Let me clarify. I know there are plenty of games that are visually and physically realistic. But are there any racing games where you can actually race a Daytona 500 race with 200 laps and pit stops and if you smash your car that’s it?
I believe the NASCAR 200x series allows you, if you wish, to run a complete real time race rather than 1,5,10 or maybe 50 laps.
I’m more of a Gran Turismo guy but I have played it on a friend’s XBox360. The latest version (2008) didn’t get very good reviews and I don’t believe that you can race against a friend on the same console. You have to both use XBox Live. A bit daft if you ask me.
There was an excellent game from a few years ago called Grand Prix Legends that was based on the 1967 Formula One season. It could be configured to run the full race distance which usually took about 2 hours. Those cars carried enough fuel, and the tires were durable enough for the entire race, so pit stops didn’t enter into it. The game did model the effects of the decreasing weight and tire wear.
And I remember at least one review of an Indy-based game that said you could do a full 500 miles.
Don’t think anyone’s done that sort of thing for Le Mans yet, though.
I remember myself and a friend making plans for playing a 24 hour Le Mans race when Le Mans 24 Hours came out for the PS2. Never happened cause we soon went back to playing GT3.
Nascar Racing 2003 (NOT to be confused with Nascar Sim Racing from EA) has several variations on the Le Mans track, and I have run in a couple of 24 hour enduro events there in a NR2003 mod. Another sim, rFactor, also has a copy. Both sims also have the infamous Nurburgring Nordschleife.
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EA’s F1 Challenge '99-'02 is pretty damn good.
Were those live, real-time, 24-hour events? I certainly hope you teamed up with a couple co-drivers.
I hope one of the Nascar racing mods for Le Mans was to use non-Nascar cars. Not that there’s anything wrong with them, but there have been so many great cars and rivalries that would be worth reliving; Mercedes/Jaguar in the mid-50’s (with one obvious change), Ford/Ferrari in the 60’s, or the Porsche 917 (even as a sim that would probably be scary).
I learned the Nordschleife in Grand Prix Legends (the 1967 layout) and drove it for a real in a rental car a few years ago.
Yep-ran with 3-4 other guys, and in one race we came limping home with just 2 gears left (out of 5), and our body work bent all to heck. This was in the GTP/Group C mod for NR2003 (the Mercedes Saleen from the mid-80’s/early 90’s being the big selling point).
When I go to Germany in a couple of years driving the Nordschleife will be right at the top of my list.
Sounds like fun. Is NR2003 still available, and are races like that still run?
You can still get N2003 from places like Amazon and Ebay, but be prepared to spend close to $200 for it, even if it’s a used copy.