Oct 28, 2019

List of circuits for a fictional racing game

If anyone ever let me design a racing game, this would be my starting list of circuits to include. "Circuit" is technically a misnomer for a couple of them, but I think it's wrong that classic road racing has been forgotten by racing games. If I had to limit myself to circuits proper, the obvious replacements would be Monza and Hermanos Rodríguez.

This list is inspired by the world map in Forza Motorsport 4's career mode. They've included a map of the entire surface of the planet Earth, which you use to travel to eight countries, six of which are in Europe. Just for fun, I put together an alternative list of racing venues that demonstrates that motorsport is a global phenomenon, and would be a lot more interesting to project onto a world map, while still staying in touch with the history of motorsport. I limited myself to twenty tracks, which meant that no country gets more than one. I like to think that only one of my choices is completely indefensible.

The most glaring blank on this map is, unfortunately, Africa between the deserts; the venues just don't seem to exist. If you were willing to take the plunge and include gravel and mud as well as tarmac, you could add the Rallye Côte d'Ivoire and the Safari Rally in Kenya. Confusingly, the Dakar Rally is now held in South America!

Here's the list:

Ain-Diab Circuit, Ain-Diab, Morocco
Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo, Brazil
Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain
Brands Hatch Circuit, Kent, UK
Buddh International Circuit, Uttar Pradesh, India
Carrera Panamericana, Mexico
Circuit de la Sarthe, Sarthe, France
Circuit de Monaco, Monaco
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Quebec, Canada
Keimola Motor Stadium, Vantaa, Finland
Kyalami Racing Circuit, Gauteng, South Africa
Laguna Seca Raceway, California, USA
Moscow Raceway, Russia
Mount Panorama Circuit, New South Wales, Australia
Nürburgring, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Sepang International Circuit, Selangor, Malaysia
Shanghai International Circuit, Shangai, China
Suzuka Circuit, Mie Prefecture, Japan
Targa Florio, Sicily, Italy

No comments: