamic drying line seeing lap times falling every lap – along with my slim advantage in the slower sections. I could hang onto the GT4s through the twisty stuff but would get blown away on the straights. My most enjoyable ACC Watkins experience so far is driving a little TCX class BMW M2 CS Racing against a mixed AI grid of GT3, GT4 and other TCX cars in a wet race.
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The kerbs at the Bus Stop chicane aren’t too brutal in GT3 cars either – Watkins has mainly flat kerbing throughout – and it can sometimes be too easy to stretch track limits too far owing to the generous cut threshold. The bermed corners are an absolute joy to throw your car into and the wide-open straights make slipstream battling an enticing prospect.
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In ACC, Watkins is faithfully reproduced and is easily the finest re-creation of the circuit in any racing game. Measuring 3.45 miles in length, the track features high-speed banked turns interspersed by the Bus Stop (or Inner Loop) chicane – a quick right-left, left-right that rewards kerb-cutting with a clean run into the banked right-hander, Outer Loop. This is the full-length version of Watkins Glen and incorporates the famous ‘Boot’ section, made up of suitably motorsport-themed corners, ‘Heel’ and ‘Toe’. The layout included in ACC is the International configuration.
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It was also the venue for the United States Formula 1 Grand Prix from 1961 until 1980 when financial difficulties put paid to any hope of a return. Situated in Upstate New York, Watkins Glen has played host to America’s biggest motorsport championships, including NASCAR, Ind圜ar and the American Le Mans Series. It’s therefore been a long wait for new ACC tracks, so the question is, does the new American Track Pack live up to the lofty standards already set by developers Kunos Simulazioni? Watkins Glen
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The last ACC track content was released way back in February 2021, with the British GT Pack – including Snetterton, Oulton Park and Donington Park.ĪCC players have been fortunate enough to experience other highly detailed and competitively priced track content in the past, including the Intercontinental GT Pack – containing Kyalami, Mount Panorama, Suzuka and Laguna Seca – and the GT World Challenge Pack, containing Imola. Although it contained five new cars, the Challengers Pack did not include any new tracks. Assetto Corsa Competizione’s previous DLC was the Challengers Pack.