What's It Like Driving A 2018 IndyCar At The Nordschleife?

So what is all the fuss about with the 2018 IndyCar? There’s been a lot of press surrounding the launch of the IR-18, with it being touted as a real throwback to IndyCar styling and racing of old, with significant changes to the car’s looks and aero. There are many questions that need to be answered by the new car, but what I’m pondering the most today is, just how fast can the most modern car in sim racing lap the Nordschleife?

So, what are these big changes for 2018? Visually, the entire aero package is brand new. One of the aims was to create a more traditional look for the car, which they most definitely succeeded with. Not only did they succeed with the throwback aspect, but it also sports a modern, refined look. Quite the achievement. Sculpted sidepods and smoother, more natural looking lines. To me, this is how open wheel racing cars should look. It’s low, wide and aggressive looking. It truly is beautiful.

The other area of big change for the IR-18 is in the downforce department. The main aim? To improve the racing by allowing cars to follow each other much more closely. The single biggest problem with the aerokits on the DW12, was the amount of dirty air on both road courses and ovals, leading to some very dull racing. To improve this, there’s been a significant reduction in the amount of wings and a bigger focus on creating grip through tunnels and the floor of the car. Fingers crossed this really does lead to better racing.

Onto the car in sim. Firstly, how on earth can it possibly exist in a sim already? Not just any sim, but it’s in iRacing. This is a sim that sometimes battles to get cars when they are relevant. The car hasn’t even had a race yet, but here it is for me to drive. They truly smashed it out the park with the surprise announcement of its release.

With all that said and done, how is it around the Nordschleife? With it being the most modern car in sim racing, it clearly has a lot of grip. However, you can really feel the difference that the reduction in aero has made, compared to its predecessor. That combined with the natural bumpiness of the ‘Ring meant my reactions had to be on point to keep this thing going forwards and not in a hedge. There were so many little snaps that I lost count. I could really feel the car squirming around in the medium speed corners too, as the wings and tyres battled to keep it stuck to the track.

In another example of the reduction in overall grip, it was actually quicker to throw the car into the Karussell and deal with the bumps. The car just doesn’t produce enough grip to take the outside line, but was just about soft enough to cope with the roughness of the concrete, unlike the F1 cars I’ve taken around here. This is still a seriously fast car, but how does it compare to a Formula One car, or even the LMP1-H Porsche 919? For that, you’ll need to watch the video!

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Jimmy Broadbent

I like to make videos. Simple as that.