User blog:KeiTanaka/My Favorite Track...

My favorite fictional racetrack (and variation) in the GP America game? That was a hard question I was asked earlier this week.

I decided to compile a top-five list to be fair to the ones that just missed out on number one. Even compiling the candidates for this list was cutthroat, but I'm happy with the result.

5. Casper-Evansville Sports Car Course, Evansville Classic
Lest somebody accuse me of being biased, I'll be the first to admit I am. Of all racetracks in the game, I've won more times at CESCC than anywhere else except one track. I've also won on every single configuration of CESCC, but I have to admit that the Evansville Classic layout is by far my favorite. Flying down both Kavanaugh and Jameson, the long Gallagher carousel, the roller-coaster Appelgate-Jennings-McDonald, and of course, the one corner that's more beautiful than any other on the circuit, Shanholtz.

Honestly, the only part of the racetrack that Evansville Classic doesn't run that I wish it did is the steep climb over Appelgate, but in order to do that, you don't get the thrill of the last three-quarters of Jameson Straight.

4.  Acadia Motor Speedway, GP Circuit
I would put Acadia Motor Speedway as a whole as one of the greatest tracks designed in the game. Each of the six layouts has its own unique challenges, its own personality, and its own legacy of what drivers dominate and which drivers struggle.

The GP Circuit combines the best of all of the other layouts into one super-long thrill ride that includes the iconic Lookout turn, the enormous downhill backstretch that almost rivals that of Circuit of the Ozarks' Mountain Circuit (coming up!), and the Suzuka-style esses.

3.  Gulf Coast Speedway, Full Course
I'm gonna get flak for this one, but that's OK, because I'm a racer and you're not. Many observers (heck, even some drivers) hate the Catalunya/Nurburg section of Gulf Coast because of that one silly chicane. I thought the long standing mantra of racecar drivers was: you pave it, we'll race it.

Anyway, I really do love the Boardwalk straightaways, all the way from the exit of Spa to the entrance of Catalunya. It's easily one of the most exhilirating runs on the circuit, and it's a shame we don't race it in its entirety anymore. I personally love being able to run practice laps on the Full Course because the Catalunya/Nurburg section is overgrown and cracked, and that's an experience we just don't get anywhere else. It's different, and GP America needs to accept that. I say bring the Grand Prix of Florida back to the Full Course of Gulf Coast Speedway!

2.  Circuit of the Ozarks, Mountain Circuit
No contest. No contest at all. If it weren't for the soft spot in my heart for the Number 1 on this list, COHO's Mountain Circuit would be number one any day.

First, where else do you get to drive a track clockwise OR counterclockwise?

Second, where else do you get a straightaway like THAT!?

The Arkansas Straight is a little less than a mile long, and is easily the most fun on the entire circuit. It's super steep and is a thrill to ascend on either the Moutain or the Full Circuits, but only the Mountain Circuit gets the option to drive it down. And when your top goal as a racecar driver is speed, there's nothing better than zooming down the Arkansas.

And that's just one half of the track. The other track is very similar to my favorite overseas racetrack: Mount Panorama Circuit (aka Bathurst) in Australia. It's super tough going up and super tough going down, depending on which direction you're driving. My personal favorite is to run it counterclockwise, going up the Panorama-style curves and down the Arkansas. It's the best of all worlds.

1.  Bend/Sunriver Raceway
And if I wasn't biased putting CESCC at number five, I'm freaking corrupt putting BSR at number one, and I am unapologetic. I've won more times at BSR (11 at the time of writing) than any other racetrack and any other driver. In fact, nobody has won at one racetrack more times than I have at Bend/Sunriver.

It's less than two miles long, but it's got everything--uphill esses, downhill esses, a full-throttle ascending and descending straightaway, a tree tunnel straight, and an insane crossover. My all-time favorite corner in all of motorsports has to be The Dive. 'Nuff said. It's a legend all its own.

--KeiTanaka