The IRG World Formula 2021 series continues in rFactor 2 and next up is the fantastic Suzuka Circuit in Japan. This could be the perfect combination of car and track for this series.
The IRG World Formula 2021 racing series continues in rFactor 2 at the mighty Suzuka Circuit in Japan. Tune in or even sign up to this series that just keeps on producing fine racing and more.
As you can imagine I am a big fan of Suzuka, it is that track that I always race well at, but one that begs for improvement and bravery before reaching maximum achievement.
Suzuka never gets boring, testing your skill and car setup at every turn and moment. With IRG World visiting this circuit with the Formula 2021 series race car, they are going to be tested to their limits.
As always IRG World likes to give an introduction and history of the circuits they race at. Be sure to tune in Sunday at 21:00 for live coverage on the MotogamesTv channel right here: MotoGamesTV
Suzuka – Japanese racing temple
There are some tracks fans cannot imagine being without in the F1 season. Certainly, one of such tracks is the Japanese masterpiece that is Suzuka. Although for obvious reasons, this will not be hosted in the F1 circus this year, it will nevertheless be the arena of the virtual struggle of the 14th round of our sim racing series IRG Advance Formula 2021.
This weekend we will visit the country of the thriving cherry and colorful manga, right on the legendary Honda test facility located on the island of Honshu, in the Mei prefecture.
Loved by both drivers and fans, the passionate loop of the track with the unique shape of eight and the stands usually packed with passionate spectators make the Japanese GP one of the most anticipated races in the entire F1 calendar.
Suzuka International Racing Course, as its full name sounds, is one of the classic facilities, built in the early 1960s, designed by * Johannes Hugenholtz, and commissioned in 1962 as a Honda test track.
* John Hugenholtz, actually Johannes Bernhardus Theodorus “Hans” Hugenholtz – Dutch race track and car designer, was the author of such objects as: Zandvoort, Zolder and Hockenheimring (stadium section). He also designed two cars: Barkey and Delfino (based on the chassis and drive system of Alfa Romeo Alfasud).
The Suzuka circuit is exactly 5,807 meters, has 18 turns and is best known for its unusual eight shape: the opposite straight, more than 1.2 km long, runs over turn 9 – but this is not the most important feature of this amazing track.
The layout is narrow (6-10 m), uneven and fast, only a few turns are made at speeds below 100 km / h and most of the loops consist of fast, flowing curves.
After a twisty sequence at the start of the lap (Schumacher’s eSki), drivers enter the tricky headland, then the Spoon turn (“spoon”), the famous and fast 130R * curve, and finally the final tight chicanery – all these places are very demanding.
In order to achieve a good time result here, the driver requires almost watchmaking precision and dexterity, and the numerous deep gravel traps do not make this task any easier.
* 130R – is the name of the 15th turn, it is the measure of the angle expressed in radians. There are two more turns marked like this on Suzuka: 110R (turn 10) and 200R (12).
Driving around Suzuka resembles a butterfly dance on the blade of a samurai katana – one wrong move is enough to say goodbye to the wings.
The track loop favors cars with stable aerodynamics and powerful engines. Overtaking is quite difficult here, so qualifying and a good racing strategy are some of the key elements of success.
A series of fast, smooth turns and short straights mean constant, heavy loads on the tires on the lateral axis, especially in the context of numerous consecutive turns. Tires don’t have time to rest. Even after the recent resurfacing, the track is still a great test for the tires.
The high-speed track also rewards engine power – the drive units are subjected to enormous loads due to high average speeds and constantly changing overloads that wreak havoc on the oil system. More than 70% of the lap is covered with the throttle on the floor, during which the riders make approximately 56 gear changes.
Cars must have high downforce and a stiff suspension to react stably to changes in direction – especially in the first sector. The lack of straight lines and hard braking zones makes the DRS less effective here and the overtaking very difficult.
The first corner is a difficult right corner in which competitors fall at speeds above 250 km / h, but incl. L. Hamilton showed that with a bit of courage and luck you can overtake here.
Key turn – Nos. 8 and 9 “Degner I and II” – two quick right turns just before the bridge under 130R. Drivers fall into them at high speed, the shoulders here are extremely narrow and it is easy to fall into gravel traps or even meet a gang.
The weather can also be capricious – after all, we have a period of monsoons and typhoons coming from the Pacific. Rain is a frequent visitor to the track area, often able to thwart the fate of the competition by destroying the previously prepared “winning strategy”.
To sum up – from the point of view of a Suzuka engineer, it requires higher than average downforce and a harder suspension. We will probably deal with various strategies, and the fate of the competition will be decided only in the last phase of the race.
Looking at the history of this facility, we often had a lot of emotions here, Suzuka often ended the season and it was here that the World Champion of the Queen of Motorsport was selected.
