It’s been on the wishlist for so long that many fans thought that it would never happen. But that all changed on April 1st when Kunos added the Green Hell to Assetto Corsa Competizione.
But it’s not just the Nurburgring Nordschleife that was added in Version 1.10. In this article, we’ll take a deeper dive and let you know everything you need to know about this new pack.
Introducing the Nürburgring Nordschleife
The Nürburgring 24 Hours is one of the crown jewel events in endurance racing. With 170 corners over 25.3km, it is a fearsome spectacle that is respected around the world.
As it joined the Intercontinental GT Challenge for 2024 alongside the 24 Hours of Spa, Kunos were provided the perfect opening to introduce the track to ACC as it moved under the SRO banner. All we need next is the Dacia Logan and every sim racer’s dream will be accomplished!
- If you want to get to know each and every part of the mammoth Nurburgring Nordschleife, we’ve got your back with a long-form Lap Guide on our YouTube channel courtesy of professional Esports driver, Gregor Schill.
The key features of the Nürburgring Nordschleife
The Nordschleife comes with many unique challenges. Whilst the GP-Strecke section does not feature the Mercedes-Benz arena, the addition of such sections as Flugplatz and Pflanzgarten presents all new challenges that you will not have faced before in ACC. The jumps and bumps are so strong, and the changes so pronounced in the Carousel, that your car will be running at a higher ride height than it ever has before.
With a minimum ride height of 70mm, the grip generated by having your car close to the ground is almost non-existent. This presents you with a whole new style of driving, especially if you’re used to the slick mid-engine driving approach that relies on a little bit of slip and sliding to get through the corner quicker.
There are also some smaller quirks that come with the track. There’s the formation lap, which will always start on the Döttinger Höhe and means that there’s still no challenge to Spa for the longest formation lap in ACC.
There’s also the unique qualifying rule, where drivers can cut through on the “joker lap” at the final corner of the GP loop to get a shorter out-lap. Kunos even programmed the AI to do it, meaning that you don’t have to hop into a public lobby to experience it for yourself!
With grids that support up to 110 cars and even more features that are yet to be fully uncovered, this promises to be the most rewarding DLC for ACC yet.
- Make sure to check out the communities over on our partner site The SimGrid that host races on the new circuit!
Need some setups for the Nordschleife?
Our ACC Setup Subscription, which includes Nurburgring Nordschliefe setups for every GT3, GT2, GT4 and single-make car, allows you to focus purely on your on-track performance. And, with access to our free Coach Dave Delta app, installing them couldn’t be any easier.
- Race setups
- Qualifying setups
- Onboard laps
- Data packs
- All are crafted by professionals
Technical refinements
Outside of the new content, there have been other updates that have come in as ACC moves into Version 1.10. Perhaps the change that will affect drivers most will be the update to the dampers, which has an impact on how you have to set up the car.
In previous versions of ACC, the “meta” strategy that was supposed to benefit you most was something called “min-maxing”. What that essentially meant was that you were better off running extreme setups which used the highest and lowest values on the dampers than attempting to find a space somewhere in the middle.
However, much like the fabled “toe hack” was taken away with newer tyre models that punished excessive toe by producing more heat and wear, the V1.10 damper update reduces the impact of the “min-max” approach.
Whilst this isn’t likely to invalidate any setups from Version 1.9, you’re going to be at a disadvantage if you don’t adapt.
- To ensure that you don’t miss out, make sure to subscribe to our iRacing Setup Subscription, which gives you access to our entire setup library and the Coach Dave Delta app, allowing for automatic condition-based setup adjustments and installation.
GT2 Balance of Performance Tweaks
BOP, BOP, BOP! Racing fans love talking about Balance of Performance, the mechanic that should allow greater parity as dominant cars get slowed down and cars that aren’t as fast get sped up.
With V1.10, the cars that were affected weren’t the GT3s, but rather the GT2s. A key example is that the Maserati GT2 has gained an extra 15kg of ballast whilst the Mercedes-AMG GT2 loses 10kg, making the Mercedes-AMG machine much more competitive whilst ensuring that the Maserati doesn’t rest on its laurels too much.
Outside of this, other BoP updates are designed to make the older cars added in the Challenger Pack play a greater role in a GT2 field. This is because, whilst the Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo and Lamborghini Super Trofeo Evo 2 both compete in their own one-make series, they can also be found in GT2 fields.
By adding 30kg of ballast to the Lamborghini, as well as boosting its power output, it ensures that the raging bull competes well against ACC’s newest category. The Ferrari Challenge car sees greater aerodynamic tweaks, making sure that it has more potential in the corners to go with its well-renowned straight-line speed.
- Does this news whet your appetite to get behind the wheel of these cars? Make sure to check out our setup packs, which cover both the GT2s and the Challenger Pack cars.
