iRacing is one of the best sim racing games which has been around since 2008. For those that enjoy the thrill of climbing the ranks while racing others, its perfect. Unfortunately for me, it is quite an expensive pastime. If you miss out on the introductory offer, you can be paying around £10. That doesn’t even include the cars and tracks that you will eventually need to buy. Thank the heavens for YouTube.
I can watch others race and compete live on the website or on Twitch. No guessing who I end up watching. Other games are starting to catch with regards to the multiplayer. But there is currently a new challenge on iRacing.
The Nordschleife is a godly track both in the real world and in Sim Racing. It has only gained prestige as Top Gear took to the track with a van. Unfortunately, last year one of its dedicated racers, Sabine Schmitz, lost her life. She was catapulted into fame via Top Gear.
This year, there was a new challenger on the block. The W12 Mercedes F1 car was added to the iRacing roster. Every Streamer and YouTuber worth their salt has taken to the track with the Mercedes to be the top of the table.
The Track on iRacing
Surprisingly, even for such a famous track, no one is entirely sure how many turns this track has. From this article, it can range from just 35 all the way to 170. The fastest time is currently in real life is 6:38.84 and the distance of the configuration is 12 miles or 20.8KM. To put that into perspective, the longest track on the F1 calendar is Spa which is 7.4 over half the distance of the Nordschleife.
It is a very dangerous track, which has claimed the lives of 70 drivers in some type of motorsport event. Outside of official races, it averages 10 deaths a year. The last time it was raced in F1 was back in 1976, which almost claimed the life of the late Niki Lauda (You need to watch the film Rush, one of my favorite films.) Because of this, F1 cars haven’t gone around it in many years to set new fastest times.
W12 Mercedes F1 Car
The W12 sports a Mercedes-AMG F1 M12 E Performance 1.6 L V6, which produces 1,050BHP. The original Bugatti Veyron, for reference, produces 987BHP. The W12’s top speed is 207mph while the Veyron has a top speed of 267mph. The reason for the deficit is that the W12 has to follow strict regulations as well as be able to corners fast. Because of this, the W12 focuses on acceleration out of the corners rather than top speed. On the track, the F1 car would beat the Bugatti Veyron easily. Below is a Ferrari F1 car vs the Chiron video, which is even faster than the Veyron:
The W12 is the first current F1 car to put into a racing sim, excluding the F1 games. Both the iRacing and Mercedes teams worked together to create this machine as close to the real deal as possible. Even the onboard steering wheel’s display is pretty much pixel-perfect to the real thing.
The Challenge
The challenge is simple: set a time around the Nordschleife in the W12. Many Streamers and Youtubers have attempted the challenge, already setting times far quicker than any real life-time. Jimmy Broadbent, Jardier and Basic Ollie have already set times to beat: Here are the times so far:
Conclusion
Are you up for the challenge? Once I get back on the iRacing bandwagon I may give it a go. But to do it can be quite pricy to get started since you need an iRacing membership Then you need to buy the car.