The track witnessed champagne corks firing nicely for the ear, but also witnessed dramatic events – here in 2014, after almost twenty years without major events, Jules Bianchi, a 25-year-old driver, skidded on a wet surface and hit the crane with a force of about 254 G . He died in his hometown of Nice 9 months after the accident.
Soon, the competitors of our sim racing IRG Advance Formula 2021 season will also be competing on the Suzuka virtual track. There was also a lot of excitement during the race on the Turkish track in İstanbul Park, the report of which can be seen at this link: https://www.youtube.com/ watch? v = xxGAADQlKhI
In the general classification, Paweł Mrówka is the leader in the lead, ahead of Wojciech Klimek, but the competition for the lowest step of the podium, on which Pocisk jumped at that moment, looks interesting. As a team, the Infinity Racing Team is catching up with the DS Speed SimRacing Team and the experienced Old Bones team in third place.
Full classifications are available at: standings
Will the race at Suzuka be as exciting as last year? We will know the answer soon, meanwhile, we encourage all our participants to intensify training on the league servers (apparently the weather this weekend can be quite a surprise, so it is worth checking the settings also on a wet surface).
Will the race at Suzuka be as exciting as last year? We will know the answer soon, meanwhile, we encourage all our participants to intensify training on the league servers (apparently the weather this weekend can be quite a surprise, so it is worth checking the settings also on a wet surface).
Always up-to-date statistics can be found here:
- Hot lap classification: https://irg-world.com/hots/39
- Stint classification (10 laps): https://irg-world.com/stints/39
- Fans, as usual, are invited next Sunday at 21:00 for live coverage on the MotogamesTv channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/MotoGamesTV which, thanks to the Restream service, will also be available to watch on our new channels:
- IRG Twitch
- IRG DLive
- The media partners of the event are MotoGamesTv, SpeedZonePL, Simracing.pl, Simrace247
GP in numbers:
- Track: Suzuka International Racing Course
- Loop length: 5807 m
- Race Distance: FL + 53 Laps
- Number of bends: 18 (8 left, 10 right)
- Number of brakes: 8 (2 strong)
- Longest Straight: 0.995 km
- Level difference: 40.4 m
- Length of the pit lane: 396 m (average 367 m in the season)
- Time spent in the pit lane: 22,614 sec (2018)
- Top speed: approx. 335 km / h
- Average speed: approx. 225 km / h
- Full throttle: approx. 72% of the lap (average high season approx. 64%)
- The greatest overload: 4.4 G
- Pressure level: high
- Tire wear: high (high lateral loads)
- Brake wear: low
- Cooling level: medium
- Fuel consumption: approx. 2.08 kg / year (average season 1.86 kg / year)
- Influence of fuel load: approx. 0.30 s / 10 kg (average in the season 0.28 s / 10 kg)
- Estimated number of pit stops: 1/2
- Gear Shift: Wed. 56 / round
- Number of leads: 48 (2018)
- VSC probability: 38%
- Laps for SC: 50
More data and characteristics of F1 tracks:
- https://www.cyrkf1.pl/category/tory-wyscigowe-formuly-1
Plan weekend / Race Weekend:
- Sunday – UTC + 1 time of the schedule (21:00 in Warsaw, Berlin)
- 20:00 Practice session
- 21:00 Qualify 1 (15 minutes)
- 21:15 Qualify 2 (10 minutes)
- 21:30 Warmup (5-10 minutes)
- 21:35 (21:40) Official race
- 23:00 Weekend finish
- UTC + 1 time of the schedule
Pre-race limit: 40 laps or 10-lap stint on league serves.
Servers / Servers:
- IRG_F2021 # 1 (league, open 24/7)
- IRG_F2021 # 2 (public, open 24/7)
IRG World is a league partner of simrace247.com: IRG World Partner with simrace247.com
To purchase rFactor 2 visit: Studio-397 – Racing Simulation
About rFACTOR 2
rFactor 2 is a realistic, easily extendable racing simulation from Studio 397. It offers the latest in vehicle and race customization, great graphics, outstanding multiplayer and the height of racing realism. rFactor 2 features mixed class road racing with ultra realistic dynamics, an immersive sound environment and stunning graphics, perfect for top-level esports and a rich single-player experience.
Race against a field of AI cars, or in multi-player mode against others. rFactor 2 supports a full day-night cycle as well as dynamically varying weather conditions such as rain which dynamically builds into puddles. Tracks feature “real-road” technology that changes the grip as more cars drive on it. You can run full 24 hour endurance events and in multi-player mode, driver swaps are also supported. Everything can be customized by the community, including adding new tracks and cars, and a wealth of add-ons are available on-line.Working with several partners, rFactor 2 has been used in hundreds of esport championships all over the world – in particular McLaren’s World’s Fastest Gamer and Formula E.
